MADELEINE DOUBEK 
REBOOT STAFF
JUL 7, 2015
Have you noticed yet there are tax increases looming?
If you haven’t, then it’s time to peer past the political personality clashes and get a good look at what’s coming.
If you happen to live in Chicago, you could easily be facing four or five tax increases.
Chicago just started imposing a 9 percent tax on audio and video streaming services including Netflix and Spotify. If you’re a minimum wage worker, that ought to take a nice bite out of the minimum wage increase to $10 an hour the city’s politicians were so pleased to give you.
Chicago and suburban Cook County residents could be paying a higher sales tax in short order as Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle tries to persuade a majority of county commissioners to put back on the one-cent increase she built her first campaign around dumping. Preckwinkle says she is pursuing the tax increase because she can’t get state lawmakers to sign off on her pension reform plan for the county.
Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is talking about a property tax hike of up to $250 million for public schools and, Crain’s Chicago Business notes, he could need at least another $328.6 million to cover Chicago police and fire pension funds, too. Property tax experts considered a range of options and projected the public safety pension funds could require tax hikes that ranged from $77 to $224 for the owner of a $250,000 home, depending on who it’s structured. Chicago is the biggest, but we know there are scores of other communities around Illinois with police and fire pension funds also in dire straits.
And then there’s Illinois. Perhaps you’ve been caught up in the bluster between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and you’ve been enjoying picking sides rather than picking apart the policy?
Well, pick at this: a tax increase sure seems to be baked into whatever resolution may come, whenever that might be.
Gov. Rauner’s budget plan needed another $2 billion in revenue. The Democrats’ plan needs at least $3 billion, Republicans would say it needs $4 billion. Rauner’s recent ad hit Madigan and the Democrats for turning to tax increases first. But be aware the consistent line from the governor’s office has been that Rauner is willing to consider tax increases (also known as “new revenue” because it sounds more politically palatable.) Rauner just wants some other items in exchange for signing off on increased taxes. Rich Miller of Capital Fax said there was talk of a one-percentage-point increase in the income tax rate to 4.75 percent for individuals.
The past two years, we’ve seen talk of shifting from flat to progressive income taxes that never came to pass and would require a constitutional change. We’ve seen a millionaires tax pushed by Madigan himself that also would set different rates for different incomes and, therefore, also require a constitutional change. We’ve heard talk from Rauner, during the campaign, about the need to modernize and impose new sales taxes on services like many other states do, but he’s been quiet about that since he won.
There was talk of making the 2011 temporary income tax increase permanent, from former Gov. Quinn himself, but the Democrats thought that could wait until after the election.
It’s after the election now. The ideal time for politicians to push a tax increase and hope you’re used to it before the next ballot comes your way.
If there is a big deal cut to end this stalemate and Rauner agrees to sign a tax increase in return for some other victories he can claim, and he muscles GOP lawmakers into putting up some votes up for the “new revenue,” too, well, then, if you’re a fed-up, broke and broken taxpayer, whom do you blame?
NEXT ARTICLE: Without budget, Munger says she’ll need court order to pay bills, Lisa Madigan tries to get it
[RECOMMENDED]
Miller: Bruce Rauner is skilled in making Dems the scapegoat for budget deadlock, government shutdown
Two Illinois lawmakers say “No paycheck for state employees, no paycheck for us.”
Emergency budget fails in House
7 painful things that could happen if the Illinois government enters a shutdown
Want to tell your elected officials what you think of the state of government in Illinois? Use our Sound Off tool.
Madeleine Doubek is Reboot’s chief operating officer. She previously managed the Daily Herald newsroom. An award-winning journalist, Doubek served as the Daily Herald’s political writer and editor and led the paper’s project and investigative work. She believes in more of us taking charge of our state government. Read Doubek’s personal take on why she’s rebooting. You can find Reboot on Facebook and on Twitter @rebootillinois.