HB 580 would give a panel of unelected arbitrators power to approve an AFSCME contract that would cost taxpayers an additional $3 billion over the next four years.
“I always wanted to drive a truck when I was younger. Now I’ve been in trucking for 17 years. Grew up in East Peoria. A couple years ago I finally saved up enough hauling that I started my own trucking authority. Last year we had two guys working for us. “On $98,000 of payroll we...
Illinois is one of four states in the entire U.S. to have fewer private sector jobs today compared to the turn of the century. The Land of Lincoln needs pro-growth reforms to allow the state’s private sector to rise again.
April saw nearly half the large layoffs March brought, and showed few major layoffs in the manufacturing sector.
Caterpillar’s plans to bring new jobs to Arizona demonstrate how Illinois politicians’ planned tax hikes and failure to make needed regulatory reforms harm the state’s manufacturing sector.
Illinois has the most expensive system in the Midwest for workers' compensation.
Illinois gained 14,700 payroll jobs on net in March, and compared relatively well with other states in the region for the month, trailing only Ohio in monthly jobs growth. Despite this growth, however, the unemployment rate increased to 6.5 percent. The state also lost 3,100 manufacturing jobs on net.
Illinois’ economy lagged the national average between 2003 and 2014. Had Illinois’ gross domestic product grown at the same pace as the national average since 2003, Illinois workers would have generated an additional $64.6 billion in products and services in 2014.
Monthly reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security allow the public to see Illinois’ record for job creation and unemployment. Understanding the components of the reports, what they measure, and the significance of the data are key to assessing the state’s economic health.
“I’ve been a boilermaker for 40 years. I was 20 years old when I started and I’ve raised eight kids on this job. It feels like back then you could just walk down the street and get a job in manufacturing … “I was born and raised in Chicago but I left for Indiana 12...
Illinois gained 14,700 jobs on net in March, according to a preliminary jobs report released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES. March’s numbers mark three consecutive months of jobs growth in a state that had grown all too accustomed to job losses. More and more Illinoisans are looking for work – and...
Illinois’ March layoff report shows that almost a quarter of the 900 Illinoisans who will lose their jobs are manufacturing workers.
Switching to an electronic system from a paper-based licensing program is expected to save taxpayers millions of dollars over the next few years – as well as provide better and faster service for the state’s licensed professionals.
Since the state's recession bottom, Illinois has regained less than 5 percent of its manufacturing jobs — the worst rate of recovery among all neighboring states.