Chicago must clean up before they try to fleece the rest of the state.

Chicago must clean up their financial act

I just went to the City of Chicago for the first time in many years. I have been to the suburbs recently, the first time inside the city itself in a long time. I rode the Stephenson Expressway to the Day Ryan to the Kennedy to get to a church on West Montrose Avenue in the city.

Even on a Saturday the city is as I remember it. Excessive traffic, expressways crawling at 35 mph, on street parking due to a lack of off street parking, busses, the elevated, crazy drivers, apartments, houses, all close together.

For years it was the goal of many to get a little more land for their houses. This would leave out many parts of the city of Chicago. The land was not allocated that way. Even the neighborhoods by Midway Airport had limited land.

Through all of this it amazes me that I read that the public transportation system is $200 million in the red and will be $600 million n the red next year. Why is this?

The City of Chicago constantly spends more than it has. Chicago has many of the highest taxes in Illinois. But that is not enough. They are constantly hitting up the suburbs and out state for more cash.

There is a proposed Veto session coming for the Illinois legislature. Governor Pritzker, you know, the guy who bought a mansion and took the toilets out to devalue the building reducing the property to be paid on said property. While Pritzker is saying there is not enough money, and Mayor Brandon Johnson is saying they will make the rich pay their fair share, he is quiet on this issue.

Below, see a list of proposed tax increases to be done statewide to bail out Chicago.

Total proposed take: ~$6.71 BILLION per year across 23 separate hikes (yes, twenty-three).

Transportation-Related Tax & Fee Hikes (~$2.23B)

• RTA Sales Tax Increase — $468M

• Tollway Surcharge — $429M

• Tax on Vehicle Sales — $334M

• Speed Cameras in the RTA Region — $266.7M

• Motor Fuel Sales Tax — $171M

• Rideshare Tax — $169.4M

• Motor Vehicle Registration Surcharge — $130.7M

• Road Fund Reallocation — $100M

• Commercial Parking Lot Fee — $80M

• Motor Vehicle Sales Surcharge — $60M

• Auto Rental Fees — $12.77M

• EV Charging Fee — $3.2M

• Auto Lease Sales Tax — $2.12M

• Sales Tax on E-Bikes/E-Motos/E-Scooters — $1.5M

Non-Transportation-Related Tax & Fee Hikes (~$4.49B)

• “Sales Tax Modernization” — $2.7B

• Payroll Tax — $688M

• Statewide Amusement Tax — $500M

• “Billionaire” Tax — $148M

• Estate Tax Changes — $135M

• Retail Delivery Fee — $102.87M

• Real Estate Transfer Tax — $82M

• Large Event Ticket Surcharge — $75M

• Hotel Tax Expansion to RTA Region — $54.2M

Before Chicago can ask out state for more money, before Pritzker can demand out state help out because they will use Chicago Services, Chicago must clean up the financial mess and realize the errors of their ways!