W-2 Equivalent Wages Average $12.30 to $13.62 – and Only 14% of Riders Tip in Chicago Drivers working for transportation network provider (TNP) services – such as Uber, Lyft, and Via – in the City of Chicago have relatively low … Continue reading RELEASE: The Average Uber & Lyft Driver Earns Less than Minimum Wage in Chicago

New study says 1-in-5 construction workers in the Upper Midwest are illegally misclassified as independent contractors or paid off the books La Grange, IL:  With public budgets increasingly strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, new research by the Illinois Economic Policy … Continue reading Construction Wage Theft Costs WI, MN, and IL Taxpayers $362 Million Per Year

Union agreements don’t just benefit members, they strengthen communities in era of uncertainty La Grange, IL:  An analysis of eight construction industry collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in the Chicago metropolitan area details how unionization extends benefits far beyond the paychecks … Continue reading Study: Collective Bargaining Boosts Economy and Strengthens Public Budgets

When Prevailing Wages Do Not Apply, RBOs Uphold Local Construction Standards La Grange: An Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) study of more than 1,200 public works projects in Illinois and Indiana finds that local responsible bidder ordinances (RBOs) boost bid … Continue reading STUDY: Responsible Bidder Ordinances (RBOs) Boost Competition, Increase Apprenticeship, and Control Costs on Public Projects

No state that has repealed prevailing wage has seen the benefits claimed by politicians La Grange, Illinois:  For the third time in as many years, state-level research conducted by the nonpartisan Midwest Economic Policy Institute (MEPI) has shown that the … Continue reading NEW STUDY: Wisconsin Prevailing Wage Repeal Reduced Wages, Exported Jobs and Tax Dollars Out of State, and Failed to Deliver Any Cost Savings

Illinois residents will soon being voting on whether to amend the state’s Constitution to allow for a progressive income tax, which has been called the “Fair Tax.” Currently in Illinois, millionaires pay the same tax rate as workers earning the … Continue reading Illinois Needs the Fair Tax to Recover from COVID-19 Recession

While union workers were more likely to be deemed essential during the pandemic, early data suggests Supreme Court’s Janus decision is having effects on public sector unionization in Illinois La Grange:  For the second straight year, the number of American … Continue reading REPORT: Union Density Declining in Illinois, Across United States

As Fossil Fuel Employment Shrinks, Renewable Energy Sector Producing Reliable Job Growth Countryside, IL:  Three of the nation’s leading producers of renewable energy are poised to lead a clean energy boom as the region works to recover from the economic … Continue reading Study: Minnesota and the Dakotas Poised for Post-COVID-19 Clean Energy Boom

We’re listening to the scientists and doctors, because the number one thing is, we don’t want to open the economy and then close it again.

–Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia on May 20, 2020.

Click here to view this policy memo as a PDF.

Continue reading “There Is Evidence that Illinois’ Re-opening Plan Has Worked — For Now”

The global coronavirus pandemic has strained the health care system in Illinois and the United States more broadly. Many states saw declines in COVID-19 positive case rates and hospitalizations in late April and early June. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, however, … Continue reading COVID-19: Straining Health Care System, But Union Hospitals Better Prepared