In the game of state competitiveness, Illinois lags the nation. Poor policy decisions continue to sap economic activity and ruin opportunities for businesses operating in Illinois.
Job growth is also anemic in the state. Illinois added 12,400 jobs last month. Thats a growth rate of only 0.2 percent from the previous month.
Both Gov. Pat Quinn and President Barack Obama called for an increase in the minimum wage when they made their respective State of the State and State of the Union speeches.
In Gov. Pat Quinns State of the State address, he said, In our Illinois, small business means big business. Driving economic growth for small businesses requires doing all we can to make sure government is not in the way.
The Illinois Policy Institute has long warned that Illinois high-tax environment hurts the states economy. Prior to the 2011 income tax hike, we sounded the alarm that higher taxes would cause people and businesses to leave the state.
Economy shrinks for first time since recession ends
Illinois Policy Institute’s Vice President of Policy, Ted Dabrowski, joined Varney & Co. on Fox Business to discuss poverty in Illinois — one in three residents lives at or near poverty.
Legislation to temporarily avoid the fiscal cliff was supposed to be a move toward comprehensive tax reform. It was the opposite. The deal included dozens of corporate tax breaks that will cost taxpayers billions.
Illinois’ unemployment fell to 8.7 percent in November from 8.8 percent in October, adding 16,400 new payroll jobs. Despite this small decrease in the unemployment rate, Illinois is still a full percentage point above the national unemployment average of 7.7 percent, and 1.6 percentage points higher than the average of its neighboring states. That fact –...
Michigan is now the 24th state to give individuals the right not to join a union through Right-to-Work legislation. Individual liberty is an important dimension of economic freedom and an essential component of a well-functioning market economy. When individuals are limited in their ability to contract, or sell one’s labor services, economic activity and quality...
The national unemployment rate may have dropped to 7.7 percent in November from 7.9 percent in October, but the nation is making little progress on the road to a full economic recovery. Though a decrease may seem encouraging, the reality of these numbers is not: The rate dropped because more than 350,000 people left the...
In his recent op-ed, “How to rebuild America,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel boasts that Chicago’s “investments” in public schools, community colleges and infrastructure improvements have put Chicagoans back to work. Here’s what he said: “The strength of these investments is proven in the number of people we’re putting back to work: Chicago is first...
How do American entrepreneurs decide where to set up shop? Business creators look at indicators like corporate tax rates and the health of a state’s finances when determining the best location in which to take root. According to a survey published recently by Thumbtack.com and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Illinois isn’t quite cutting the mustard. On...
Illinois’ unemployment rate remained at a stagnant 8.8 percent in October, unchanged since September and still far above the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. Adding only a paltry 4,800 jobs last month, the state has been stuck in neutral, at best. Illinois’ neighbors, on the other hand, are watching their unemployment rates drop. They’re...