Illinois
New Illinois taxes set to soon take effect across the state as part of new budget
Some Illinois residents could see prices of a variety of items increase in coming weeks after tax rates were raised as part of budget negotiations.
That budget, which passed the General Assembly over the weekend, includes more than $55 billion in spending, with Democrats praising the bill as being the state’s seventh consecutive balanced budget thanks to increases in revenue.
“The passage of the FY26 balanced budget is a testament to Illinois’ fiscal responsibility,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a statement. “Even in the face of Trump and Congressional Republicans stalling the national economy, our state budget delivers for working families without raising their taxes while protecting the progress we are making for our long-term fiscal health. I’m grateful to Speaker Welch, President Harmon, the budget teams, and all the legislators and stakeholders who collaborated to shape and pass this legislation. I look forward to signing my seventh balanced budget in a row and continuing to build a stronger Illinois.”
While some of that revenue will come from increases in corporate tax rates, delaying the transfer of funds from motor fuel taxes into the state’s road fund and other maneuvers, there are several taxes that could increase prices on some items and services for Illinois residents, drawing withering criticism from Republicans in Springfield.
Here are a few of the notable changes.
Sports Betting
Illinois officials are hoping to raise more than $36 million in yearly revenue by assessing a per-wager tax on sports bets placed within the state, according to multiple reports, including from Casino Beats.
Beginning July 1, the state will impose a tax of $0.25 per wager for the first 20 million wagers placed with licensed sports books within Illinois. After that, the tax rate will increase to $0.50 per wager, according to the text of the amendment to the tax code.
That money will then be deposited into the state’s General Revenue Fund.
Short-Term Rental Properties
Residents who use services like Airbnb and Vrbo for vacation rentals will soon be charged with the state’s Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax, as an exemption carved out into the tax code was deleted during budget negotiations.
According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the state taxes hotel rooms at a rate of 6% of 94% of gross receipts. In the city of Chicago, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which helps to operate Rate Field, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which operates McCormick Place, also collect taxes on hotels. The city itself also assesses a 1% tax on hotel rooms.
More information can be found on the IDOR website.
Tobacco Products
Finally, the state intends to raise tax rates on any “product that is made from or derived from tobacco,” including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, vaping products and nicotine gum, according to legislators.
That tax will not be applied to smoking cessation products, according to the text of the bill.
The tax rate will be raised from 36% of the wholesale price of the products to 45%, according to the legislation.
Other Revenue Generators
In addition to raising corporate tax rates, the state of Illinois will also hope to generate revenues from a tax amnesty program, rewarding companies for repatriating funds into the state.
Millions of asylum seekers have been impacted as caseloads have grown
A general crackdown on immigration courts the administration sees as liberal has led to the firing of dozens of immigration judges.
Recent polls show President Donald Trump’s approval ratings continue to dip as the war in Iran endures and national gas prices float above $4.
One such poll conducted by CNN/SSRS illustrates widespread upset among Americans with regards to Trump’s handling of the economy and inflation. Here’s how Trump’s approval ratings look nationally and within Illinois, as of April 20.
Donald Trump approval rating: CNN
Only 31% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy, compared to 39% in January 2026, according to the poll.
The decline in approval on the issue is even higher among Republicans, especially Republicans under 45 years old, according to CNN.
In the poll, President Donald Trump received his worst approval rating yet in either of his two terms on the economy.
CNN findings show about two-thirds of Americans say Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions, and 27% say they approve of Trump’s handling of inflation.
CNN also reported 63% of Americans say the prices at the pump have caused financial hardship in their household, including 15% calling it “severe.”
The poll, conducted March 26-30 among 1,201 U.S. adults, found 35% approve of Trump’s job performance overall. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
One poll respondent told CNN and the pollster about the most important issue facing the country: “Prices! Everything is so expensive. Makes it very difficult to do anything other than work and go home. Trips to the grocery store are ridiculous! Between gas and grocery prices, we are poor!”
Trump addressed the concerns about gas prices in his address to the nation on April 1, saying the Strait of Hormuz would reopen when the conflict was over and the prices would fall again.
Trump reaffirmed his promise about the strait on April 18, saying his administration had “very good conversations going on” with Iran after the country said the strait would not be reopened.
Donald Trump approval rating in Illinois: Civiqs
Trump’s job approval rating in Illinois, as of April 18, according to data from online survey platform Civiqs, is as follows:
- Approve — 32%.
- Disapprove — 65%.
- Neither — 4%.
Donald Trump national approval rating: Civiqs
Trump’s national approval rating as of April 13, according to data from Civiqs, is as follows:
- Approve — 39%.
- Disapprove — 57%.
- Neither — 4%.
Donald Trump approval rating in Illinois: The Economist
Trump has a -36% net approval rating in Illinois as of April 20, according to data from The Economist.
Donald Trump national approval rating: The Economist
Trump’s national approval rating as of April 20, according to data from The Economist, is as follows:
- Approve — 38%.
- Disapprove — 56%.
- Don’t know — 7%.
Trump, Iran War approval rating: Pew Research Center
A Pew Research study conducted in mid-March found that about six-in-ten Americans (61%) approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict in Iran, with 39% approving.
A report released in early April found that the largest concern for most Americans as a result of the conflict is higher gas prices, with 69% saying they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the issue.
Other Trump approval rating polls as of April 20
Here is a look at some other polling aggregators to understand how CNN/SSRS’s poll compares to the average Trump approval numbers as of April 20:
RealClearPolitics Poll Average: 41.2% approve, 56.6% disapprove.
The New York Times: 40% approve, 56% disapprove.
Silver Bulletin: 39.7% approve, 56.4% disapprove.
Which president has the lowest approval rating ever?
Although Trump has dropped to a historic low in approval rating polls this term so far, he hit a 34% low in the first term and other recent presidents such as Joe Biden hit a 36% low, Barack Obama hit a 40% low, George W. Bush hit a 25% low and Bill Clinton hit a 37% low, according to the Gallup polls, whose recorded lowest rating was Harry Truman with 22%.
As for the highest presidential approval ratings, George W. Bush holds the highest approval rating ever recorded at 90%, while his father, George H. Bush holds the second highest at 89%.
Trump is the only president that has not reached a 50% or higher approval to date in the Gallup polls’ history.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
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