Laws help grow incomes across the racial spectrum, and help more workers access middle class La Grange: Prevailing wage laws reduce income inequality between African-American and white construction workers by as much as 53% and help more blue-collar workers reach … Continue reading NEW STUDY: Prevailing Wage Laws Close Income Gaps for African Americans in Construction
It is time to assess studies forecasting what would happen if Indiana repealed its prevailing wage law. A Ph.D. economist who has studied prevailing wage for 24 years was 100% accurate. A partisan ideologue was only 14% correct. Trust the expert, not the rhetoric. Continue reading “Fact Check: Which Policy Wonks Should You Trust on Prevailing Wage?”
Two January 2018 working papers find that unions have important social impacts in America. The first finds that union members individually contribute about $1,300 more per year to public budgets than non-union workers. The second finds that so-called “right-to-work” laws reduce voter turnout by 2-3 percentage points because working-class Americans are less likely to be contacted through union get-out-the-vote efforts. These studies have important policy implications. Continue reading “Unions Improve Public Budgets and Increase Voter Turnout”
The Illinois Prevailing Wage Act is good for workers, businesses, and families in Illinois. For proof, all we have to do is look to our neighbors in Indiana, where prevailing wage was repealed in July 2015.
Continue reading “Look What Happened When Prevailing Wage Was Repealed in Indiana”
Illinois added 15,000 union members in 2017 while its five bordering states lost 104,000 union members. Continue reading “Union Membership Increased in Illinois, Fell in Neighboring States Last Year”
A new report released by the Illinois Policy Institute on prevailing wage is factually inaccurate. Here’s why.
Continue reading “The Illinois Policy Institute Receives a Failing Grade on Prevailing Wage”
Eliminating the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program would directly impact more than 464,000 people in Illinois; state and local governments would lose access to $116 million in federal funding. Continue reading “Eliminating the Community Development Block Grant Program Would Hurt the Illinois Economy”
Eliminating the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program would Hurt Students, Low-Income Families, and the Illinois Economy. Continue reading “Federal Tax Cuts Would Put Billionaires Ahead of Working Families”
FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS THREATEN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME FAMILIES IN ILLINOIS Trump Administration’s proposal to eliminate Community Development Block Grants and Public Service Loan Forgiveness program would hurt economy and adversely impact 500,000 state residents each year. La Grange: The Trump Administration’s proposal to … Continue reading Tax Plan Could Threaten Illinois’ Most Vulnerable Residents, New Studies Show
A recent report by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (PMCR) assesses the positive economic impacts of public universities and colleges in Illinois and measures the costs of the two-year budget impasse. Continue reading “Public Universities and Community Colleges Boost the Illinois Economy by $16 Billion Every Year”
Illinois has spent at least $4.9 billion in state and local business subsidies since 2000, after adjusting for inflation. This equates to $288.5 million per year. While these subsidies have saved or created some jobs in the state, Illinois could have created even more jobs and more economic growth if tax dollars had instead been invested in public infrastructure and public education.
Continue reading “Tax Dollars Should Be Spent on Broad-Based Investments, Not Corporate Subsidies”
NEW STUDY DOCUMENTS HARMFUL IMPACT OF BUDGET STALEMATE ON ILLINOIS’ PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Two-Year Impasse Led to Reduced Enrollment, Layoffs, and Tuition Hikes Chicago: The two-year Illinois budget stalemate reduced enrollment in the state’s public colleges and universities by … Continue reading Illinois Public Universities Were Harmed by State Budget Impasse
