Riverdale, a small municipality of roughly 10,000 residents, is in trouble. In April of this year, Fitch Ratings downgraded Riverdale’s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from B‑ to CCC‑, citing reasons such as low margin for servicing obligation, weakened financial profile, negative general fund reserves, very limited liquidity, and deferral of pension spending. With Fitch’s downgrade,Continue reading “The Illinois municipality with the worst bond rating”
Category Archives: Taxation
The Rise and Regulation of Prediction Markets
The growing popularity among states to legalize sports gambling has led way to another growing phenomena, prediction markets. These markets—platforms where users trade on the outcome of future events—have transitioned from academic curiosities to a multi-billion dollar industry. The concept of participating in prediction markets is simple: a user pays a sum of money toContinue reading “The Rise and Regulation of Prediction Markets”
Hello NITA, Goodbye RTA
The Illinois General Assembly has adjourned from the Spring Legislative Session and one of the newest governmental entities that was created is the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA). Established under Public Act 104-0457, the NITA replaces the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) beginning on September 1st, 2026, and will oversee the three main transit entities – Continue reading “Hello NITA, Goodbye RTA”
Understanding and Analyzing Municipal Real Estate Transfer Taxes
Overview There are three things that are certain in life: birth, death, and taxes. While we don’t like paying them, they play an important role in helping fund public services, like police and fire departments, schools, and garbage collection. They can hit us from all corners, but one area of taxation where people seem toContinue reading “Understanding and Analyzing Municipal Real Estate Transfer Taxes”
A 10 Percent Reduction in Local Aid Would Be a Hit for Municipalities, But Problems Run Deeper
By: Christopher Ryan Crisanti The final two months of the General Assembly spring session normally shifts public conversation towards the upcoming fiscal year budget, with lawmakers needing to pass a budget based on the governor’s proposals. While economic activity seems to be picking up due to the COVID pandemic end in sight, state revenues haveContinue reading “A 10 Percent Reduction in Local Aid Would Be a Hit for Municipalities, But Problems Run Deeper”
Illinois’ GDP
A Look at the State’s GDP Performance Overview The state of Illinois is currently the sixth most populous state, is the economic engine of the Midwest, and has the fifth highest GDP in the Union. Moreover, Illinois’ economy is so big that is the equivalent to that of Switzerland. This blog provides a snapshot ofContinue reading “Illinois’ GDP”
Analyzing State Population Growth Among Various Income Tax Structures
Abstract While it was previously argued that gradual income taxation did not decrease population growth in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, some still remain fixated that graduated income taxation will result in an outmigration of individuals to other states. This brief study analyzes population growth for each state from 2010 to 2019 and then seeks toContinue reading “Analyzing State Population Growth Among Various Income Tax Structures”
Prairie State Policy 