Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Op-Ed: Illinois state leaders see taxpayers’ ‘no’ as reason to just ask again
You’ve been in the supermarket and seen the beleaguered parent bugged by a child for a package of cookies. “No” is followed by asking again, and whining, and asking yet again.
Illinois taxpayers are seeing this scene, only they are the parents and state leaders the needy youngsters.
WGN: Illinois’ unemployment rate ranked second-to-last in US
The most recent unemployment numbers show Illinois continues to lag behind the rest of the nation.
Illinois’ unemployment rate for December was 4.7%
CBS Chicago: Coming Sunday: Illinois workers who filed wage theft claims are still waiting for millions
According to one estimate from the nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute, reported and unreported wage theft could amount to as much as $50 billion per year owed to workers.
A CBS News Investigation found that if an employer takes money from their employees’ paychecks, there is a good chance they’ll get away with it.
The Center Square: As Illinois pays off unemployment debt, watchdog shows $60 billion in fraud nationally
Now that Illinois is on the way to paying off COVID-related unemployment debts with the federal government, questions are still being raised about how much fraud took place in the state.
Illinois borrowed more than $4.5 billion from the federal government during the benefit to pay surging unemployment benefits, but the state delayed paying all the money back until now.