July 2021 Update: This position has been filled. For full details and to apply, click here: ILEPI Research Associate. The Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) is hiring! ILEPI seeks one (1) qualified candidate to employ as a full-time Research Associate. The duties … Continue reading ILEPI is Hiring a Research Associate
Investing in infrastructure creates jobs and boosts the economy. The nation’s infrastructure has been underfunded for far too long, with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) giving U.S. infrastructure a “C-” grade. ASCE estimates that the United States needs … Continue reading Infrastructure Week 2021: Follow Illinois’ Lead with the American Jobs Plan
View this article online as a PDF here. A May 6, 2021 article by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy titled “Do Construction Wages Fall after Ending a Prevailing Wage Mandate?” claims that the repeal of Indiana’s prevailing wage law, … Continue reading Blue-Collar Construction Worker Wages Fell After Indiana Repealed Its Prevailing Wage Law
Child Care Burdens Linked with Growing Economic and Career Hardships for Women Chicago: A new survey of more than 1,000 working mothers who were employed in March 2020 finds that child care burdens associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have deepened … Continue reading Survey: Nearly Half of Illinois’ Working Mothers Lost Jobs or Are Working Fewer Hours One Year Into Pandemic
Clean Energy Projects Can Reflect Local Standards of Compensation without Impacting Installation Costs
One Year In, Fuel Consumption and Transit Ridership Continue to Lag Pre-Pandemic Levels
Illinois Legislators expected to announce new reform proposal this week
Continue reading “Report: Illinois Transportation Planning Lags Neighboring States in Project Selection, Transparency, and Oversight Metrics”
Pandemic’s “essential” workers face especially steep pay penalties in RTW states
Continue reading “National Study Says So-called “Right to Work” States Have Worse Economic, Health, Social, and Civic Outcomes”
The January 2021 Edition of ILEPI’s newsletter, Illinois Insights, has been released. This edition focuses on subminimum wages of Uber and Lyft drivers in Chicago, wage theft … Continue reading Illinois Insights – January 2021 Edition
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
The Illinois Update 