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

By Patrick Andriesen

05/28/2026

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...

Peoria school board wisely returning to basics in reading

By Hannah Schmid

05/18/2026

Peoria Public Schools is adopting evidence-based practices.

4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

By LyLena Estabine

01/13/2026

Causes, costs, how to set the state free

Lawmakers seek to strengthen student literacy through teacher training

By Hannah Schmid

05/08/2025

House Bill 1368 builds on previous literacy efforts by state lawmakers in 2023. If passed, professional development for literacy instruction would be aligned with “science of reading” strategies.

TAGS: public schools

Literacy epidemic hits Illinois as fewer than 1 in 3 students read well

By Hannah Schmid

03/28/2025

Student literacy is in trouble nationally. Illinois is one of 41 states where just 1 in 3 or fewer of its fourth-graders met reading standards in 2024.

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...

5 solutions for Illinois schools to fight literacy crisis

By Hannah Schmid

01/08/2025

The first three years of elementary school are critical in building reading skills so a student succeeds in school and life. Illinois lawmakers can push five proven literacy reforms to give the state’s students a better start.

TAGS: literacy, public schools

How Mississippi ended its worst-in-the-nation early literacy epidemic

By Hannah Schmid

09/27/2024

Mississippi state lawmakers enacted science-based literacy legislation in 2013, laying the groundwork for improved reading proficiency among early grades, and additional legislation in 2016 to solidify improvement in literacy trends.

Building not permitted: Building permits in Illinois are a barrier to housing affordability

By Joe Tabor

09/26/2024

Published Sept. 26, 2024 Illinois is in the midst of a housing affordability crisis. Over a third of residents are considered “burdened” by housing costs, meaning they pay over 30% of their income on costs related to housing. That is a greater portion of residents burdened by housing than any other state in the Midwest....

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.

Mississippi

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

Peoria school board wisely returning to basics in reading

4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

Lawmakers seek to strengthen student literacy through teacher training

Literacy epidemic hits Illinois as fewer than 1 in 3 students read well

Illinois’ low social mobility: causes and cures

5 solutions for Illinois schools to fight literacy crisis

How Mississippi ended its worst-in-the-nation early literacy epidemic

Building not permitted: Building permits in Illinois are a barrier to housing affordability

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

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