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.

Division president cites Wisconsin’s favorable business environment as chief reason for move.

Illinois ranks as the top pumpkin producer in the country, which isn’t much of a consolation given the state’s poor performance in almost every economic category.

The Land of Lincoln’s unfriendly climate for manufacturers has weakened Illinois cities, discouraged investment and made the state uncompetitive in the region.

Illinois law gives financial incentives to many injured workers to stay off the job and to doctors to prescribe more medications to workers’ compensation patients.

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.

Illinois stands out in the industrial Midwest for its skewed government-to-manufacturing-jobs ratio.

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

Illinois lags the rest of the Midwest in recovering from the recession.