Our children’s safety should never be compromised. One of the most important areas of concern for safety, not only in Chicago or Illinois but across the United States, is the method we use to transport our children to school—buses. Chicago has seen its share of tragic bus accidents, and it is mind-boggling that seat belts were never mandated on school buses. It is about time that children stop being projectiles inside a tin can when the buses they are riding in are in accidents. We have seat safety laws for our cars, minivans, SUVs, trucks, airplanes, etc. But why don’t we have ...

The U.S. government can tax an individual’s compensatory damages for emotional distress and injury to reputation, a federal appeals court has ruled.

In its 3-0 decision, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said legal recoveries for these amorphous injuries count as income for tax purposes. The court distinguished emotional distress and reputational harm from physical injuries, the compensation for which does not count as income and is not taxable under federal law.

The appeals court rejected a taxpayer’s argument that compensating emotional and ...