Jobs + Growth

Institute in Trib Local: Business Climate Explored at Summit

John Tillman, CEO of the Illinois Public Policy Institute, spoke about tax increases recently passed by state lawmakers.

New Jersey Governor Launches Illinois Ad Campaign

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie views the recent tax increases in Illinois as an opportunity to woo businesses to New Jersey, and has just released a radio ad on his website.

Illinois Residents Pack Up for Other States

Post tax hike farewell letters from Illinois residents.

Small Business Owners Make Plans to Leave Illinois

A number of business owners have joined the over 2,400 who have signed our tax hike repeal petition and have stated their intention to leave Illinois or close their doors.

Institute on FOX Chicago: Illinois Bad for Business

Illinois already has a bad reputation as a place to do business and the new tax increase approved in Springfield is only going to make the situation worse, according to critics of the tax increase.

Leaving Illinois: An Exodus of People and Money

Migration between the U.S. states is the ultimate expression of voting with your feet. People move for many reasons, but, when examined en masse, its clear that public policy significantly influences where people choose to live.

December Unemployment Report Shows Little Improvement

The Labor Department report indicated the U.S. economy added 103,000 jobs in December. The Report also indicated the national unemployment rate dropped slightly. Although this sounds positive, there are a few things one must keep in mind.

Kate Piercy’s Testimony on Workers’ Compensation Reform

Testimony of Kate Piercy, Director of Government Reform, Illinois Policy Institute Submitted to the Special Committee on Workers’ Compensation Reform Friday, December 3, 2010 Co-Chairpersons Bradley and Brady, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Kate Piercy, and I am the Director of Government Reform for the Illinois Policy Institute. We...

By Kate Campaigne Piercy

The Wisconsin/Illinois Jobs Spat

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is engaged in a jobs spat with Wisconsin Governor-Elect Scott Walker. Walker had questioned the wisdom of committing Wisconsin to additional “high speed rail” boondoogle spending (read why he’s right on the policy merits); Governor Quinn responded by trying to woo a Wisconsin-based rail firm to Illinois. Beyond targeted campaigns to win over one company or another...

By Chris Andriesen

Key Facts about Illinois

The Problem With its resources, location, expansive farmland, and first-class towns and cities, Illinois should be a leading economic powerhouse in the United States. Unfortunately, thanks to an unfriendly business and regulatory climate, Illinois has been underperforming for years. “Rich States, Poor States,” a comprehensive economic performance index authored by Steve Moore, Art Laffer, and...

By Chris Andriesen

Farewell to Yet Another Vendor

by Kate Piercy Illinois’s late payments are catching up with it, and businesses are responding. Yet another vendor is saying farewell to Illinois because of our state’s dismal budget situation. The Department of Corrections scrambled this week when the Industrial Soap Co. refused to deliver foam food trays to Menard Correctional Center because it hadn’t been paid,...

Telling Graph: Who Got Stimulated

by Kate Piercy Here’s a telling graph, courtesy of the Heritage Foundation, about how the stimulus has “worked” since January 2008: Federal Government: 198,100 jobs gained State Government: 6,000 jobs lost Local Government: 128,000 jobs lost Private Sector: 7,837,000

Reliance on Government Payments & Programs Rises

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson The Heritage Foundation recently released their 2010 Index of Dependence on Government, and their results are not encouraging. The findings of this year’s Index include: The Index of Dependence on Government grew by 13.6 percent in 2009; The Index of variables that moved the most over the past year were Health care and welfare at 22 percent, Rural...

Job Creation Since 2000

by Kate Piercy Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compare net job creation since 2000. Check out the chart below.