The Illinois Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a case on the constitutionality of hospital tax exemptions involving Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. In this encore conversation, University of Illinois Law Professor John Colombo spoke about the arguments both sides are making in the case.
Champaign County voters will get a chance to say whether they want to raise their property tax rates to help the financially strapped county nursing home, or allow the county board to sell or otherwise dispose of the facility.
Champaign County Board members approved both questions for the April 4 ballot, during a more than four-hour special meeting on Tuesday night.
Proposals to raise local taxes were a mixed bag with voters in east-central Illinois. Voters approved school bond referendum in the Champaign and Paxton Buckley-Loda school districts, and said yes to sales tax hikes in Coles and Iroquois Counties. But a sales tax hike for Macon County and a property tax increase for the Maroa-Forsyth school district went down to defeat.
"Property taxes are our number one problem tax, our most uncompetitive tax. The General Assembly has already indicated they are willing to pass a property tax freeze," said Governor Rauner.
About 70 people attended a Monday news conference held by Champaign-Urbana Democratic lawmakers Carol Ammons and Scott Bennett. They say Gov. Bruce Rauner needs to set aside his agenda of business reforms and negotiate for social services that stand to lose funding by the new fiscal year Wednesday.
