“As a business owner, I think the pandemic responses were too built within the bureaucracy of the system of government, which is has too many layers to get necessary approvals. In a state of emergency, you cannot have that.”
"We lost more than $500,000 and now we’re trying to bring back the business by changing our menus and recontacting those same people. Now we’re just trying to survive.”
"We're very fortunate that we're still standing. And we're very proud because we really love our customers. And we're here to serve.
Lots of businesses tried to get started during 2021 in Illinois, but the ones that create jobs had a tough time launching. That’s why Illinois unemployment remains high and salaries depressed during a national labor shortage.
Illinois saw new residential building permits in 2021 issued at one of the slowest rates in the nation. The rest of the U.S. saw real estate booming.
Workers looking for a job find fewer opportunities in Illinois than in virtually any other state.
A new Fed report shows strict COVID-19 policies and enhanced unemployment benefits likely contributed to Illinois’ sluggish recovery from the pandemic recession.
Illinois is experiencing one of the nation’s worst recoveries for leisure and hospitality jobs. Of the Illinois jobs that vanished since the COVID-19 pandemic, 35% are in leisure and hospitality – the most of any industry.
Gov. J.B Pritzker’s latest campaign ad praises his support for small businesses even though his policies contributed to one of the nation’s largest small business closures.
One-third of Illinois’ missing jobs are from the leisure and hospitality industry, but that sector’s COVID-19 pandemic recovery lags virtually every other state in the U.S.
Population decline has shrunk Illinois’ workforce and the relative size of the state economy. Attracting more workers from other states starts with lowering the cost of living, decreasing pension costs and debt, and improving the state’s social services.
Illinois declining population was partly responsible for lower growth housing values and Illinois slower recovery.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois’ economic recovery in 2021 lagged other states. A lack of in-person schooling, fewer economic opportunities and high taxes only exacerbated the ongoing population loss.
Illinois has the nation’s third-highest number of state regulations and double the U.S. average. Regulations make life hard for Illinois’ small businesses, where most Illinois jobs are created.