[vasillalov]

....
I am not afraid of paying taxes. I want to pay taxes because I do not want to be surrounded by stupid or sick people and because I do not want to live under a rock or in a cave. Taxes are good IF used appropriately and accordingly. What I am absolutely infuriated about the tax situation in IL is that we are trying to fill a bottomless pit created by corrupt politicians and the only way they are doing that is by raising taxes. Have you looked at your water and sewer bill lately? We just got a 25% hike for 2019 and the proceeds are specifically designed to go towards that bottomless pit called Illinois Pension Fund. Yeah, we are also supposed to see 5% annual increases on top of that every year till 2021. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

At the same time, I've not seen a single decent plan in IL for economic development, improved education, improved infrastructure, incentives to start business, incentives to build a house or build something new. THAT is the maddening part. I love Chicago and everything it has to offer. I hate the insane taxes and the overall inability to show anything for them. I hate how the roads are all totally screwed up here. I pay taxes on 2 cars. I pay gas for 2 cars. Chicago has one of the highest gas prices in the contiguous 48. Yet, I can't find a single 1 mile stretch of road in Chicagoland where there are not potholes or otherwise rough pavement.

You think registration taxes are high with this $1000.00 random charge for EVs but it could be a lot worse. Other states have registration fees based on property value. If IL implements something like that we could ALL end up paying a lot more.

I don't want to move to another state. All of my friends are here. The Midwest has a lot of race tracks in relative proximity to Chicago. Chicago has great food, great entertainment and a lot of diverse neighborhoods to name a few things on the positive side. The state politics drive me nuts though.

P.S.:
Time to legalize weed in IL! That's billions of dollars of revenue. If used correctly, it could fix a lot of the issues we are dealing with right now...

P.P.S.:
It's only going to get worse folks. We live in an ever shrinking world, with ever decreasing resources and ever increasing demands. Very soon we'll be paying tax to breathe clean air and drink clean water. It's coming...

 

[antilock]

In 2010 Mayor Daley sold the city parking rights to LAZ parking for 1.15b on a 99 year lease. However, after just 8 years, LAZ made 850 million, and are expected to breakeven by 2020, yet they have 90 YEARS of profit to go!?!?!

That's why I'm happy his brother lost the mayoral race this year. Since Chicago is stuck with the most expensive parking meters in America now, my feeling was "hopefully anybody but Daley gets elected." I really miss the days before Daley screwed things up when you could feed the parking meters with coins, instead of the credit cards you're stuck with today.

 

[DonL]

Shortly after moving to Phoenix, a new ¼% sales tax increase was proposed... It was approved. I'll be damned if the money wasn't actually spent on infrastructure, just as promised.

:laugh:

 

[DonL]

Alternately, I am fine with reducing out $700 billion budget on military spending by $25b to pay for the gas tax elimination. I am sure America will still be plenty safe with only a $675 billion dollar military budget.

But... but... some general won't get his spiffy fighter plane. And some admiral won't get his whiz-bang littoral craft. You're a damn monster!!!!

My folks are planning on retiring in Michigan. When Michigan looks better than your current state, you know something is wrong.

Yeah, no kidding, dude, I was telling Mrs. DonL the other day... wait...

:what:







:laugh:

We have cheap prop taxes in DEN- around $1,200 a year. However, my 796 sq ft house is $365,000. So it all balances out one way or another in us getting f'd.

That's getting insane. It's not California insane, but it's getting insane. :screwy:

....
Have you looked at your water and sewer bill lately? We just got a 25% hike for 2019 and the proceeds are specifically designed to go towards that bottomless pit called Illinois Pension Fund. Yeah, we are also supposed to see 5% annual increases on top of that every year till 2021. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

It'll never happen. Maybe 10% will find its way into the pension fund. Maybe 10% will find its way to infrastructure repair and improvements. And that's only so that some assclown politician can go on the record and say that they're "doing something to help the fine people of Illinois" and stump for a never ending election cycle. The rest will be washed by patronage, graft, and corruption into slush funds buried in deep, dark corners of the general fund, and when somebody goes looking for it...

 

[Jettavr666]

....
I am not afraid of paying taxes. I want to pay taxes because I do not want to be surrounded by stupid or sick people and because I do not want to live under a rock or in a cave. Taxes are good IF used appropriately and accordingly. What I am absolutely infuriated about the tax situation in IL is that we are trying to fill a bottomless pit created by corrupt politicians and the only way they are doing that is by raising taxes. Have you looked at your water and sewer bill lately? We just got a 25% hike for 2019 and the proceeds are specifically designed to go towards that bottomless pit called Illinois Pension Fund. Yeah, we are also supposed to see 5% annual increases on top of that every year till 2021. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

At the same time, I've not seen a single decent plan in IL for economic development, improved education, improved infrastructure, incentives to start business, incentives to build a house or build something new. THAT is the maddening part. I love Chicago and everything it has to offer. I hate the insane taxes and the overall inability to show anything for them. I hate how the roads are all totally screwed up here. I pay taxes on 2 cars. I pay gas for 2 cars. Chicago has one of the highest gas prices in the contiguous 48. Yet, I can't find a single 1 mile stretch of road in Chicagoland where there are not potholes or otherwise rough pavement.

You think registration taxes are high with this $1000.00 random charge for EVs but it could be a lot worse. Other states have registration fees based on property value. If IL implements something like that we could ALL end up paying a lot more.

I don't want to move to another state. All of my friends are here. The Midwest has a lot of race tracks in relative proximity to Chicago. Chicago has great food, great entertainment and a lot of diverse neighborhoods to name a few things on the positive side. The state politics drive me nuts though.

P.S.:
Time to legalize weed in IL! That's billions of dollars of revenue. If used correctly, it could fix a lot of the issues we are dealing with right now...

P.P.S.:
It's only going to get worse folks. We live in an ever shrinking world, with ever decreasing resources and ever increasing demands. Very soon we'll be paying tax to breathe clean air and drink clean water. It's coming...

EXACTLY!!!! people that dont live here have no idea. Its cheaper to park in NYC than it is in chicago for example.

The pension situation is really a huge cluster than has no real solution, outside of the city declaring bankruptcy. there was even an agreement on it a few years ago that would have drastically helped, but it was struck down by the Illinois supreme court. As for bankruptcy, for a world city like Chicago, its only a last resort option. the blowback of such a move would be huge.

As for weed, YES!!! PLEASE legalize it already! I dont partake, but we need the tax revenue.

 

[Crispyfritter]

Oh my gosh. TCL got old all of a sudden. I bet you people are a blast at parties.

:laugh:

Chris

 

[spockcat]

Oh my gosh. TCL got old all of a sudden. I bet you people are a blast at parties.

:laugh:

Chris

Parties? I'm in bed by 9:30.

 

[masa8888]

We have started looking at larger houses for our family of 5 (4 bed room/3 bath types). We found one just under 3k SF, 3 car garage, nice plot of land etc. 300k give or take. Yearly taxes are $12,000/year!!

We looked at buying a house on the river that closer to our current house but taxes on that were 15k/yr!!!

That is absolutely absurd. I pay less in annual real property taxes than that despite the assessed value of the property being triple that.

What makes it especially painful is that now tax payers can only deduct up to $10k in taxes under the Tax Reform Bill. So that's even less incentive for someone living in IL to buy anything more than a very modest home.

Seems like IL's solution to its dwindling population is to keep increasing taxes on the remaining tax payers until there won't be anyone left to tax.

 

[Burnette]

Ha!

Oh my gosh. TCL got old all of a sudden. I bet you people are a blast at parties.

:laugh:

Chris

If you read through the thread, members are asking for lower taxes and weed. So yeah, they probably are a blast at parties :laugh:

 

[AZGolf]

Parties? I'm in bed by 9:30.

WHOA, look at who's bragging about still being a night owl.

Seems like IL's solution to its dwindling population is to keep increasing taxes on the remaining tax payers until there won't be anyone left to tax.

You know, my standard activity on TCL is to take whatever somebody posts, and try to find a way to tell them they are wrong, or that it's not as bad as they think. State governments can be a real thorn, though. It's hard to picture a positive outcome when you have growing pension liabilities at the same time as a dwindling population in a time when your state is already higher tax than other states. I feel like governments can have an event horizon where things get progressively worse the closer they get to doom, but it's still possible to save yourself up until the point where you cross the event horizon of the black hole of debt, unfunded liabilities, and population shrinkage. I'll be honest, I don't know anything about Illinois state government, but if its really so bad, then I feel for any of you that live and work there and may be trying to decide if you go down with the ship or what.

In a worst case, the population exodus also tanks small home values, putting more homeowners underwater and making it harder for them to leave, or at least hard to leave with their credit score intact. Houses then being foreclosed on further drag down neighborhood values, and it's like the 2007-09 housing crisis, but on a local level where there can be no bailout of the type that is possible when the crisis is on a national level. Good luck, Illinois. I hope the internet is exaggerating how bad the problem is.

 

[Crispyfritter]

If you read through the thread, members are asking for lower taxes and weed. So yeah, they probably are a blast at parties :laugh:

Oh, I read through the thread. And if anybody should be encouraging someone to read through the thread, its probably not you. :laugh:

Chris

 

[Egz]

So, basically what I got from this thread is there is no reason to live in Illinois.

 

[Burnette]

Ha!

Oh, I read through the thread. And if anybody should be encouraging someone to read through the thread, its probably not you. :laugh:

Chris

You're so right, my bad, I was laser focused on seven grand :laugh:

For penance for my flub I had to do laundry for all of the TCL posters here. Turns out that it was mostly thongs, so it wasn't too hard to do!

This thread did make me appreciate how good I have it in NC.

Hey Illinois, quit sticking it to my TCL homies!

 

[AZGolf]

Good luck, Illinois. I hope the internet is exaggerating how bad the problem is.

Well shoot, look who's sitting in 50th place of the 50 states for fiscal health. :facepalm: Good luck, Illinois. I honestly had no idea.

Summary

On the basis of its solvency in five separate categories, Illinois ranks 50th among the US states for fiscal health. Illinois has between 0.55 and 1.13 times the cash needed to cover short-term obligations, well below the US average. Revenues only cover 92 percent of expenses, with a worsening net position of –$450 per capita. In the long run, Illinois’s negative net asset ratio of 2.86 points to the use of debt and large unfunded obligations. Long-term liabilities are higher than the national average, at 330 percent of total assets, or $12,816 per capita. Total unfunded pension liabilities that are guaranteed to be paid are $445.79 billion, or 67 percent of state personal income. OPEB are $51.90 billion, or 8 percent of state personal income.

 

[CTK]

WHOA, look at who's bragging about still being a night owl.



You know, my standard activity on TCL is to take whatever somebody posts, and try to find a way to tell them they are wrong, or that it's not as bad as they think. State governments can be a real thorn, though. It's hard to picture a positive outcome when you have growing pension liabilities at the same time as a dwindling population in a time when your state is already higher tax than other states. I feel like governments can have an event horizon where things get progressively worse the closer they get to doom, but it's still possible to save yourself up until the point where you cross the event horizon of the black hole of debt, unfunded liabilities, and population shrinkage. I'll be honest, I don't know anything about Illinois state government, but if its really so bad, then I feel for any of you that live and work there and may be trying to decide if you go down with the ship or what.

In a worst case, the population exodus also tanks small home values, putting more homeowners underwater and making it harder for them to leave, or at least hard to leave with their credit score intact. Houses then being foreclosed on further drag down neighborhood values, and it's like the 2007-09 housing crisis, but on a local level where there can be no bailout of the type that is possible when the crisis is on a national level. Good luck, Illinois. I hope the internet is exaggerating how bad the problem is.

So basically, Detroit?

And yea, Illinois is in a death spiral. I think the only thing that can break it is a combo of bankruptcy and a complete draining of its political swamp. It's a shamelessly corrupt state.

 

[The_Real_Stack]

So, basically what I got from this thread is there is no reason to live in Illinois.

Yes and no.

I moved here solely for my wife, who is from here, and basically hated it.

However:

-lots and lots of industry here, I can move around lots of big companies seamlessly
-very very good public education in the right neighborhoods/suburbs
-compared to the NYC metro area and the various CA metro areas, the COL is not THAT bad
-Chicago as a city is better than most others when it comes to cleanliness, stuff to do, food, experiences, etc
-if you live in a close-in suburb, it is very possible to live in walkable areas, have a great QOL, etc, even though your house is probably fairly small
-cheap flights out of OHare plus it's central to get anywhere you want to go
-demographically desirable in the right areas (our area is all young/middle aged professional types, not a lot of hillbillys, etc)


Really, my biggest gripes are:
-****ty property taxes/relatively high housing costs (1700 sq ft 3br house worth $375k and I pay like $9k in taxes)
-no fun roads
-no real ocean

The corruption and BS, yeah, it sucks, but whatever. And I grew up in CT, so I'm kinda used to the high-tax BS.

 

[Volkl]

So basically, Detroit?

And yea, Illinois is in a death spiral. I think the only thing that can break it is a combo of bankruptcy and a complete draining of its political swamp. It's a shamelessly corrupt state.

It was incredible moving out of Illinois to another blue state. I've lived in MN and now WA since leaving IL. It has been amazing seeing the difference.

 

[HI SPEED]

Totally anecdotal but I have had 4-5 friends move to the Chicago area in the past few years. Despite the cold weather, the high taxes, and the murders it is a thriving area that is very much on the rise.

I don't know what the total numbers are for population rising/falling, but it has gotten on the map as a viable city for a lot of young people in a way that wasn't true when I was growing up.

It is a very nice place to be if you can afford to live downtown.

 

[troyguitar]

Totally anecdotal but I have had 4-5 friends move to the Chicago area in the past few years. Despite the cold weather, the high taxes, and the murders it is a thriving area that is very much on the rise.

I don't know what the total numbers are for population rising/falling, but it has gotten on the map as a viable city for a lot of young people in a way that wasn't true when I was growing up.

It is a very nice place to be if you can afford to live downtown.

IL and NY are both vampiric ****holes that suck the citizens of the state dry in order to support their one decent city. If you are not earning 6+ figures and owning property in the one city, you should not be in the state.

 

[NeverEnoughCars]

Parties? I'm in bed by 9:30.

Why so late?