Illinois cannabis sales dip from monthly record
Illinois cannabis sales dip from monthly record
December 2022 broke the record for monthly cannabis sales in Illinois, but January 2023 couldn’t keep up.
Big batteries to store renewable energy create fire hazard
Big batteries to store renewable energy create fire hazard
As Illinois pushes for more renewable energy, it comes with a fire hazard risk at battery storage centers. A battery storage facility explosion in Arizona hurt eight firefighters. There have been three other fires.
Illinois Super Bowl bets expected to nearly double from 2021
Illinois Super Bowl bets expected to nearly double from 2021
Super Bowl betting will likely be a $1 million-plus revenue stream for a third consecutive year in Illinois. If the wagering projection is correct, the revenue could top $2 million on Sunday.
Cathy Stuehmeier
Cathy Stuehmeier
“I’m preparing to retire now. I own newspapers. I’ve spent about 57 years in media. I started with the Centralia Sentinel, which was a daily local newspaper. I spent seven or eight years with the Sentinel and learned a lot from the past ownership.” “I was one of the first females to walk into the...
Survey: Illinois 2nd in U.S. for residents leaving
Survey: Illinois 2nd in U.S. for residents leaving
Illinois is the second-most popular state to leave based on a survey of movers by United Van Lines. Illinois has also experienced nine straight years of population loss.
Illinois sports betting tops $1B, ranks 3rd in nation
Illinois sports betting tops $1B, ranks 3rd in nation
October 2022 set a record high for sports betting in Illinois: over $1 billion in wagers, which was the third-highest state tally in the U.S.
Illinois among worst-prepared in nation to weather next recession
Illinois among worst-prepared in nation to weather next recession
Illinois lawmakers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker reached a deal to pay off $1.8 billion borrowed from the federal government for unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a positive step, but the state remains ill-prepared for the next economic shock.
Fed: Illinois unemployment rate 2nd-highest in nation
Fed: Illinois unemployment rate 2nd-highest in nation
Analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia indicates Illinois lost jobs during Q2 rather than gaining, as previously reported. It may still be losing jobs. Illinois ranked No. 2 for highest unemployment in November.
Illinois’ population shrinks for 9th straight year
Illinois’ population shrinks for 9th straight year
Record outmigration in 2022 pushed Illinois’ population change into the red for the 9th straight year, the second-longest streak in the nation, the Census Bureau reported.
Illinois losing residents 5 times faster than any neighbor state
Illinois losing residents 5 times faster than any neighbor state
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Indiana and Missouri are attracting residents while Iowa and Michigan are the only neighbor states losing residents to other states
Illinois loses a resident every 3 minutes, 43 seconds
Illinois loses a resident every 3 minutes, 43 seconds
More Illinoisans fled for other states from July 2021-July 2022 than during any other year in recorded history, driving the state’s record population decline.
Outmigration caused Illinois’ population to decline again in 2022
Outmigration caused Illinois’ population to decline again in 2022
New Census Bureau data shows people moving out of Illinois continues to drive the state’s population decline. So many moved away in the year before July 2022, it was almost like Rockford disappearing.
Illinois population drops by record 104,437 in 2022
Illinois population drops by record 104,437 in 2022
People moving out of Illinois drove the highest population loss on record in 2022, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows.
Illinois metro areas’ unemployment rates among worst in U.S.
Illinois metro areas’ unemployment rates among worst in U.S.
Illinois’ metro areas already face unemployment problems, with some of the nation’s worst rates. They could be hit harder by a recession than other places in the nation.