Illinois companies announced 1,477 mass layoffs during May. The highest concentration of cuts impacted Champaign after one of the state’s largest health insurers, Health Alliance, announced it would end coverage and halt operations.
Champaign County has spent over $60,000 on a promotional campaign for a local sales tax hike using taxpayer funds. It might surpass $100,000 by Election Day.
Out of 90 Midwestern metropolitan areas, Illinois has four in the bottom 10 for new housing per capita in 2023. Housing affordability is directly linked to getting units built.
A proposed 1 percent sales tax for school facilities improvements would bring the city of Springfield’s combined sales tax rate to 9.75 percent – among the highest in the nation.
Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...