Legislation to temporarily avoid the fiscal cliff was supposed to be a move toward comprehensive tax reform. It was the opposite. The deal included dozens of corporate tax breaks that will cost taxpayers billions.
Illinois’ unemployment fell to 8.7 percent in November from 8.8 percent in October, adding 16,400 new payroll jobs. Despite this small decrease in the unemployment rate, Illinois is still a full percentage point above the national unemployment average of 7.7 percent, and 1.6 percentage points higher than the average of its neighboring states. That fact –...
Michigan is now the 24th state to give individuals the right not to join a union through Right-to-Work legislation. Individual liberty is an important dimension of economic freedom and an essential component of a well-functioning market economy. When individuals are limited in their ability to contract, or sell one’s labor services, economic activity and quality...
The national unemployment rate may have dropped to 7.7 percent in November from 7.9 percent in October, but the nation is making little progress on the road to a full economic recovery. Though a decrease may seem encouraging, the reality of these numbers is not: The rate dropped because more than 350,000 people left the...
In his recent op-ed, “How to rebuild America,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel boasts that Chicago’s “investments” in public schools, community colleges and infrastructure improvements have put Chicagoans back to work. Here’s what he said: “The strength of these investments is proven in the number of people we’re putting back to work: Chicago is first...
How do American entrepreneurs decide where to set up shop? Business creators look at indicators like corporate tax rates and the health of a state’s finances when determining the best location in which to take root. According to a survey published recently by Thumbtack.com and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Illinois isn’t quite cutting the mustard. On...
Illinois’ unemployment rate remained at a stagnant 8.8 percent in October, unchanged since September and still far above the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. Adding only a paltry 4,800 jobs last month, the state has been stuck in neutral, at best. Illinois’ neighbors, on the other hand, are watching their unemployment rates drop. They’re...
THE PROBLEM Only 27 percent of teens in Illinois had jobs last year – the lowest Illinois teen employment rate in the 42 years this data has been collected. The figures were worst for African American teens in Chicago, where only 10 percent had jobs. As the graphic shows, the Great Recession clobbered teens with...
The problem Only 27 percent of teens in Illinois had jobs last year – the lowest Illinois teen employment rate in the 42 years this data has been collected. The figures were worst for African American teens in Chicago, where only 10 percent had jobs. As the graphic shows, the Great Recession clobbered teens with...
Uber – the maker of a popular smartphone application that allows you to summon a black car, taxi, or SUV with the push of a button – is under fire from regulators and the taxi lobby in Chicago, as new rules proposed by the commissioner of the City’s Department of Business of Affairs would make...
Illinois
The problem State officials have doled out hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks and other incentives to keep Fortune 500 names and other big businesses from fleeing Illinois. But were state officials focused on the right targets? Who and what matters most in job creation? The Illinois Policy Institute’s new analysis finds the...
Illinois’ poor public policies continue to hammer the state’s business climate. This week the Tax Foundation released its 2013 State Business Tax Climate Index, confirming the state’s worsening position. Illinois dropped a full 13 places, to 29th, from 16th just since 2011. Illinois now ranks worse than most of its neighbors. The Tax Foundation ranks states based on...
Illinois’ poor public policies continue to hammer the state’s business climate. This week the Tax Foundation released its 2013 State Business Tax Climate Index, confirming the state’s worsening position. Illinois dropped a full 13 places, to 29th, from 16th just since 2011. Illinois now ranks worse than most of its neighbors. The Tax Foundation ranks states based on...