Illinois

[Michael]

Yeah, the taxes in Illinois are atrocious yet the budget is a mess. I can't wait to leave here.

This diagram below is kinda misleading because it combines different types of taxes, but I still think it's illustrative. Obviously, income taxes are higher now. Same with corporate taxes which aren't reflected in the diagram.

[G. Keenan]

We're back baby!

Ok not quite. But at long last the state of Illinois has a budget. And all it took was Democrats and Republicans coming together to override the veto of a billionaire who bought the governor's office for no other reason than to bust up unions. A man who cited Kentucky as an economic model to which the state of Illinois should aspire.

Democrats and Republicans came together to plunder its citizens.

Celebrate good times.

A 1.2% income tax increase is hardly plunder. State income tax in Illinois is not what hurts residents here. That's property taxes and sales taxes.

It's pretty simple. Illinois has a massive pile of debt and the only way to start digging out of that is to increase revenues. The state is not going to increase revenues through Bruce Rauner's agenda. We've watched that formula fail time and again everywhere its been tried. So where is the money going to come from?

[Michael]

We're back baby!

Ok not quite. But at long last the state of Illinois has a budget. And all it took was Democrats and Republicans coming together to override the veto of a billionaire who bought the governor's office for no other reason than to bust up unions. A man who cited Kentucky as an economic model to which the state of Illinois should aspire.

Democrats and Republicans came together to plunder its citizens.

Celebrate good times.

A 1.2% income tax increase is hardly plunder. State income tax in Illinois is not what hurts residents here. That's property taxes and sales taxes.

It's pretty simple. Illinois has a massive pile of debt and the only way to start digging out of that is to increase revenues. The state is not going to increase revenues through Bruce Rauner's agenda. We've watched that formula fail time and again everywhere its been tried. So where is the money going to come from?

It all hurts and it all adds up.

I think taxes had to be raised, but this state is already insanely expensive and those increases in the context of what we already pay are significant. Businesses and high net worth individuals are fleeing this state with good reason.

Also, this isn't all on Rauner by a long shot. The dem's screwed this state royally.

[G. Keenan]

We're back baby!

Ok not quite. But at long last the state of Illinois has a budget. And all it took was Democrats and Republicans coming together to override the veto of a billionaire who bought the governor's office for no other reason than to bust up unions. A man who cited Kentucky as an economic model to which the state of Illinois should aspire.

Democrats and Republicans came together to plunder its citizens.

Celebrate good times.

A 1.2% income tax increase is hardly plunder. State income tax in Illinois is not what hurts residents here. That's property taxes and sales taxes.

It's pretty simple. Illinois has a massive pile of debt and the only way to start digging out of that is to increase revenues. The state is not going to increase revenues through Bruce Rauner's agenda. We've watched that formula fail time and again everywhere its been tried. So where is the money going to come from?

It all hurts and it all adds up.

I think taxes had to be raised, but this state is already insanely expensive and those increases in the context of what we already pay are significant. Businesses and high net worth individuals are fleeing this state with good reason.

Also, this isn't all on Rauner by a long shot. The dem's screwed this state royally.

Oh I agree fully. The money has to come from somewhere, that's all I'm saying. The long-term budget problems are totally on the state Dems, but Rauner has had zero real solutions to fix it. His entire candidacy and governorship have been devoted to nothing other than trying to make Illinois a "right-to-work" state and bust up the unions. He's been demanding that Dems concede that since getting elected, refusing to entertain any budget without first getting union busting laws passed.

[Arthur Dent]

I think taxes had to be raised, but this state is already insanely expensive and those increases in the context of what we already pay are significant.

Are the differences in overall state tax burdens of a couple percentage points really the reason Illinois is insanely expensive or is it that Chicago is expensive because real estate (and the fact that taxes are tied to real estate values)?

[stlouie_lipp]

And we still might be lowered to junk by Moody's because there were no reforms. But at least our taxes continue to rise!

[Michael]

I think taxes had to be raised, but this state is already insanely expensive and those increases in the context of what we already pay are significant.

Are the differences in overall state tax burdens of a couple percentage points really the reason Illinois is insanely expensive or is it that Chicago is expensive because real estate (and the fact that taxes are tied to real estate values)?

It's everything. And these few %'s add up and put a finer point on it this is nearly a 33% income tax increase. The additional corporate taxes matter too. I'd be less annoyed if I felt the services the state provided were excellent, but they aren't anything special.

I'll be okay, but families in the burbs living paycheck to paycheck may feel the squeeze with this. For example, if your family makes 50k a year, which in Chicagoland isn't special, this tax increase means 600 more dollars in taxes a year which is not nothing.

[Arthur Dent]

I'd be less annoyed if I felt the services the state provided were excellent, but they aren't anything special.

Seems to me that this is the problem -- political dysfunction results in taxes that don't deliver for residents.

Cities are also too expensive, and over-reliance on property tax is part of that, but it's mostly about fundamental real estate values. Here in Austin you also hear various politicians promising to protect "affordability" in the property tax, but in practice, that's fractions of a percent while home prices have gone up like 60 % in less than 10 years. The tax talk seems to be missing the point to go for the target everyone hates.

[Socnorb11]

We're back baby!

Ok not quite. But at long last the state of Illinois has a budget. And all it took was Democrats and Republicans coming together to override the veto of a billionaire who bought the governor's office for no other reason than to bust up unions. A man who cited Kentucky as an economic model to which the state of Illinois should aspire.

Democrats and Republicans came together to plunder its citizens.

Celebrate good times.

A 1.2% income tax increase is hardly plunder. State income tax in Illinois is not what hurts residents here. That's property taxes and sales taxes.

Well, that's a relief!!

Property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes............ Republicans and Democrats are responsible for all of 'em. 1.2% amounts to about $1100 per household. That's significant.

The new budget helps cash flow, but does very little to resolve the debt problem, and doesn't address the root cause of the debt problem (exorbitant spending). On top of that, it makes Illinois a less attractive place to live, which could actually decrease tax revenue (by driving people out of the state).

There's nothing to celebrate here.

[CardsofSTL]

I left Illinois over ten years ago for better work prospects. The state had problems then and now it is near catastrophe. But no one wants to really work together to fix anything; they wait until their backs are against the wall and then slap a bandaid on it. The General Assembly in Illinois is probably the closest state legislature in appearance to the U.S. Congress in their lack of ability to act and fix problems...too bad states can't just print their own money.