Jobs + Growth Archives

More food stamps: Another 20,000 Illinoisans added to SNAP rolls in May

More than 2 million Illinoisans – 16 percent of the state’s population – are on food stamps according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, enrollment numbers continue to rise in Illinois, and have been continuing to increase across the nation. Illinois added nearly 20,000 people to food stamp rolls...

By John Klingner

Devil’s Night

I grew up in Detroit, and as far back as I can remember my hometown was in trouble. But if there was a time when people just gave up on the place, it was probably October 30, 1984 — just a couple weeks after the Tigers won the World Series — when fires on “Devil’s...

By Paul Kersey

Chicago tied for the third-lowest rate of entrepreneurship among major US cities

As the Detroit bankruptcy unfolds, the attention has started to shift to other big cities such as Chicago. Detroit and Chicago differ in countless ways, but regardless of the disparities, one unfortunate characteristic is shared by both: they’ve been successful in scaring away entrepreneurs. Between 2010 and 2012, Detroit was tied with Philadelphia for dead...

By Benjamin VanMetre

Illinois liquor law stifles competition among distributors

Running a competitive business can be difficult – unless you have friends in government to help squash competition for you. In late May, Gov. Pat Quinn signed House Bill 2606 into law, which amended Illinois’ Liquor Control Act to prohibit out-of state brewers, distilleries and other alcohol manufacturers from owning any part of an alcohol distributor in...

By Bryant Jackson-Green

Detroit: Then and now

Back in the late 1980s I lived in northwest Detroit (at Seven Mile and Lahser) and worked downtown. I remember a t-shirt slogan that was very popular at the time: “I’m so bad I vacation in Detroit.” It was fitting. The few tourists who visited downtown saw a rundown commercial district with few shops or...

Illinois business moves headquarters to Wisconsin

EMCO Chemicals Distributors Inc., a chemical manufacturer, packager and distributor, announced the grand opening of its brand new, 260,000-square-foot-facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. That’s bad news for Illinois, as the company’s headquarters was previously located about 20 miles south in North Chicago. EMCO earns more than $300 million annually in sales, and is now the...

By Hilary Gowins

$15 minimum wage would harm Chicago workers

This week, fast-food workers, retail employees and others have been protesting at McDonald’s restaurants and other fast-food restaurants and chain stores in Chicago and cities across the country. The protesters, who are being egged on and funded by the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, and other union-affiliated groups, are demanding a $15-an-hour wage; a huge...

400 Illinoisans receive notice of impending layoffs

At the end of July, about 400 Illinois workers were notified that they might be losing their jobs in the next few weeks. Filings with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity highlighted this number, which includes cuts at major companies throughout the state. According to the Chicago Tribune: Lake Forest-based Grainger Inc. said it...

By Hilary Gowins

Chicago needs more than small gestures for small business

This week, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office issued a press release boasting of steps the city has taken to make it easier and faster for small businesses to get city licenses. According to the statement, visitors to the city’s Small Business Center can now take advantage of an express lane, a self-service station and additional “customer service”...

Nearly 22 million Americans remain unemployed or underemployed.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today that the national unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent in July from 7.6 percent in June. The number of unemployed persons dropped by 263,000 to 11.5 million. Over the course of the year, unemployment and the unemployment rate are down by 1.2 million and 0.8 percentage points,...

June unemployment: More than 1 million Illinoisans unemployed or underemployed

by John Klingner President Barack Obama visited to Galesburg last week to give a speech in which he said he would refocus on jobs and the economy. That’s little comfort for the unemployed workers in cities across Illinois. The economic policies the president wishes to enact at the federal level have been at work for...

Betting on Illinois: Pizza with a Purpose

Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau doesn’t just make pizza. Through his Chicagobased business, Dimos Pizza, he also cultivates talented employees. He opens his doors to local schools. He helps foster enthusiasm and excitement within his community. That’s because, to Syrkin-Nikolau, business isn’t just about making money. He believes it’s about what he calls “purposeful profit.” “Ultimately, profit is...

By Hilary Gowins

Number of Illinois unemployed tops 600,000 again in June

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, reported Thursday that Illinois’ unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June from 9.1 percent in May. Illinois still has the nation’s second-highest unemployment rate, a ranking it has held since March. Only Nevada has a higher unemployment rate at 9.6 percent. BLS also reported Illinois’ nonfarm payrolls increased by...

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

Illinois unemployment above 10 percent in many metropolitan areas

Illinois has the nation’s second-worst unemployment rate. At 9.1 percent, it’s 1.5 percentage points higher than the national average of 7.6 percent. The lack of jobs continues to be a major burden to the people of Illinois, at both the state and local level. A year-over-year comparison of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs, reveals an uneven...

By John Klingner