Explore our content

All types | All dates | All authors
Taxes
Quick Hit
by Brandon Campbell
1:19pm
Fri Jun 8, 2012
5 comments

CTA Riders Protest 'Toxic' Bank Deals

Dozens of community activists and angry CTA riders protested bank deals which they claim take money from transit agencies in the lobby of a Chase Bank at 10 S. Dearborn St. Thursday morning.

Pointing to a report released this week titled “Riding the Gravy Train,” which details “toxic swap deals” between Wall Street banks and 12 state governments, the group said nationally taxpayers are losing more than $520 million a year.

That’s money that could be used to stop public transit service cuts or pay for infrastructure repairs, the protesters argued.

Read more »

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
5:44pm
Thu Jun 7, 2012
3 comments

Report: TIF Great For Selective Enrollment Schools, Bad For Neighborhood Schools

A new report puts in clear terms how the Tax Increment Finance program, or TIF, strips away millions of dollars from traditional Chicago neighborhood attendance area schools, while financing pricey new selective enrollment and charter schools. Read more »

PI Original
by Matthew Blake
5:21pm
Mon Jun 4, 2012
4 comments

TIF Reform Tabled

Chicago City Council

The jury is out on whether Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is serious about reforming the Tax Increment Finance, or TIF, economic development program.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
5:12pm
Wed May 30, 2012

Tax Disclosure Bill Tabled

A bill to make publicly traded businesses reveal what they pay in state corporate taxes will not be heard before the state legislature adjourns tomorrow, despite the sponsorship of Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago).

Cullerton Spokesman Ron Holmes says that the Senate president is “waiting for input on how to improve the bill from opponents,” and that the bill is likely to receive more debate this summer. Read more »

PI Original
by Matthew Blake
3:58pm
Fri May 25, 2012
4 comments

Medicaid: Cuts Now, Some Revenue Soon? (UPDATED)

Springfield

The General Assembly stayed in session until late Thursday evening to pass a bill that would lop off $1.6 billion from the federal-state Medicaid program that serves 2.7 million Illinois residents. But while state lawmakers worked overtime to enact Medicaid cuts, they just introduced a bill this afternoon that hikes the state cigarette tax and, combined with the cuts, would cover the state’s $2.7 billion in unfunded Medicaid liabilities.

Quick Hit
by Brandon Campbell
10:58am
Thu May 24, 2012

CME Shareholder Meeting Crashed By Community Activists (VIDEO)

Though NATO and its related protests have come and gone, hundreds of Chicago community activists continued to show public outrage through a series of their own protests Wednesday.

On the same day the Chicago Mercantile Exchange held its annual shareholders’ meeting, a group of 60 people from organizations like Arise Chicago, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, and the Lakeview Action Committee, claimed to have legitimately purchased shares from the CME and showed up for the conference.

Read more »