Illinois is steadily adding jobs lost during the COVID-19 economic downturn, but despite 10 months of gains the state recovery lags the nation. Some metropolitan areas are far behind where they were.
Bloomington is the only metro area to recover jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and statewide mandated shutdowns. Illinois is still missing 200,100 jobs as of January 2020.
The Illinois General Assembly voted for a decade to eliminate annual cost-of-living adjustments for lawmaker salaries after the Great Recession. Now, former state lawmakers are suing the state to put that money right back into politicians’ pockets.
Both police reform advocates and law enforcement supporters face the same serious obstacle in Illinois: police union contracts include provisions protecting officers from discipline. Those contracts carry more weight than state law.
Illinois House members scheduled public hearings before they try to redraw the maps showing who serves what area in Congress and the Statehouse. How they can legally create a map in June when Census data will not be out until September remains a question.
Illinois spent 57% faster than Elgin incomes grew during the past decade. A bipartisan ‘spending cap’ bill would allow predictable, sustainable growth in state spending without tax hikes.