Illinois companies announce 650 mass layoffs in November

By Brendan Bakala

12/06/2016

Employers in the Land of Lincoln announced 650 mass layoffs in November, according to the November edition of the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, report. This report marks the first time since July 2015 that there wasn’t single mass-layoff announcement in the manufacturing sector. The types of jobs lost were spread across...

TAGS: Megabus, Mondelez International, Primesource, Ryder, WARN

Village of Barrington to resist Cook County minimum wage hike

11/28/2016

The northwest suburb of Barrington passed an ordinance to allow local businesses to forgo Cook County’s minimum wage hike, which has the potential to be devastating for jobs in the county.

TAGS: Cook County, minimum wage

Illinois metro jobs data tell a tale of two states

By Michael Lucci

11/17/2016

Metropolitan jobs data show that from September 2015 – September 2016 the greater Chicago area is up approximately 49,000 jobs, while the rest of the state is down 6,000 jobs.

TAGS: jobs, manufacturing, unemployment

A sorry state: Illinois’ economy in 2017

By Orphe Divounguy

11/16/2016

Since the end of the recession, only 5 out of Illinois’ 13 metro areas – Carbondale-Marion, Chicago, Kankakee, Lake County-Kenosha County and Springfield – have recovered all the private-sector jobs lost from the Great Recession.

TAGS: economy, jobs, unemployment

Face it: Property taxes are forcing Illinoisans out of their homes

By Austin Berg

10/13/2016

Nearly half of respondents said they would like to leave the state, including almost two-thirds of millennials.

TAGS: BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Gallup, Mike Madigan, outmigration, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, Steve Brown

Illinois counties, cities should have the right to dissolve townships

09/21/2016

Some steps have been taken to dissolve unnecessary units of governments, but taxpayers need an easier path to eliminate wasteful governmental bodies.

TAGS: budget, local government consolidation, property taxes

Chicago area sees greatest population loss of any major U.S. city in 2015

By Michael Lucci

03/25/2016

Census data are sounding a warning signal that Chicago and Illinois policy leaders don’t necessarily want to hear.

TAGS: Chicago, outmigration, population

Illinois corruption watch: January 2016

02/12/2016

In January several instances of corruption, influence peddling and mismanagement across Illinois were brought to light, from the College of DuPage’s expense-account mismanagement, to Chicago’s red-light-camera bribery case.

New proposal would hold schools accountable for ensuring students can read

By Ted Dabrowski

01/31/2016

Across the state, only 36 percent of third-grade black children read at grade level in 2014, while only 39 percent of Hispanic children met the standards. Yet state education rules force 4th grade children to advance to the next grade – whether they’re reading-ready or not.

TAGS: college readiness, education

The Chicago squeeze: Property taxes, fees and over 30 individual taxes crush city residents

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

12/08/2015

Chicagoans are the most-taxed residents of any major city in Illinois and pay the 10th-highest property taxes compared to taxpayers in other large U.S. cities.

Lake County

Illinois companies announce 650 mass layoffs in November

Village of Barrington to resist Cook County minimum wage hike

Illinois metro jobs data tell a tale of two states

A sorry state: Illinois’ economy in 2017

Face it: Property taxes are forcing Illinoisans out of their homes

Illinois counties, cities should have the right to dissolve townships

Chicago area sees greatest population loss of any major U.S. city in 2015

Illinois corruption watch: January 2016

New proposal would hold schools accountable for ensuring students can read

The Chicago squeeze: Property taxes, fees and over 30 individual taxes crush city residents

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