Illinois school districts paid out $8.8 million in penalties over two school years to cover salary and sick days in excess of what is allowed by law. Those are dollars taken from classrooms, but only hint at the full taxpayer cost.
Illinois’ record population decline affeced nearly all counties in 2021.
Illinois’ record population decline affected virtually all of the state’s largest cities.
Bloomington is the only metro area to recover jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and statewide mandated shutdowns. Illinois is still missing 200,100 jobs as of January 2020.
The Illinois House voted to use $2.7 billion in federal relief to partially refill the state’s depleted unemployment trust fund. Some lawmakers said it’s not enough.
Illinois’ cannabis dispensaries are noticing a steady drop in sales after record-setting sales in December. High prices and a lack of supply likely push customers to street dealers.
Although Hispanics were one of the groups hardest hit by pandemic-related job losses, 85,000 more Hispanic Illinoisans were employed in December 2021 compared to December 2019. Hispanic women are driving their recovery.
Former House Speaker Mike Madigan was the longest serving House Speaker in the nation and at one time the most powerful politician in Illinois. In March, he waas indicted on federal racketeering charges. Fixing Illinois’ longstanding history corrupution goes passed rooting out one man. Austin Berg joins the Policy Shop to explain how Madigan got...
Illinois’ employment recovery continued in January, but the state remains far from a full recovery and still lags the nation.
Black workers in Illinois face much higher unemployment rates than other Black workers in the nation and than their white peers in Illinois. Investing in MAP grants rather than spending more on public pensions could make a difference.
The Proviso teachers’ union declared the strike over compensation March 4, canceling classes for the district’s 4,200 students for 8 days so far. The local school board tried to call a time-out to get students back in class, but the union refused.
Employment in nearly all of Illinois’ major industries are still lagging other states two years after the initial COVID-19 shutdowns rocked the economy.