FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2025 Media contact: Todd Stenhouse, 916-397-1131, toddstenhouse@gmail.com            Analysis Explores Impact of Cuts, Project Cancellations, Funding Recissions, and Mass Federal Firings on Illinois La Grange, IL: By the end of President Trump’s term, the wave … Continue reading REPORT: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CUTS WILL SHRINK ILLINOIS ECONOMY BY $10 BILLION ANNUALLY AND COST 86,000 JOBS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 20, 2025 Media contact: Todd Stenhouse, 916-397-1131, toddstenhouse@gmail.com                    La Grange, IL: Investments in pre-apprenticeship programs have helped women and people of color become the two fastest growing … Continue reading STUDY Shows that Pre-Apprenticeship Programs are Dramatically Increasing Participation of Women and Black Workers in Illinois’ Construction Workforce

Participants in union-affiliated construction programs see biggest gains Chicago: A new study commissioned by the United States Department of Labor has revealed that registered apprenticeship programs—career training alternatives to college in which enrollment has doubled over the past decade—dramatically increases … Continue reading DOL Study: Registered Apprenticeships Expand Access to Living Wages for Millions of U.S. Workers

Chicago:  With many economists predicting that the United States could fall into recession within the next few years, a new report has found that Illinois is far better positioned to withstand the effects of such a downturn than it was … Continue reading REPORT: Illinois Is Better Positioned to Withstand Recession Than It Was in EITHER 2007 or 2020

Annual Report Shows Labor Gaining Strength in Private Sector, Despite Public Sector Losses Following Janus Decision Chicago: Though a 2018 Supreme Court decision and so-called “right-to-work” laws have continued to negatively impact union membership, the U.S. added union members for … Continue reading REPORT: U.S. Added Union Members for Second Straight Year; Illinois Saw Highest Number of Successful Union Petitions in A Decade 

Expanding Coverage of Prevailing Wage Standards to More Broadband Projects Would Improve Outcomes La Grange, IL: As Minnesota leverages hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal funding to spur a nearly $2 billion total investment in expanding high-speed … Continue reading Study Shows Minnesota Broadband Projects Lag Other Types of Public Works on Local Hiring, Job Quality, and Taxpayer Accountability

Analysis of Port of Seattle Projects Shows PLAs Delivering Better Outcomes than Non-PLA Alternatives La Grange, IL: A first-of-its-kind analysis of construction projects from the Port of Seattle between 2016 and 2023—including airports and seaports—shows that project labor agreements (PLAs) … Continue reading Study Shows that Project Labor Agreements Promote Bid Competition, Control Costs, and Expand Pathways to Skilled Construction Careers

Efforts to Scale Back Project Could Undermine Billions in Projected Long-Term Economic Benefits La Grange, IL: As the City of Chicago and partner airlines negotiate over the future of the O’Hare 21 modernization program, a new report by the nonpartisan … Continue reading STUDY: Completing O’Hare Modernization Could Grow Economy Nearly $20 Billion and Create Almost 100K Jobs

Chicago, IL: A first-of-its-kind study on the effects of enacting a state-level Child Tax Credit (CTC) in Illinois finds that the policy would reduce child poverty, directly affect a majority of Illinois children, deliver significant income tax cuts to eligible … Continue reading STUDY: Illinois Child Tax Credit Would Reduce Child Poverty, Cut Taxes for Families with Children, and Grow the State’s Economy

Support Included Majorities of Democrats and Republicans; Members Think Amendment Will Promote High-Quality Jobs in Illinois Chicago, IL: Nine-in-ten union members voted in favor of the Workers’ Rights Amendment last year, including bipartisan majorities of Democratic and Republican members—according to … Continue reading SURVEY: 88% of Illinois’ Union Members Voted Yes on Workers’ Rights Amendment Last Year

On October 25, 2023, the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) posted a critique of A Decade of Illinois’ Migration Patterns: Providing Demographic, Geographic, and Socioeconomic Context, a new study released jointly by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and the Project … Continue reading Why Critiques of the ILEPI-PMCR Migration Study Are Unfounded

Illinois Becoming More Urban, Higher Paid, and Less Reliant on Government Assistance Chicago, IL: An analysis of Current Population Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Illinois Department of Revenue data shows that Illinois is NOT suffering the mass … Continue reading STUDY: Migration Trends Show Stability in Illinois Population and Growth in Its Tax Base