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Chicago Tribune
8 hours ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Record budget continues Democrats' tax-and-spend spree
If Illinois smokers needed a reason to quit the evils of tobacco, the legislature's hike in the state's tax on cigarettes has been handed to them. Or it gives them a chance to visit Kentucky and Indiana to stock up on their smoking supplies. The tax increase on anything with tobacco — cigarettes, cigars, vaping devices, snuff, chewing tobacco — is part of the rushed budget the Democratic-controlled legislature adopted last week. The jump in the tobacco tax from 36% to 45% for cigarettes, and 15% for vaping products, takes effect July 1, when the state's fiscal year begins. Taxing the shrinking number of state smokers — revenue officials expect to raise $50 million — is one easy way to fund the largest budget in Illinois history. Current state tax on a pack of smokes is $1.98, and the current cost averages $7.56 per pack, according to the 'Sales Tax Handbook.' Another taxing target is gambling now that most of the Land of Lincoln is replete with gaming devices and casinos. To that end, the budget bill creates a tax of 25 cents per wager for a sports betting licensee's first 20,000 wagers accepted, and 50 cents per wager above that. That is expected to generate $36 million in the new fiscal year. There are other increased taxes, $1 billion worth, in the $55.2 billion spending plan, which totals 3,000 pages. Wonder how many Lake County lawmakers actually read this document that received little public review and was hastily adopted in the last 48 hours of the session? But lawmakers did read enough of the document to increase their salaries, sending their pay to nearly $100,000 a year for what is supposed to be a part-time job. State legislators who happen to be lawyers also got an added perk thanks to the Illinois Supreme Court: They can collect credits for continuing education classes just by attending legislative events. Yet, Illinois property owners again did not receive property tax relief, while lawmakers kicked the can down the road when it came to funding regional mass transit, while including $8.2 billion in new spending on infrastructure projects. Regional Transportation Authority officials claim they need a $770 million funding injection or cuts are coming at the CTA, Metra and Pace. Legislators also failed a push for more renewable energy sources, like solar and wind. In the power department, Illinoisans served by ComEd will see a nearly 11% increase on their utility bills come July 1. Democrats seem overjoyed with the allegedly balanced budget bill, which is nearly 4% more than the current year's. However, it appears to be stuffed with spending that the state can't afford. One estimate is that since Gov. JB Pritzker took office in 2019, Democrats have jacked up state spending by $15 billion. That totals about $1,170 more per resident every year. Something to remember next April 15. Three Lake County Democratic state senators — Julie Morrison of Lake Forest, Mary Edley Allen of Libertyville and Adriane Johnson of Buffalo Grove — voted for the budget bills. Their Democratic counterparts in the Illinois House — Rita Mayfield of Gurnee, Laura Faver Dias of Grayslake, Bob Morgan of Deerfield, Daniel Didech of Buffalo Grove and Nabella Syed of Palatine — also were all in on the whopping budget bill. Legislative Republicans voted against the measure. Their excuse for having to vote in favor of the budget, they maintain, is because of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. Pritzker, too, blamed the president, pointing to Trump's tariff policies. 'In a year where limited revenue and shifting federal support presented real challenges, we passed a budget that aligns with our core values and the needs of Illinois families,' Morrison commented in a statement after her vote. 'At a time when chaos from the federal administration is causing uncertainty and fear within our communities, Illinois presented a compassionate budget that reflects our priorities and values, including supporting the working middle class and those seeking quality education,' Edley Allen said in a statement, echoing other county lawmakers' stances. Didn't hear of any sightings of President Trump or his minions in Springfield last week, twisting arms to vote for the bloated state budget. Lawmakers can try to blame an obvious scapegoat. They are accountable only to themselves for their votes for a record Illinois budget.
CBS News
a day ago
- Business
- CBS News
Mayor Johnson says there have been "conversations" around tax on wealthy for Chicago transit funding
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday that he is hopeful lawmakers in Springfield will reach a transit deal before the Chicago Transit Authority hits a fiscal cliff. When asked about how to raise revenue, Mayor Johnson suggested a tax on the wealthy. "There's been some conversations about a millionaires' tax and other forms of progressive taxation that challenges the ultra-rich to pay their fair share," Johnson said. "I think that it's important that, you know, we come up with solutions that are sustainable, and that they don't overwhelm, you know, the pocketbooks of working people." This past weekend just before a crucial Saturday night deadline, Illinois state lawmakers passed a $55.2 billion state budget plan for the next federal year. But while the Illinois Senate advanced a measure to overhaul and provide hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for the Chicago area's mass transit system, the Illinois House didn't take it up before adjourning its spring session. Transit officials have said the Regional Transportation Authority system is facing a $771 million budget deficit in 2026, and if state lawmakers don't come up with that funding by this summer, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace must start laying out plans for service cuts of up to 40% for next year. To fund transit, Democratic lawmakers in Springfield called for a $1.50 tax on deliveries like Amazon, Grubhub, and Uber Eats, a 10% tax on rideshare trips, and add a new tax to charge electric vehicles. A surcharge on tolls has also been suggested. Mayor Johnson did not comment on the other revenue ideas floated by Illinois lawmakers during eth Spring Session. While the Chicago area's mass transit systems are funded through the end of the year, and there will likely be a fall veto session that could provide another shot at an 11th-hour rescue, transportation officials said without funding guarantees for 2026 in place by this summer, they'll have to start laying out the specific cuts next week to prepare for any potential service reductions next year. The CTA has said without the minimum funding it is seeking from the state, it would be forced to eliminate some or all service on at least four of its eight rail lines, close or dramatically reduce service at more than 50 rail stations, and eliminate 74 of 127 bus routes starting next year. The CTA has not yet said which specific 'L' and bus lines and 'L' stops would be affected. Meanwhile, Metra has said it would have to eliminate all early morning and late evening trains, reduce weekday train service to one train per hour on each route, and cut weekend train service to one train every two hours on each route. Pace would be forced to eliminate all weekend service and all weekday service after 8 p.m. contributed to this report.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois tolls could go up by 50 cents in Villivalam's transit proposal
CHICAGO — State lawmakers met Thursday to discuss how to avoid a large public transit budget shortfall and the plan that was discussed could mean toll increases and public charging station fees for electric vehicles. Facing a $770 million budgetary gap in 2026 due to the expiration of Federal COVID-19 grant funding, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) has warned riders could see significant service cuts soon, if the shortfall is not addressed. Illinois lawmakers debate plan to overcome $770 million CTA budget shortfall On Thursday, State Sen. Ram Villivalam presented a plan to the Senate Transportation Committee that he says could help prevent Chicago-area transit agencies from going over the edge. The proposed legislation would create the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, which would shift oversight of the CTA, Metra and Pace from the Regional Transit Authority to a new 20-member board. IDOT: Drivers taking Kennedy Expressway from downtown to O'Hare can use express lanes again starting Saturday The plan would cover the pending fiscal cliff, but agencies say even more money is needed to make long-term changes to transit systems. The bill, if passed, would also create a unified fare system that would provide unarmed staff for customer service assistance at stations and on trains, and develop a law enforcement task force with a regional safety strategy in mind. The revenue proposals in Villivalam's plan would include toll increases up to 50 cents, a public electric vehicle charging fee of 6 cents per kilowatt hour, and the extension of the Real Estate Transfer Tax and rideshare fee to suburban Cook County and the collar counties. Negotiations on Villivalam's plan are ongoing with some changes possible. State lawmakers now have until Saturday at midnight to pass a transit budget plan, otherwise, service cuts could begin to take place. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Latest transit proposal would hike tolls, tax ride shares to avoid $771 million fiscal cliff
SPRINGFIELD — After months of negotiations amid warnings of potentially drastic service cuts, Illinois lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill they said addresses the expected $771 million financial shortfall for Chicago-area public transit with proposals that include a 50-cent hike on Illinois toll roads and an additional tax on ride sharing services. 'The funding mechanism we put forward, with estimates, gets us above the fiscal cliff amount,' Democratic Sen. Ram Villivalam of Chicago, chair of the committee covering transportation, said. 'The goal is to ensure that we're funding a system not for tomorrow, not for next year but for decades to come.' Key labor organizations were quick to question the proposal introduced Thursday in the Senate, citing concerns over the long-term viability of the funding streams. Also voicing opposition were suburban officials who said the bills put the interests of mass transit users, most of them in Chicago, above those of their constituents. Transit agencies have said services would be slashed if legislators don't come up with funding to plug the budget shortfall expected when COVID-19 relief funding runs out at the end of this year. With the spring legislative session set to end this weekend, agencies have said they will need to start planning for those cuts soon, though lawmakers could take up the issue to later in the year. The bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday has similarities with a House proposal a day earlier that include replacing the Regional Transportation Authority with an entity called the Northern Illinois Transit Authority that would be given with broad planning responsibilities. Only the Senate version, however, offered funding proposals. The House version of the bill passed out of the chamber's executive committee by an 8-4 vote on Thursday and was scheduled to go before the full chamber for a vote despite questions about the lack of financing. Concerns also were raised about how the legislation could jeopardize the bonding authority for the Chicago Transit Authority to see through its planned extension of the Red Line. The Senate revenue proposals, which include transit agency staff cuts in addition to an increase on toll roads, would not fully cover the $1.5 billion that some transit advocates say is needed to transform Chicago-area public transportation, Villivalam told reporters, though he later added a final estimate on how much the proposals would raise is not yet known. The legislation did not come to a vote in the Senate committee. The bill would require the revamped transit governing board, NITA, to make cuts that could include layoffs. It mandates $10 million in transit service-related savings and $20.1 million in savings on labor, which the bill suggests would come from changes in employee headcounts and position types. Those changes have previously been suggested by the RTA. A key provision allows the transit board to impose a surcharge of 50 cents on roads operated by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. The tax would be capped at $1 per vehicle per day, according to the legislation. The bill also includes a 10% tax on rideshare trips in Chicago, suburban Cook County, or the collar counties. The Senate proposal also asks for $16.8 million in savings from property and real estate. The savings would need to be realized in NITA's budget for the fiscal year beginning in October 2026. The bill also includes a real estate transfer tax in the collar counties and suburban Cook County. In Cook County, half of the revenues from that tax would go toward CTA pension payments, with leftover funds going to transit operations. The other half would go toward a fund designed to encourage transit-oriented development that is designed to boost ridership and create walkable communities and commercial corridors. Taxes levied in the collar counties would go entirely toward that development fund. Interest earned on money in the state's road fund would also need to go toward public transit construction projects, according to the bill. Labor leaders argued the funding proposals wouldn't provide long-term security for the transit systems. 'We strongly oppose any transit governance reform legislation that lacks a dedicated and sustainable revenue source,' said Marc Poulos, executive director of the labor-management group for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. Tim Drea, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, said in a statement that the two legislative proposals '[kick] the can down the road and [set] our state up for a future fiscal crisis.' The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241, which represents CTA bus operators, opposes the Senate bill. Representatives from the collar counties pushed back against several of the revenue ideas Thursday. 'The Senate plan steals $72 million dollars in DuPage tax revenue, imposes a local real estate transfer tax with no oversight from the County, and taxes suburban commuters,' DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy said in a letter opposing the bill Thursday. 'If passed as written, DuPage County will be forced into massive layoffs, crippling our ability to provide safe streets and neighborhoods for our nearly 1 million residents.' Republican Sen. Donald DeWitte of suburban St. Charles said the Senate bill subsidizes mass transit in Chicago at the expense of the suburbs, citing the tollway tax proposal and other measures. 'The suburbs get taxed, Chicago gets control, and that's outrageous,' he said. Like the House bill introduced Wednesday, the Senate version would remake the board of the RTA, renamed as the NITA, with five appointments from the governor in addition to existing appointments from the mayor of Chicago, the Cook County Board President and the collar counties. The bill also calls for a unified fare system between all Chicago area transit agencies by 2030. In a statement Thursday, RTA spokesperson Tina Fassett Smith said the agency was reviewing the Senate legislation but again stressed the need to get something done soon. 'The region's transit system serves more than 1.2 million rides each day,' Fassett Smith said. 'Having funding certainty by May 31 is essential to ensure CTA, Metra, and Pace can continue to provide safe, reliable, affordable transportation for all.' Representatives for CTA, Metra and Pace did not immediately provide comment Thursday. Funding for the proposed CTA Red Line extension south of 95th Street was one point of discussion in a hearing on the House version of the bill Thursday. The multibillion-dollar project would extend the train line south to 130th Street and add four stations. The project, discussed for more than 50 years, has the potential to be a major investment in the city's Far South Side, even as it has meant acquiring dozens of residents' homes. After Thursday's House hearing, state Rep. Marty Moylan, a Des Plaines Democrat who heads the House Transportation Committee, said the removal of the CTA's bonding authority from the bill was an oversight and should be addressed with another amendment. 'This is a major program that's going to redo the whole face of transit and you've got to look at the greater good, which is we're going to have an operating transit system, which is going to have reforms and operating more efficiently and safe so that people can actually ride the system,' Moylan said of the transit reforms as a whole. Among the issues discussed on the House bill was the proposed system-wide law enforcement task force. Led by the Cook County sheriff's office, the system would also include Metra and Chicago police officers, as well as Illinois State Police personnel. Rep. John Cabello, a Republican from Machesney Park who has also worked as a police detective, said at the hearing he'd prefer to have the task force run by law enforcement throughout the newly-proposal transit system. 'I'd rather have Metra police…take care of the whole thing because their police department goes through the whole of those counties,' Cabello said after the hearing. Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, a Chicago Democrat and the main House sponsor of the bill, indicated she's open to discussions about that but also noted how the Cook County sheriff's office has relationships outside the county. 'They currently have a relationship with Metra on dispatch and so they have some relationships outside of Cook County and they're centralized in that way,' Delgado said. 'So, that's where the thought process came from.'
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Latest transit proposal would hike tolls, tax ride shares to avoid $771 million fiscal cliff
SPRINGFIELD — After months of negotiations amid warnings of potentially drastic service cuts, Illinois lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill they said addresses the expected $771 million financial shortfall for Chicago-area public transit with proposals that include a 50-cent hike on Illinois toll roads and an additional tax on ride sharing services. 'The funding mechanism we put forward, with estimates, gets us above the fiscal cliff amount,' Democratic Sen. Ram Villivalam of Chicago, chair of the committee covering transportation, said. 'The goal is to ensure that we're funding a system not for tomorrow, not for next year but for decades to come.' Key labor organizations were quick to question thep proposal introduced Thursday in the Senate, citing concerns over the long-term viability of the funding streams. Also voicing opposition were suburban officials who said the bills put the interests of mass transit users, most of them in Chicago, above those of their constituents. Transit agencies have said services would be slashed if legislators don't come up with funding to plug the budget shortfall expected when COVID-19 relief funding runs out at the end of this year. With the spring legislative session set to end this weekend, agencies have said they will need to start planning for those cuts soon, though lawmakers could take up the issue to later in the year. The bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday has similarities with a House proposal a day earlier that include replacing the Regional Transportation Authority with an entity called the Northern Illinois Transit Authority that would be given with broad planning responsibilities. Only the Senate version, however, offered funding proposals. The House version of the bill passed out of the chamber's executive committee by an 8-4 vote on Thursday and was scheduled to go before the full chamber for a vote despite questions about the lack of financing. Concerns also were raised about how the legislation could jeopardize the bonding authority for the Chicago Transit Authority to see through its planned extension of the Red Line. The Senate revenue proposals, which include transit agency staff cuts in addition to an increase on toll roads, would not fully cover the $1.5 billion that some transit advocates say is needed to transform Chicago-area public transportation, Villivalam told reporters, though he later added a final estimate on how much the proposals would raise is not yet known. The legislation did not come to a vote in the Senate committee. The bill would require the revamped transit governing board, NITA, to make cuts that could include layoffs. It mandates $10 million in transit service-related savings and $20.1 million in savings on labor, which the bill suggests would come from changes in employee headcounts and position types. Those changes have previously been suggested by the RTA. A key provision allows the transit board to impose a surcharge of 50 cents on roads operated by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. The tax would be capped at $1 per vehicle per day, according to the legislation. The bill also includes a 10% tax on rideshare trips in Chicago, suburban Cook County, or the collar counties. The Senate proposal also asks for $16.8 million in savings from property and real estate. The savings would need to be realized in NITA's budget for the fiscal year beginning in October 2026. The bill also includes a real estate transfer tax in the collar counties and suburban Cook County. In Cook County, half of the revenues from that tax would go toward CTA pension payments, with leftover funds going to transit operations. The other half would go toward a fund designed to encourage transit-oriented development that is designed to boost ridership and create walkable communities and commercial corridors. Taxes levied in the collar counties would go entirely toward that development fund. Interest earned on money in the state's road fund would also need to go toward public transit construction projects, according to the bill. Labor leaders argued the funding proposals wouldn't provide long-term security for the transit systems. 'We strongly oppose any transit governance reform legislation that lacks a dedicated and sustainable revenue source,' said Marc Poulos, executive director of the labor-management group for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. Tim Drea, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, said in a statement that the two legislative proposals '[kick] the can down the road and [set] our state up for a future fiscal crisis.' The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241, which represents CTA bus operators, opposes the Senate bill. Representatives from the collar counties pushed back against several of the revenue ideas Thursday. 'The Senate plan steals $72 million dollars in DuPage tax revenue, imposes a local real estate transfer tax with no oversight from the County, and taxes suburban commuters,' DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy said in a letter opposing the bill Thursday. 'If passed as written, DuPage County will be forced into massive layoffs, crippling our ability to provide safe streets and neighborhoods for our nearly 1 million residents.' Republican Sen. Donald DeWitte of suburban St. Charles said the Senate bill subsidizes mass transit in Chicago at the expense of the suburbs, citing the tollway tax proposal and other measures. 'The suburbs get taxed, Chicago gets control, and that's outrageous,' he said. Like the House bill introduced Wednesday, the Senate version would remake the board of the RTA, renamed as the NITA, with five appointments from the governor in addition to existing appointments from the mayor of Chicago, the Cook County Board President and the collar counties. The bill also calls for a unified fare system between all Chicago area transit agencies by 2030. In a statement Thursday, RTA spokesperson Tina Fassett Smith said the agency was reviewing the Senate legislation but again stressed the need to get something done soon. 'The region's transit system serves more than 1.2 million rides each day,' Fassett Smith said. 'Having funding certainty by May 31 is essential to ensure CTA, Metra, and Pace can continue to provide safe, reliable, affordable transportation for all.' Representatives for CTA, Metra and Pace did not immediately provide comment Thursday. Funding for the proposed CTA Red Line extension south of 95th Street was one point of discussion in a hearing on the House version of the bill Thursday. The multibillion-dollar project would extend the train line south to 130th Street and add four stations. The project, discussed for more than 50 years, has the potential to be a major investment in the city's Far South Side, even as it has meant acquiring dozens of residents' homes. After Thursday's House hearing, state Rep. Marty Moylan, a Des Plaines Democrat who heads the House Transportation Committee, said the removal of the CTA's bonding authority from the bill was an oversight and should be addressed with another amendment. 'This is a major program that's going to redo the whole face of transit and you've got to look at the greater good, which is we're going to have an operating transit system, which is going to have reforms and operating more efficiently and safe so that people can actually ride the system,' Moylan said of the transit reforms as a whole. Among the issues discussed on the House bill was the proposed system-wide law enforcement task force. Led by the Cook County sheriff's office, the system would also include Metra and Chicago police officers, as well as Illinois State Police personnel. Rep. John Cabello, a Republican from Machesney Park who has also worked as a police detective, said at the hearing he'd prefer to have the task force run by law enforcement throughout the newly-proposal transit system. 'I'd rather have Metra police…take care of the whole thing because their police department goes through the whole of those counties,' Cabello said after the hearing. Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, a Chicago Democrat and the main House sponsor of the bill, indicated she's open to discussions about that but also noted how the Cook County sheriff's office has relationships outside the county. 'They currently have a relationship with Metra on dispatch and so they have some relationships outside of Cook County and they're centralized in that way,' Delgado said. 'So, that's where the thought process came from.'
