State of Illinois

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March 13, 2020

Graduated Income Tax Proposal Part II: A Guide to the Illinois Plan

As Illinois voters head to the polls for next week’s Presidential primary, this blog post looks at another major choice that will be on the general election ballot in November: whether to replace the State’s flat-rate income tax with a…

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March 6, 2020

State of Illinois FY2021 Public Safety Budget Basics

As described in a previous blog post, Governor J.B. Pritzker’s…

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February 28, 2020

Governor’s FY2021 Budget Relies on Uncertain Graduated Income Tax Revenues

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s second budget proposal avoids many of the pitfalls of his…

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February 13, 2020

How Will Illinois Spend Cannabis Revenues?

In December the Civic Federation explored how Illinois, its local governments and other states tax recreational cannabis. In this…

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January 24, 2020

Graduated Income Tax Proposal Part I: Why Does Illinois Have a Flat Income Tax?

More than 50 years after Illinois began taxing residents’ income, voters in 2020 will decide whether the structure of the income tax should undergo a major change. The issue is highly controversial, and the decision will have a long-…

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January 10, 2020

Increases and Changes to Consumer Taxes in Chicago for 2020

Annually the Civic Federation releases a report on consumer taxes in the City of Chicago. Consumer taxes are tied to the use or consumption of certain goods and services that can be charged directly to consumers through retail transactions…

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December 13, 2019

How Will Illinois Tax Recreational Cannabis?

UPDATE: The Cook County Board passed ordinance 20…

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December 4, 2019

State Pension Contributions Grab a Large Share of Illinois’ Budget—But Just How Large?

A recent report shows that Illinois’ statutorily required contributions to its five pension funds are expected to total $9.8 billion in the upcoming…

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November 8, 2019

Proposed Tier 2 Pension Changes Raise Questions about Long-Term Costs

For more than a decade, the Civic Federation has strongly supported consolidation of hundreds of police and fire…

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September 27, 2019

Does the Graduated Income Tax Plan Help Local Governments?

Supporters of a graduated income tax have emphasized its potential to stabilize the State of Illinois’ shaky finances and reduce pressure on local…