Federal numbers show Illinois remains last in post-recession recovery
Federal numbers show Illinois remains last in post-recession recovery
A day after the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported that Illinois’ workforce shrank by 19,000 people in August, driving Illinois’ labor-force participation rate to a new 35-year low, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms the severity of the state’s labor-force dropout crisis. The labor-force participation rate measures the share of Illinois’...
By Michael Lucci
Illinois’ workforce hits new low in August, and it’s not because of retirements
Illinois’ workforce hits new low in August, and it’s not because of retirements
Illinois continues to bleed workers, with another 19,000 Illinoisans dropping out of the workforce in the month of August alone, according to a press release from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES. As a result, Illinois’ labor force participation rate hit a new 35-year low in August. The state’s jobless rate fell from...
By Michael Lucci
Illinois General Assembly exempts itself from spending cuts, appropriations process
Illinois General Assembly exempts itself from spending cuts, appropriations process
In the throes of Illinois’ fiscal crisis, nearly every nook and cranny of the Illinois state budget should be fair game for review and reduction. But some state lawmakers don’t seem to think so, especially when it comes to their money. In the waning hours of the final day of this year’s spring session, state...
By Robert Steere
Tinley Park forks over more taxpayer dough to half-baked pizza restaurant
Tinley Park forks over more taxpayer dough to half-baked pizza restaurant
The village of Tinley Park has doubled-down on its investment in a privately managed restaurant within the 80th Avenue Metra station, voting this month to give $57,000 to Parmesans Station for a new pizza oven, according to the Chicago Tribune. In 2012, the village fronted a $600,000 investment for the restaurant space to complement the...
By Austin Berg
Chicago takes pole position in race for Obama library, no tax dollars required
Chicago takes pole position in race for Obama library, no tax dollars required
On Sept. 15, the Barack Obama Foundation announced four semifinalists in the battle to build Barack Obama’s presidential library and museum. The four potential host sites include the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University in New York City and the University of Hawaii. Holding two of the four slots, the...
By Jane McEnaney
Opposition to Affordable Care Act remains strong, even among uninsured
Opposition to Affordable Care Act remains strong, even among uninsured
According to a new poll released by Independent Women’s Voice, nearly 6 in 10 likely voters were directly impacted, knew someone directly impacted or had a family member directly impacted by the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. Of those reporting an impact, 60 percent reported a negative impact of the law and 38 percent reported...
By Naomi Lopez Bauman
Food-stamp enrollment in Illinois outpaces job creation by nearly 2-to-1
Food-stamp enrollment in Illinois outpaces job creation by nearly 2-to-1
Illinois’ sluggish jobs recovery is coming at a tremendous cost. For every post-recession job created in Illinois, nearly two people have enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. In the recession era, the number of Illinoisans dependent on food stamps has risen by 745,000. Without adequate job creation in the...
By Michael Lucci
Bold school: Northeastern Illinois University moves to seize private property in North Park
Bold school: Northeastern Illinois University moves to seize private property in North Park
Northeastern Illinois University, or NEIU, has moved to seize land from businesses and families in the Chicago neighborhood of North Park as part of its bid to construct new student dormitories – even though the university already owns plenty of land it could use without seizing anything. NEIU has filed a lawsuit to forcibly acquire...
By Bryant Jackson-Green
The disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing jobs
The disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing jobs
Illinois’ manufacturing sector has been hemorrhaging jobs for decades, and policy has a lot to do with it. Since 2004, Illinois has lost 125,000 manufacturing jobs. Most of these losses resulted from the Great Recession – a colossal 117,000 manufacturing jobs were shed from January 2008-January 2010 – but precious few have returned. In the...
By Michael Lucci
Illinois school districts seeking 14 countywide sales tax hikes in November
Illinois school districts seeking 14 countywide sales tax hikes in November
School districts in 14 Illinois counties are pushing for countywide increases in sales tax rates. These counties are utilizing the 2007 Illinois County School Facility Tax Act, or ICSFTA, which allows school boards representing 51 percent of a county’s population to put a referendum on the ballot for a countywide sales tax increase to fund...
By Brian Costin
Everything you need to know about North Riverside’s budget battle
Everything you need to know about North Riverside’s budget battle
On Sept. 12, the village of North Riverside took a big step forward in addressing its budget crisis. The village filed a suit with the Cook County Circuit Court asking for the right to terminate its currently expired firefighters contract. This effort is part of the village’s larger plan to deal with its budget crisis...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Good politics makes bad policy on Emanuel minimum-wage hike
Good politics makes bad policy on Emanuel minimum-wage hike
On Sept. 3, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel signed an executive order requiring city contractors to immediately hike wages for the city workers they employ to $13 per hour from the current rate of $11.93 per hour. The current rate is already nearly 45 percent higher than the statewide minimum wage of $8.25 per hour. Illinoisans...
By Jane McEnaney
Teachers begin exodus from unions in Michigan
Teachers begin exodus from unions in Michigan
After a year-long campaign by the nonpartisan Mackinac Center and other groups to inform Michigan’s teachers of their right to leave their union, around 5,000 teachers have decided to do so. But more than 100,000 teachers in the state remain under union control. And the Michigan Education Association, or MEA, is claiming victory for managing...
By Paul Kersey