Motorola has begun new round of layoffs in Chicago
Motorola is expected to cut hundreds of workers from its Chicago operations.
4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap
Causes, costs, how to set the state free
View ReportBureau of Labor Statistics
August jobs report: Worst manufacturing month since Great Recession, unemployment falls due to workforce dropout
The August BLS jobs report shows Illinois is down 8,000 manufacturing jobs on the year, giving the state the worst manufacturing job losses in the region, and a summer workforce contraction totaling 100,000 people.
Despite budget impasse, state government, health care and social services employment grow
Government jobs growth continues while Illinois’ private sector suffers from burdensome taxes and regulations.
Food-stamp fraud and prevalence signs of a struggling state
More than 1 in 5 Illinois households rely on food stamps to make ends meet.
Illinois has highest black unemployment rate in U.S.
The Land of Lincoln’s job-killing policies are hurting minority communities increasingly hard, while black unemployment in pro-growth states remains significantly lower.
Rauner signs occupational licensing reform into law
On Aug. 22, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law a bill that prevents the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation from using irrelevant criminal convictions as a basis for denying licenses to applicants seeking to work as barbers, cosmetologists, hair braiders, estheticians, nail technicians, roofing business owners or funeral directors.
Illinois state workers have options if they wish to opt out of a union
Illinois state workers can opt out of union membership to become fair share payers, but reforms such as Right to Work and Worker’s Choice would promote greater worker freedom and benefit the state.
Unemployment rate drops as Illinois workforce shrinks by 33,600 during summer moving season
Manufacturing weakness driving Illinois unemployment up; dropout and out-migration driving unemployment down.
It’s time to get special interests out of workers’ comp
Illinois physicians in the workers’ compensation system are allowed to sell “repackaged” pills directly to patients at huge markups, averaging between 60 and 300 percent.
A comprehensive review of the most absurd benefits in the AFSCME collective bargaining agreement
AFSCME does all it can to perpetuate the myth that it is the “little guy” – the victim – in any contract negotiations with the state. The evidence paints a different picture.
