I know, I know—I should have already weighed in on the gazillion-dollar tax break Christmas present the state gave the Chicago Mercantile Exchange last month.
After which Mayor Emanuel sent out a press release hailing the tax break as “reform.”
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So . . . the state that’s already tens of billions of dollars in debt now has to find new and creative ways to make up for the hundreds of millions of tax dollars it won’t be getting from CME. Probably by asking retired cops, firefighters, and teachers to live on less. Call it pension reform. Because as everyone knows, it’s not really financial reform unless you’re making old retirees pick up the tab.
Just to make sure about that 6 percent, I called the state Department of Revenue and wound up talking to Susan Hofer, a public information officer. Our conversation went a little like this:
Well, at least I got a laugh out of this deal, which is more than most taxpayers can say.
All in all, the SEC document raises more questions than it answers about how much CME paid in Illinois corporate income taxes in 2010.
“I’d say that sending you the 10-k was that guy’s way of giving you the middle finger,” Birdie said.
