illinois policy institute

So here's the great news as we head into a holiday weekend where more Illinoisans will be driving somewhere than we have in a decade: The new gas taxes kick in today.

Here's a little sample of an exchange between several of my coworkers when we were discussing the upcoming 4th of July festivities in a staff meeting this morning:

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.

As you probably already know, Illinois leads the Midwest (and is near the top in the nation) in outbound migration. When people who are moving out of our state are asked why, the number one reason, by a wide margin, is a one-word answer: taxes.

Illinois’ unemployment rate is still lagging behind the rest of the nation and is the highest of all Midwestern states at 7.1%, leaving 436,400 Illinoisans looking for work, according to analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute.

No matter how you look at it, 35 percent is a huge number of small businesses that have either temporarily or permanently closed their doors because of COVID-19.

Last night, I started getting emails and texts from some people I know who are pretty plugged-in to Illinois politics. When I say plugged-in, I mean they're obsessed with the political machinations of a state that has just been named (again) as one of America's most corrupt states.

Now that you've got masks that match up with all of your different outfits and moods, it would be a real shame to get rid of them wouldn't it? Don't worry. It's not going to happen anytime soon.

We've been hearing about and seeing Illinois' "outbound migration" troubles for at least a decade now, and a new study shows the problem is on the increase.

On Election Day 2020, voters here in Illinois said "I don't think so" to the Fair or Progressive Tax that was heavily pushed by Governor Pritzker. So, where do we go from here to straighten out Illinois' financial problems?