Chicago telephone users are about to see a hike in their bills, for both cell phones and land lines.
Starting Sept. 1, city residents' phone taxes will jump by $1.40. It's expected to generate $50 million to operate the city's 911 Emergency Center. The city then will use $50 million to pay for workers' pension funds.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel initially wanted to raise property taxes to help pay for pension reform. Instead Gov. Pat Quinn gave Illinois cities, including Chicago, the ability to raise their phone taxes.
Emanuel has made no promises beyond this year as to whether there might be a property tax hike after the 2015 mayoral election.
