The Tribune calls many of City Inspector General Ferguson's suggestions "politically poisonous," and they definitely are -- but at least he's thinking outside the box. more ›

Even though Illinois arguably has bigger issues to face than a handful of out of state legislators biding their time until they can reach a solution to their own state's budgetary woes, one GOP representative wants to make sure our visitors pay up. The Sun Times reports state Representative Michael Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) said he would introduce a bill to impose Illinois' 5% income tax on the Wisconsin and Indiana legislators who crossed the borders to avoid voting on anti-union legislation. more ›

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias conveniently waited until the Friday afternoon heading into a three-day weekend to release his income tax information in which it was revealed he would pay no income tax this year and receive a refund of $26,000. That said, Alexi claims he'll be giving that money over to charity and reported that he lost $2.7 million - reportedly half his net worth - due to the failure of his family's Broadway Bank. It hasn't been a fun week for Alexi when coupled with his name coming up in the Blago trial. But that also hasn't stopped him from going on the offensive as his campaign has launched a new website based on the game show Jeopardy! aimed at taking advantage of Mark Kirk's truthiness issue. more ›

On the heels of yesterday's revelation that Gov. Quinn plans to propose an income tax hike of upwards of 50 percent comes news that the state budget gap is much larger than had been previously reported: $11.5 billion. According to Crain's Greg Hinz, Quinn's chief of staff Jerry Stermer referred to the deficit as "an unprecedented tsunami of red ink." Hinz continues: more ›

The Trib has updated its story that Gov. Quinn plans to raise the state income tax with a confirmation from the governor himself. Check out our first post on the topic here and check out the Trib's update below. more ›

Yes, even in Illinois - state motto: "We tax the shit out of everything" - there's always room to raise taxes. This morning, the Tribune is reporting that Governor Quinn is considering a plan that would raise Illinois' state income tax by half, from 3 percent to 4.5 percent. According to the Trib's source, such a hike would also include a hike in the corporate income tax on businesses, but would be softened by raising the standard $2,000 tax exemption to $6,000. If implemented, it would be the first income tax hike for Illinois in 20 years; the rate was raised from 2.5 percent to 3 percent in 1989. Critics suggest Quinn will have to tread carefully lest he severely damage his chances in 2010. Quinn is due to present his budget plan to the state legislature next Wednesday. more ›