Matt Paprocki
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Cook County’s tax delay exposes Illinois’ worsening business environmentNov 22, 2025 1:30 pm - Chicago’s and Cook County’s tax bases are eroding. The cost of the government keeps climbing.The biggest weak point is in the business sector. Commercial property values in the Loop fell by 7.2% during the past year. The taxes their owners will pay dropped by more than $129 million.
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Suburban businesses should beware new taxes disguised as ‘solutions’Oct 25, 2025 12:30 pm - Suburban business owners long have depended on and contributed to Chicago’s economy. Three major proposals could shape the economic landscape before the year ends: a tax-laden fix for the transit deficit, a proposed business head tax and new levies on the tech sector.
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Congress takes steps to help restore dignity of work in IllinoisSep 27, 2025 12:52 pm - For too long, government policies have made it too easy not to work, stifling people’s growth, confidence and ability to prosper. It also has limited the labor pool for businesses.
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Blame high taxes, excessive regulations for businesses fleeing IllinoisAug 30, 2025 12:45 pm - Illinois has a remarkable entrepreneurial spirit, but too many of our businesses don’t stay. In the past several years, companies including Takeda, Caterpillar, Highland Ventures and Tyson have all fled Illinois’ suburbs and moved their headquarters out of state.
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3 big headwinds for Illinois businesses this summerAug 02, 2025 12:22 pm - Summer is a season of opportunity for Illinois businesses, but this year familiar challenges are reemerging that threaten to burden suburban businesses with higher costs and greater uncertainty.
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Pritzker wants 3rd term, but he’s already made Illinois much more expensiveJul 05, 2025 1:33 pm - Gov. JB Pritzker recently announced his intention to seek a third term, the first time for an Illinois governor in more than 40 years. Pritzker’s tenure has been marked by record-setting spending and tax, fee hikes that have punished working families and Illinois businesses.
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Pritzker’s record-high budget: More spending, more taxesJun 07, 2025 12:57 pm - As a business leader, would you approve in under 24 hours a 3,400-page annual plan you had just read for the first time? What if the provisions changed two hours before the deadline? Probably not. Yet that’s exactly how Illinois lawmakers approach the end of every legislative session when passing the state budget.
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Illinoisans are sick of new taxes; reject payroll taxMay 09, 2025 11:37 am - As new tariffs threaten to push up prices, Illinois’ punishing tax climate already is stretching many residents’ and businesses’ budgets.
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Cook County’s tax system is driving businesses, residents awayApr 12, 2025 1:45 pm - To the surprise of no one, Cook County property taxes went up again.
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Pritzker’s budget sleight of hand ignores Illinois’ fiscal problemsMar 15, 2025 1:01 pm - While Gov. JB Pritzker points fingers at Washington, D.C., as the source of Illinois’ problems, his budgeting tells a different story, says Matt Paprocki, president/CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute.