Great Recession

Oklahoma pension reform: 401(k)-style plans for new state workers

05/31/2014
In a step toward meaningful pension reform, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation that ends the state’s traditional pension retirement system for newly hired state employees in favor of a 401(k)-style retirement plan. Teachers and state workers designated “hazardous duty” including firefighters and law enforcement officers are exempt. And the legislation does not change the...

Illinois metro areas a long way from jobs recovery

By Michael Lucci
05/30/2014
Illinois’ metropolitan statistical areas are a long way from jobs recovery, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The release shows that Danville, Decatur and Rockford are still plagued with double-digit joblessness. All 10 of Illinois’ metro areas have jobless rates above the national average. Despite economic improvement and jobless rates falling nationally,...

Illinois loses 6,800 payroll jobs in April, while Texas gains 64,100 jobs

By Michael Lucci
05/16/2014
Illinois lost 7,800 private-sector jobs in April, and the state jobless rate fell to 7.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Illinois remains the worst in the Midwest and third-worst nationally for joblessness. Illinois’ private-sector jobs loss came against a gain of 1,000 government jobs, leaving the state with a net loss of...

Illinois’ 2011 income tax hike put brakes on jobs recovery

By Michael Lucci
05/13/2014
Illinois’ 2011 income tax hike helped put the brakes on the state’s private-sector jobs recovery. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois’ monthly job creation has slowed down since the 2011 tax hike. Meanwhile, the rest of the country has accelerated its jobs growth. The Great Recession began in January 2008, and...

CEOs sound off on Illinois’ business climate

By Michael Lucci
05/12/2014
CEOs of major U.S. corporations went on record in Chief Executive Magazine’s “2014 Best and Worst States for Business.” Business leaders pulled no punches in their description of Illinois, going so far as to compare doing business in Illinois to doing business in a third-world country. The publication ranked Illinois at the bottom of the...

Did higher taxes create the Minnesota miracle?

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
04/24/2014
A Better Illinois is claiming that the progressive tax and higher taxes on the wealthy are responsible for the “Minnesota miracle.” But the only marvels here are the impressive contortions they used in concluding that higher taxes is what holds Illinois back from impressive job growth and a budget surplus. The problem with their analysis...

Illinois loses 3,200 payroll jobs, another business exits the state

By Michael Lucci
04/18/2014
Illinois lost 3,200 payroll jobs in March, and the state’s unemployment rate ticked down to 8.4 percent from 8.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Illinois’ month-over-month change in payroll jobs was the third-worst nationally. Only Pennsylvania and Virginia lost more jobs. This news comes fresh on the heels of the announcement by...

The myth of an Illinois comeback

By Michael Lucci
04/17/2014
Myth: Gov. Pat Quinn says that Illinois is a regional leader in job creation, and that the state is making a comeback. Fact: Illinois has ranked at the bottom of regional job comparisons since the Great Recession hit. Illinoisans suffer a jobless rate that is the second-worst in the nation and the highest in the...

Metropolitan area jobs crisis continues

By Michael Lucci
04/10/2014
Illinois’ 10 largest metropolitan areas continue to be plagued with joblessness, according to a release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This news comes on the heels of no monthly improvement in the state jobless rate, which at 8.7 percent is 2 points higher than the national average. Illinois has the second highest jobless rate...

Quinn reneging on ‘temporary’ tax hike cowardly, dishonest

By Jonathan Greenberg
04/03/2014
Gov. Pat Quinn began his recent op-ed in the Chicago Tribune with a couple of quotes. In that spirit, I’ll do the same. Cowardly Lion: “What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the ‘ape’ in apricot? What...

TAGS: income tax, Pat Quinn