A decade after recession, Illinois’ construction industry is ice cold By Austin Berg 12/05/2019 Why is Illinois construction so weak? As it turns out, big government programs can’t paper over weak fundamentals. TAGS: Bureau of Economic Analysis, construction, Erin Guthrie, gas tax, Great Recession, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, minimum wage, outmigration, Pat Quinn, progressive income tax, property taxes, Springfield, U.S. Census Bureau