Illinois’ latest drop in gross domestic product shows broader issues with the state. The state’s real GDP has been struggling for years.

Politicians and pundits can’t seem to agree about whether the U.S. is in a recession, but the semantics matter little for struggling Americans. Illinois can expect economic pain regardless of what it’s called.

COVID-19 and measures to contain the disease have resulted in unemployment that’s over 50% higher than the worst months of the Great Recession.

A quarter of Illinois’ workers are staring down the economic impacts of a global pandemic.

Illinois would have seen above-average growth if the state’s workforce had simply grown on par with the rest of the U.S. economy. Instead, poor policy choices have made the state an economic laggard. Illinois’ slow expansion is likely a product of investment-killing tax hikes.

Illinois is tied for the worst income growth in the entire U.S.