Unemployment claims spiked this week as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered bars and restaurants to halt dine-in service, the service industry took major hits and large gatherings were banned to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
Illinois’ fastest-growing jobs sector in 2018 was government – another sign the state needs pro-growth reforms to keep up with the rest of the country.
Illinois added 18,100 new jobs in June, the highest monthly increase since summer 2017, but the Prairie State still lags behind the rest of the nation for the post-recession period.
Illinois’ jobs situation improved in May, but the state needs long-term solutions such as a spending cap to get on a path to fiscal health and assure investors more tax hikes are not on the horizon.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.