The regulatory cost of doing business in Illinois remains the highest in the Midwest for workers’ compensation, according to the 2016 Oregon Workers’ Compensation Premium Rate Ranking study.[1] Illinois’ out-of-balance workers’ compensation laws contribute to the Land of Lincoln’s loss of industrial investment and blue-collar job opportunities. Illinois manufacturing firms often cite workers’ compensation as...

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show Illinois’ professional and business services sector has fared better than the state’s manufacturing industry, which recorded 800 job losses in September.

The August BLS jobs report shows Illinois is down 8,000 manufacturing jobs on the year, giving the state the worst manufacturing job losses in the region, and a summer workforce contraction totaling 100,000 people.

The Land of Lincoln’s out-migration crisis is the most severe in the region and worsening over time.

Less than half of Illinois households are defined as middle class.

The month of June saw Illinois continue to lose jobs, as the state’s long-term economic woes continue to push workers out of the state.

Weak jobs numbers across the Midwest reflect the possibility of an oncoming economic slowdown. In fact, it would not be surprising to face a recession in the upcoming months, given that U.S. jobs growth has been weakening, and it has been seven years since the previous recession ended – a long period of expansion by historical norms.

News that Wrigley has started producing Skittles in Illinois has many excited – until they learn just how much Illinois gave in tax incentives to lure 75 new jobs.