From the middle of March through the middle of April, there was a slow-down of the labor market's recovery across the country, but especially here in Illinois--and Rockford in particular.
It's pretty clear that Chicago is on a roll this year when it comes to having annoying, biting, or bloodsucking pests in abundance (and in elected office). I'm just not sure that this is the kind of thing Chicago's tourism folks would want to brag about.
Over the last 10 years, Illinois Illinois posted the 2nd largest population decline in numeric terms, behind only West Virginia. As a percentage of the population, Illinois’ population decline was third worst behind West Virginia and Mississippi.
The American Hotel and Lodging Association's (AHLA) report on the state of the hotel industry in 2021 and going forward is, to say the least, not a pretty picture--especially here in Illinois.
According to the BrewersAssociation.org website, Illinois has around 300 craft breweries, which means that we have 3 breweries for every 100,000 Illinoisans over the age of 21. We'd better get busy, because that beer isn't going to drink itself.
Obviously, quite a few things have changed in America since 1963. One of the more notable changes has been the population of bald eagles, which, after 58 years, has risen from 417 nesting pairs to an astounding 71,400, according to a new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
Sure, this whole COVID-19 mess has put somewhat of a damper on one of Rockford's (and America's) great party and celebration days, but nothing short of lockdown enforced by armed men is going to stop it.
So, many of you here in the Rockford area found yourself among the millions of Americans who were forced to make a change during the pandemic lockdowns and closings, and you started working from home.
In the interests of full disclosure, I must confess to not being a TikTok user. I'm completely aware of TikTok, and what the world's fastest-growing social media platform is all about thanks to my daughter Molly, a somewhat avid user.