Nearly $200 million worth of state capital improvement grants are earmarked for hundreds of projects throughout the suburbs.
Some grants are worth millions of dollars, while others are just a few thou.
Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com
Mar 10, 2021 2:13 PM
(The Center Square) – Federal taxpayers are set to send more than $10 billion to Illinois with a measure the U.S. House passed Wednesday.
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure.
“Thank you, members of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate, for responding to the needs of America to survive COVID-19,” Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said in a statement. “This financial relief is needed in Illinois to pay back billions of dollars we borrowed from the federal reserve that allowed us to cover the state’s health care bills as we fight our way through this pandemic.”
Since the Fair Tax Amendment was rejected last November, advocates are focusing their efforts toward building greater trust around the initiative and ensuring people across the state understand its purpose.
The Fair Tax Amendment would have introduced a progressive income tax to Illinois. The state currently mandates a flat income tax of 4.95 percent.
Illinois ranks eighth in the country for tax inequality, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Throughout the state, the lowest-income 20 percent contribute over 14.4 percent of total state and local taxes, while the richest 1 percent contribute just under 8 percent.
The amendment’s advocates fought for a graduated income tax to address tax inequality, a contributing factor to growing income and wealth gaps. Now, they’re assessing its failure and considering paths forward. Ann Courter, an issue specialist with the League of Women Voters, said the ballot initiative failed partly because people didn’t tr