Press Room

‘Status quo’ budget spares low-income scholarships, includes 4 of Pritzker’s 9 tax increases

Pending a motion to reconsider the vote from Senate President Don Harmon, the Illinois General Assembly passed a $42.3 billion Fiscal Year 2022 budget in an early morning special session after the legislative deadline.

Illinois still missing half of jobs lost during pandemic

Monthly jobs tracker: Illinois gained only 300 jobs in April

What to watch: Lawmakers near end of legislative session

MEDIA AVAILABILITY from the ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTEMEDIA CONTACT: Melanie Krakauer (312) 607-4977 What to watch: Lawmakers to tackle Illinois finances, ethics and more Illinois Policy Institute experts available to discuss upcoming issues during legislative session SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (May 20, 2021) – With less than two weeks left in the legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly must tackle a...

Higher than average corruption keeps 79,000 more Illinoisans in poverty

Decades of corruption in Illinois has left thousands of Illinoisans in poverty.

43,000 Illinoisans still awaiting call back from Illinois Department of Employment Security

Illinois Policy Institute releases tracker for agency call-back queue, monthly unemployment claims and a counter of how many days the IDES offices have been closed

More than 28,000 Illinois mothers could return to the workforce if schools re-opened

Women with children are 2 percentage points more likely to return to work in states where governments have re-opened schools

Police union contracts prevent reform in Illinois’ biggest cities

Union contracts override state law when it comes to carrying out officer discipline

35% of Illinois’ small businesses have closed one year into COVID-19 restrictions

More small businesses have closed in Illinois than in any other Midwestern state, except Michigan