Illinois

Illinois metro areas lag behind most others in the nation on jobs recovery

By Michael Lucci
08/27/2014
The unemployment rate fell in all of Illinois’ metropolitan statistical areas in July, according to a press release from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. In fact, unemployment rates have fallen in all metro areas for four consecutive months, which seems like welcome news. But these numbers are only encouraging at face value. As is...

TAGS: jobs, unemployment

Evidence of job losses due to ObamaCare continues to grow

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
08/26/2014
For months, data suggesting that the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, is hurting employment have been dismissed by the White House as anecdotal. But a recent survey of businesses conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia seems to provide undeniable proof that the law is forcing businesses to fire employees and cut health benefits....

Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills totals $4.4 billion

By Benjamin VanMetre
08/26/2014
Illinois began August with a $4.4 billion dollar backlog of unpaid bills. If lawmakers would have kept the promises they made in 2011, the backlog would be zero today – or close to it. In January 2011, Illinois lawmakers pushed through a record tax hike that raised the income tax rate on individuals to 5...

TAGS: debt, taxes, unpaid bills

Quinn vetoes Uber legislation that would have stifled innovation, jobs growth and competition

By Matt Paprocki
08/25/2014
Nearly three months after the Illinois General Assembly passed devastating restrictions on innovative ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, Gov. Pat Quinn issued a surprising blow to the taxicab lobby by vetoing the job-killing legislation in its entirety. This March, in response to the recent success and popularity of ridesharing programs such as Uber...

TAGS: Chicago, Uber, veto

Gov. Quinn vetoes Uber bill

08/25/2014
On Aug. 25 Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a bill pushed by the taxi lobby that would have restricted ridesharing services such as UberX and Lyft in Chicago. The veto is good news for ridesharing consumers and drivers. Uber will now move forward with its plan to bring 425 new jobs to Illinois. The bill’s champion...

TAGS: Chicago, rideshare, taxis, Uber

ObamaCare in Illinois: Reality check

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
08/25/2014
In its first annual report, GetCovered Illinois touts “succeeding in enrolling more than 600,000 people in health coverage through the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicaid.” But by very selectively picking and choosing what information to make public, Illinois officials are failing to provide any real insight into whether the state has actually achieved its...

The myth of an Illinois comeback

By Michael Lucci
08/24/2014
Illinois is dead last of all 50 states in recovering from the Great Recession – and two economic surveys prepared each month by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics prove it. The BLS and IDES surveys track employment and jobs growth in Illinois: both household surveys...

Cubs tarp fiasco a result of ObamaCare?

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
08/22/2014
Forget the Curse of the Billygoat – the spectre of ObamaCare might have embarrassed the Cubs organization just as much as the team’s poor performance on the field. Already running last in the National League Central, the franchise suffered another blow to their ego this week when they allegedly failed to staff enough grounds crew...

Union waste and pay raises cost thousands of government workers their jobs

By Paul Kersey
08/22/2014
Several of Illinois’ most influential government unions are wasting money on overhead and administrative costs. Workers aren’t getting their money’s worth for the dues they are forced to pay. But state-employee pay has more than doubled over the last decade or so, with lax attendance rules that actually reward workers for showing up late to work....

Illinois a terrible hostess: Twinkies leave the state

By Austin Berg
08/22/2014
Hostess Brands LLC announced on Aug. 20 that the Illinois bakery where Twinkies were first invented will close this fall. More than 400 workers will be affected by the shuttering of the company’s Schiller Park location in October. Sadly, this isn’t surprising. In 2012, Hostess closed three bakeries nationwide after a massive union strike, high...

TAGS: jobs, Twinkies

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Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

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...

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016