Progress Illinois

Next week, lawmakers are expected to head back to Springfield to
resume budget negotiations. At this point, there are essentially two
options on the table: raise the income tax rate or finalize major
cuts to the human services budget. Yesterday, the Daily Herald examined ...

Editorial pages from across the state are this week calling on their local legislators to pull their heads out of the sand, return to Springfield next Tuesday, and vote for new revenue in the form of an income tax hike. 
Some of the papers have clearly been a bit slow in ...

Illinois' $12 billion budget hole didn't materialize out of thin
air, but the brutal economic climate at the national level certainly
intensified the problem. According to data from the National Conference
of State Legislators, receipts for personal income taxes (6.3 ...

Republicans and conservatives categorically opposed to an income tax increase in Illinois have so far failed to make a convincing case that lawmakers can cut their way out of our gaping state deficit. (See, for example, the vague ideas put forth by the Civic Federation and ...