Illinois ranked No. 2 in the nation for number of small businesses planning to lay off employees in the coming months. A majority of entrepreneurs have already put a freeze on new hires. Amendment 1 threatens Illinois’ business climate even more.
Portillo’s CEO Michael Osanloo said the Illinois-based chain is looking to expand in states more friendly to businesses.
Illinois’ lagging pandemic recovery continued across its cities in July. Only 1 metropolitan area has recovered from the pandemic.
“Inflation is definitely hitting me on the personal side."
Illinois stands as one of the states with the most to gain – and lose – as the national economy continues to surpass job growth expectations.
Illinois’ employment recovery continued in July, but the state is still missing nearly 1 in 9 jobs lost during the pandemic.
“Sometimes I think about how many more customers we’d have if the city wasn’t so overbearing about tickets and taxes.”
“It’s tough because many businesses closed and those that survived are having a slower recovery. There are a lot of people, including myself, who haven't been able to fully reopen because we’re short-staffed. The cost of labor has increased so much, it’s hard to compete.”
Recession is the buzzword of the week as the economy begins to cool. So, are we in a recession or not? And what does that mean for Illinois? Bryce Hill joins the Policy Shop to talk about the state and national economic picture. Learn more by subscribing to the Policy Shop newsletter at illin.is/newsletter. This...
Only Bloomington has recouped early 2020 job losses, which is bad news for Illinois’ lagging economy as recession fears increase.
"Running a business can be stressful at times, but I do it because I absolutely love offering job opportunities.”
With the highest unemployment rate in the Midwest and 117,000 jobs still missing, Illinois’ labor market is among the least recovered in the region.
Illinois’ job opening rate declined 1.5 percentage points in May. That’s not a good way to enter a potential recession.
Illinois homeowners are most likely in the nation to be in foreclosure. The looming $2,100 property tax hike from Amendment 1 would make housing even more unaffordable.