IRS data confirms Illinois is losing residents, wealth flight at record pace

By Bryce Hill

05/26/2022

Illinois lost more than 100,000 residents and $8.5 billion on net in adjusted gross income to other states from 2019-2020, according to new federal tax return data. Those leaving earned $31K more than those coming in.

TAGS: Illinois, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, outmigration, population

Illinois House committee passes bill to ban red-light cameras statewide

03/12/2020

Red-light cameras have been the subject of multiple corruption investigations and have cost Illinois drivers over $1 billion.

TAGS: conflict of interest, corruption, David McSweeney, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, Jeff Tobolski, Martin Sandoval, Oakbrook Terrace, red light cameras, SafeSpeed

Records involving Madigan sought by federal probe into southwest Chicago suburb

By Brad Weisenstein

02/21/2020

Federal investigators are seeking records from a small village near Chicago. The subpoena names Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, his political lieutenants and former ComEd lobbyists.

TAGS: Chicago, Commonwealth Edison, conflict of interest, corruption, ethics, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, Kevin Quinn, Marty Quinn, Michael McClain, Mike Madigan, red light cameras, revolving door, Timothy Mapes

Blagojevich returns to an Illinois as corrupt as he left it

By Austin Berg

02/20/2020

Illinois’ political leadership learned nothing from the Blagojevich nightmare. And now it may be coming back to bite them.

TAGS: Commonwealth Edison, commutation, corruption, Donald Trump, ethics task force, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, Mike Madigan, Rod Blagojevich

Former state Rep. Arroyo pleads not guilty to bribery charge

02/05/2020

Arroyo resigned from his seat in the Illinois General Assembly after his arrest in October on bribery charges. He now faces up to 10 years in prison for bribery.

TAGS: bribery, corruption, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, graduated income tax, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois House of Representatives, Illinois Senate, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, JB Pritzker, lobbying, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, progressive income tax, red light cameras, Springfield, tax fraud, Terry Link

‘Fair tax’ backer pleads guilty to tax fraud

By Vincent Caruso

01/28/2020

Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval once headed the powerful Senate Transportation Committee. He now faces up to 13 years in prison on corruption charges involving a controversial red-light camera company.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, conflict of interest, corruption, Ed Burke, embezzlement, ethics, fair maps, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, fraud, graduated income tax, house rules, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, JB Pritzker, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, pork barrel spending, progressive income tax, red light cameras, redistricting, revolving door, Springfield, tax fraud, Tom Cullerton

Feds indict champion of Illinois gas tax hike, ‘fair tax’ on tax fraud and bribery

By Vincent Caruso

01/27/2020

The former chair of the influential Senate Transportation Committee is the fourth Illinois politician indicted on federal charges amid a sweeping FBI probe.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, conflict of interest, corruption, Ed Burke, embezzlement, ethics, fair maps, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal, federal government, federal investigation, fraud, gas tax, graduated income tax, graduation rate, house rules, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, JB Pritzker, Legislative Inspector General, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, Mike Madigan, pork barrel spending, progressive income tax, red light cameras, redistricting, revolving door, SafeSpeed, Senate Transportation Committee, Smart Scale, Springfield, tax fraud, transparency, waste, watchdog

With voters set to decide on progressive income tax, Illinois wealth flight among worst in the nation

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill

01/07/2020

New data shows Illinois since 2010 lost up to $32 billion in income from people moving out. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax plan would hike rates on residents most likely to leave the state, on net.

TAGS: graduated income tax, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, income, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, JB Pritzker, outmigration, population, progressive income tax, spending cap, Springfield, tax rates, U.S. Census Bureau

Illinois lawmakers pass pension sweeteners without knowing the cost

11/20/2019

Illinois has nation’s worst pension debt. Maybe that’s because state lawmakers take a problem they aren’t sure exists, apply a solution they don’t know will work and never determine the cost.

TAGS: Civic Federation, firefighter pensions, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, Jason Barickman, municipal pensions, pensions, police pensions, public safety, safe harbor, Social Security

Changes to federal SALT deduction expose Illinois’ high taxes

By Travis Nix

06/18/2018

House Bill 4237 seeks to get around Congress’ limitation of a federal deduction that benefits high-tax states, but residents would be better served by efforts to directly reduce state and local taxes in Illinois.

TAGS: income tax, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, property taxes, SALT, taxes

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

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Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

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Brandi Lentz

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students