Illinois’ weak jobs growth is driving more residents to other states on net than Illinois gains from other states, from natural growth in births or from international immigration.
The commission’s 14 policy suggestions aim to safely reduce Illinois’ prison population by 25 percent by 2025.
Amid CPS’ postponed $875 million bond sale, Chicagoans should question whether the district can fill its budget hole and whether Emanuel will stand up for Chicago taxpayers or give in to more teachers union demands.
Government-worker union officials filed papers with the Illinois General Assembly in favor of the “pension holiday” that contributed to the state’s $111 billion pension debt.
CPS is broke. To preserve funding for the classroom and Chicago's children, and to keep CPS from going belly up, CPS officials must broker significant concessions from the union.
Federal data show how Illinois workers suffer under their state’s anti-manufacturing status quo.
Caterpillar Inc.’s announcement of 670 layoffs comes amid the loss of a quarter of the manufacturing jobs in Peoria and Tazewell counties since 2008.
Across the state, only 36 percent of third-grade black children read at grade level in 2014, while only 39 percent of Hispanic children met the standards. Yet state education rules force 4th grade children to advance to the next grade – whether they’re reading-ready or not.
Chicago’s many bureaucratic barriers to starting a business shield established businesses from competition and keep low-income entrepreneurs from getting ahead.
The East Peoria, Ill., plant will be the hardest hit, losing 230 jobs for office and production workers. As neighboring states grow factory work, Illinois is approaching an all-time low for manufacturing jobs.
Unlike Illinois, Pennsylvania has actually recovered the number of jobs it lost during the Great Recession, and now has 40,000 more jobs than it had at its pre-recession peak. Illinois, on the other hand, still has 90,000 fewer jobs than it had before the recession, the worst jobs recovery in the U.S.