Illinois is Midwest’s biggest people loser

By Bryce Hill

03/05/2025

Most neighboring states are gaining residents from people moving across state lines. Even of the states losing people, Illinois is losing at a significantly faster rate.

Illinois property taxes No. 2, double national average in 2025

By Patrick Andriesen

03/01/2025

Illinois families will pay the second-highest property tax rate in the nation in 2025, spending more than double what the average American family will spend to stay in the same home. That’s driving Illinoisans away.

TAGS: property taxes

Illinois students show continued struggles in reading, math on national exam

By Hannah Schmid

01/30/2025

The nation’s report card was just released and shows Illinois students continue to struggle to meet proficiency standards in reading and math. State leaders are spinning 8th-grade results as a win, but in reality, they lag. Ignored are the struggles of younger students.

TAGS: public schools

Illinois’ low social mobility: causes and cures

01/28/2025

Published Jan. 28, 2025 Illinois Policy Institute Center for Poverty Solutions, in partnership with the Archbridge Institute By Joshua Bandoch, Ph.D., head of policy, Illinois Policy Institute and Justin Callais, Ph.D., chief economist, Archbridge Institute EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A low-income person’s ability to move up in society is worse in Illinois than in any other Midwestern...

3 ways a ‘millionaire tax’ would hurt Illinois

By Matheus Cosso

10/29/2024

Illinois voters on Nov. 5 will be asked whether they favor a “millionaire tax.” Here are three things to know about it: the tax can be easily avoided, it fails to provide stable revenue and it discourages or limits economic growth.

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

By Josh Bandoch, Larry Han

10/16/2024

Published Oct. 16, 2024 Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and...

Illinois part of national epidemic, with only 1 in 3 students reading well

By Hannah Schmid

09/19/2024

Student literacy is in trouble nationally, which is why Illinois is one of 35 states where just 1 in 3 – or fewer – of its fourth graders met reading standards in 2022.

4 new occupational licensing laws remove barriers in Illinois

By Joe Tabor

09/05/2024

Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently OK’d four new laws that would expand the ability for professionals to practice in Illinois. While they are advancements, Illinois’ onerous occupational licensing system needs comprehensive reform.

TAGS: occupational licensing

Pritzker scorecard: Illinois’ governor failing on economy, taxes, education

By Bryce Hill

08/15/2024

Real-world outcomes for Illinoisans have dropped since Gov. J.B. Pritzker took office. The nation’s Democrats need to see where he’s taken Illinois before following his lead.

TAGS: JB Pritzker

Democratic National Convention just in time to wave goodbye to Chicagoans

By Dylan Sharkey, Kurtis Karg

08/12/2024

The Democratic National Convention is coming to Chicago to highlight the party’s platform. Delegates are likely to see moving vans that highlight what those policies have done to the Windy City and the rest of Illinois.

TAGS: DNC: Democratic National Convention

Indiana

Illinois is Midwest’s biggest people loser

Illinois property taxes No. 2, double national average in 2025

Illinois students show continued struggles in reading, math on national exam

Illinois’ low social mobility: causes and cures

3 ways a ‘millionaire tax’ would hurt Illinois

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois part of national epidemic, with only 1 in 3 students reading well

4 new occupational licensing laws remove barriers in Illinois

Pritzker scorecard: Illinois’ governor failing on economy, taxes, education

Democratic National Convention just in time to wave goodbye to Chicagoans

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

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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