Explainer Get Ready, Illinois: Pritzker’s Tax Plan Looks to Become the Biggest Ballot Measure in State History Is it a “fair tax” or a “blank check?” Those will be two of the opposing messages Illinois voters will hear between now and November over the governor’s proposal to flip the state from a flat income tax rate to a graduated one. Updated: Mar 19, 2020 @ 11:42 AM
Explainer Mayor Lightfoot Promised to Spend More Money on Students in Need. Will 2020 Be the Year? Chicago schools with more students who face increased challenges need more resources, but funding has stayed the same per-pupil for years. Now the city is examining how to divvy up money differently as school enrollment declines. Dec 11, 2019 9:30 AM
Explainer Lightfoot’s Effort To Scale Back Aldermanic Prerogative a Work in Progress Lori Lightfoot vowed to put an end to aldermanic prerogative on inauguration day. But the basis for the practice giving aldermen a veto over ward issues will take more than a few strokes of a pen for her to undo. Nov 20, 2019 9:04 AM
Explainer Latest Pension Play Is No Guaranteed Fix If Illinois’ Constitution prevents lawmakers from curbing rising pension costs, then change the Constitution, advocates say. But experts warn a voter-approved rewrite may lead to a lengthy legal challenge and end, once again, without a permanent solution. Jun 26, 2019 6:30 AM
Explainer Poor Left, Rich Thrived When Illinois Hiked Flat Tax As Illinois debates whether to raise taxes on the rich, IRS data show better off tax filers stayed put when flat tax rates jumped a few years ago despite fears so called job creators would leave the state to avoid paying the increase. Apr 8, 2019 5:00 AM
Explainer Millennials and Market Saturation Raise Doubts About New Casino Push Talk of new Chicago and Downstate casinos is resurfacing among politicians as an answer to government fiscal woes. But casino revenue is off sharply from its heights, and the industry is struggling to attract younger gamblers. Feb 6, 2019 2:00 PM
Explainer Path Not Easy for Pritzker’s Tax-the-Rich Plan There is often a disconnect between tax policies voters say they back and those they vote for. That’s the dilemma facing Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker, who says he wants to amend the state constitution to allow for a graduated tax that will increase the burden on the wealthy. Dec 13, 2018 6:00 AM
Explainer A Corruption-fighting Attorney General? Easy to Say, Harder to Do The top lawyers in Illinois and most other states rarely investigate corruption. That’s by design, not political cowardice. Oct 30, 2018 6:00 AM
Explainer The Chicken Little Effect on Illinois’ Pension Crisis Years of unfulfilled warnings of imminent fiscal collapse due to pension debt have numbed Illinois voters to a still real threat and given politicians an election year escape hatch to avoid talk about the state’s most difficult problem. Sep 28, 2018 6:00 AM
Explainer Elon Musk’s ‘Electric Skates’ to O’Hare Mired in Secrecy, Skepticism The Better Government Association has filed a lawsuit against the city for disclosure of public records behind its $1 billion deal with Musk’s company. Aug 15, 2018 6:00 AM
