Politicians and pundits can’t seem to agree about whether the U.S. is in a recession, but the semantics matter little for struggling Americans. Illinois can expect economic pain regardless of what it’s called.

A study from WalletHub ranks Illinois 50th-most severe on COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants. 233,500 jobs were lost in that sector since February.

More than 1 in 5 black and Hispanic female workers in Illinois lost their jobs during the first month of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Illinois will need more foreign investment, and major reforms to the state’s business climate, in order to get off the weak economic path it now treads.

Only 51 percent of black adults reported having some form of work in Illinois.

Illinois had the highest black unemployment rate of any state at the end of 2016, holding that distinction for six consecutive quarters, according to analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. The Land of Lincoln also has the largest gap between its white and black unemployment rates.

Illinois has had the nation’s highest black unemployment rate for 15 months in a row.

by Ashley Muchow Depression. Great Recession. Trough. We’ve heard it all in reference to the struggling state of the U.S. economy. President Barack Obama has insisted his policy moves and $787 billion-plus spending initiatives staved off a second Great Depression. The National Bureau of Economic Research declared late last month that the recession ended in June of 2009, after less...