Jobs + Growth Archives

Quinn vetoes Uber legislation that would have stifled innovation, jobs growth and competition

Nearly three months after the Illinois General Assembly passed devastating restrictions on innovative ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, Gov. Pat Quinn issued a surprising blow to the taxicab lobby by vetoing the job-killing legislation in its entirety. This March, in response to the recent success and popularity of ridesharing programs such as Uber...

By Matt Paprocki

Gov. Quinn vetoes Uber bill

On Aug. 25 Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a bill pushed by the taxi lobby that would have restricted ridesharing services such as UberX and Lyft in Chicago. The veto is good news for ridesharing consumers and drivers. Uber will now move forward with its plan to bring 425 new jobs to Illinois. The bill’s champion...

Food-cart ban harms immigrants, new entrepreneurs

There’s no right more basic than the right to earn a living to support yourself and your family. And for decades, that’s what street vendors have been trying to do. From elote-cart owners in Little Village to ice-cream carts along North Avenue Beach, entrepreneurs – who are often recent immigrants – have supported themselves by...

By Bryant Jackson-Green

The myth of an Illinois comeback

Illinois is dead last of all 50 states in recovering from the Great Recession – and two economic surveys prepared each month by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics prove it. The BLS and IDES surveys track employment and jobs growth in Illinois: both household surveys...

By Michael Lucci

Illinois a terrible hostess: Twinkies leave the state

Hostess Brands LLC announced on Aug. 20 that the Illinois bakery where Twinkies were first invented will close this fall. More than 400 workers will be affected by the shuttering of the company’s Schiller Park location in October. Sadly, this isn’t surprising. In 2012, Hostess closed three bakeries nationwide after a massive union strike, high...

By Austin Berg

Why Illinois is running last

Illinois’ 2011 income tax hike put the brakes on the state’s private-sector jobs recovery. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois’ monthly job creation has slowed down since the state’s historic 2011 tax hike. Meanwhile, the rest of the country accelerated its jobs growth. Job losses from the Great Recession began for...

By Michael Lucci

Illinois businesses burdened by much more than taxes

A recent study of the business tax burden in the 50 states and District of Columbia ranks Illinois as 27th in the nation. Portrayed as being “not so bad” in the media sheds a lot of light on Illinois’ current economic position. But while Illinois ranks in the middle of the pack for business tax...

By Naomi Lopez Bauman

Government pro-growth programs no substitute for friendly business climate across the board

New York lawmakers have acknowledged that low costs are beneficial to businesses, and that lower taxes mean more money, which leads to growth, innovation and hiring. The proof is the state’s START-UP NY program, which provides 10-year exemptions on property, sales and state income taxes to qualified new and expanding businesses. But while START-UP NY...

By Danny Colston

Illinois dead last in job creation in 2014

Illinois’ labor force shrank by 17,100 people in July, according to a release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS also reported that the state’s unemployment rate fell to 6.8 percent from 7.1 percent. However, the entire decline in the July unemployment rate came as a result of workers quitting the workforce. This grim news...

By Michael Lucci

Repeal death, franchise taxes by ending cronyism

Illinois government does some strange things. A case in point is how the state treats people and businesses that create jobs. Illinoisans are subject to both a death tax and a franchise tax. The death tax is a special tax on wealthy people just for the privilege of dying in the state of Illinois. This...

By Michael Lucci

Illinois still 170,000 jobs away from recovery

Illinois gained 10,300 jobs in July, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES. The Quinn camp was quick to tout this number as an indicator of the administration’s success. However, by comparison Illinois only created 10,600 net new jobs in first 66 months of Quinn’s tenure. Perhaps the Quinn administration believes that...

By Michael Lucci

Liquor license moratoriums highlight unchecked power of Chicago aldermen

It may seem obvious that a business owner should have the right to sell their business to someone else. But in Chicago, basic property rights take a back seat to arbitrary regulation and a system of aldermanic privilege that can put those rights in the hands of a single politician. Parlour on Clark, a once-popular...

By Bryant Jackson-Green

Illinois paychecks shrink

Illinoisans enjoyed a larger paycheck than their Iowa counterparts for 30 years – until 2012. For the first time ever, the median household in Iowa surpassed its Illinois counterpart, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. If you lined up all households in order of income, the median household would be the one in the very...

By Michael Lucci

Illinois: Turning around or running in place?

Gov. Pat Quinn is claiming that Illinois is making a comeback. But the evidence, supported by public opinion, belies that fact. Illinois remains an economic basket case: The state has the fastest-shrinking workforce in the nation Illinois has the second-highest property taxes in the country, as well as a high tax burden on individual and business incomes Illinois is the third-most corrupt state in the country Illinois loses one resident...

By Naomi Lopez Bauman