Food-stamp fraud and prevalence signs of a struggling state

By Austin Berg

08/25/2016

More than 1 in 5 Illinois households rely on food stamps to make ends meet.

TAGS: corruption, food stamps, jobs, SNAP, unemployment, welfare

Illinois has highest black unemployment rate in U.S.

By Michael Lucci

08/24/2016

The Land of Lincoln’s job-killing policies are hurting minority communities increasingly hard, while black unemployment in pro-growth states remains significantly lower.

TAGS: jobs, unemployment

Illinois state workers have options if they wish to opt out of a union

By Mailee Smith

08/19/2016

Illinois state workers can opt out of union membership to become fair share payers, but reforms such as Right to Work and Worker’s Choice would promote greater worker freedom and benefit the state.

Unemployment rate drops as Illinois workforce shrinks by 33,600 during summer moving season

By Michael Lucci

08/19/2016

Manufacturing weakness driving Illinois unemployment up; dropout and out-migration driving unemployment down.

TAGS: BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, IDES: Illinois Department of Employment Security, jobs, manufacturing, unemployment

Illinois is a high-tax state

By John Klingner

08/17/2016

Illinois had the fourth-highest combined state and local tax burden as a share of state income in the country.

COGFA report points to manufacturing as cause of Illinois’ high unemployment

By Michael Lucci

08/17/2016

Illinois’ weak manufacturing recovery from the Great Recession has led to the Land of Lincoln’s having the worst unemployment rate among nearby and neighboring Rust Belt states.

TAGS: manufacturing, workers compensation

Budget estimates fall as Illinois hits slowest economic growth since Great Recession

By Michael Lucci

08/14/2016

Illinois’ slow economic growth, made worse by out-migration, needs to be addressed in order to tackle the state’s budgetary problems.

TAGS: budget, COGFA: Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, GDP: gross domestic product, outmigration, personal income, taxes

Rosemont mayor to receive 53 percent pay hike — to $260,000 a year

08/13/2016

Trustees in Rosemont, Ill., voted to hike their mayor’s salary to $260,000 – a 53 percent raise.

TAGS: Brad Stephens, local government, Rosemont

It’s time to get special interests out of workers’ comp

By Austin Berg

08/12/2016

Illinois physicians in the workers’ compensation system are allowed to sell “repackaged” pills directly to patients at huge markups, averaging between 60 and 300 percent.

TAGS: workers compensation

Madigan continues to mislead about what’s hurting middle-class wage growth in Illinois

By Michael Lucci

08/08/2016

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan criticizes Gov. Bruce Rauner’s economic reform ideas and offers only growth-killing tax hikes for Illinoisans in need of better jobs and income.

TAGS: household income, jobs, Mike Madigan, personal income

Midwestern United States

Food-stamp fraud and prevalence signs of a struggling state

Illinois has highest black unemployment rate in U.S.

Illinois state workers have options if they wish to opt out of a union

Unemployment rate drops as Illinois workforce shrinks by 33,600 during summer moving season

Illinois is a high-tax state

COGFA report points to manufacturing as cause of Illinois’ high unemployment

Budget estimates fall as Illinois hits slowest economic growth since Great Recession

Rosemont mayor to receive 53 percent pay hike — to $260,000 a year

It’s time to get special interests out of workers’ comp

Madigan continues to mislead about what’s hurting middle-class wage growth in Illinois

7 things to know about public charter school laws in Illinois

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