“Shoring up the middle means making bad jobs better, keeping good jobs good, and supporting the growth of the economy as a whole.” Continue reading “University of Illinois Report Takes the Pulse of Illinois’ Shrinking Middle Class”
The proposed extension of Route 53/120 will bring jobs to Lake County and improve overall transportation movements for residents by alleviating traffic congestion. These improvements will make Lake County more attractive to prospective businesses, which will provide significant economic benefits. Construction of the Route 53/120 extension will actually provide a net benefit to the local economy and improve the quality of life for Lake County residents.
A new study finds that the introduction of “right-to-work” laws has reduced the unionization rate by 2.1 percentage points and lowered worker wages by 2.6% in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Continue reading ““Right-to-Work” Laws in the Midwest Have Reduced Unionization and Lowered Wages”
The Brookings Institution and the Wilson Center entertainingly show that repealing the Davis-Bacon Act would not save taxpayer dollars.
Continue reading “Two Top U.S. Research Organizations: Repealing Davis-Bacon Act Would Save 0%”
Episode 8 of the For A Living Podcast is now available on SoundCloud and on iTunes.
What are the causes of high African-American unemployment, particularly in Illinois? What policies and economic phenomena make a statistical impact on reducing unemployment among African Americans? Continue reading “Podcast: Reducing African-American Unemployment”
Repealing Kentucky’s prevailing wage law would weaken the state’s economy, according to a new study.
Eliminating prevailing wage would cause a pay cut for middle-class workers, qualify more workers for public assistance, slash apprenticeship training, and result in more of Kentucky’s tax dollars going to out-of-state or foreign contractors. Veterans, who populate construction trades at a higher rate than non-veterans, would be particularly impacted if Kentucky were to repeal its prevailing wage standards.
Continue reading “Prevailing Wage Repeal Would Hurt Kentucky’s Economy”
The majority of high-wage, low-inequality jobs in Illinois are in construction occupations, law enforcement careers, and firefighting positions. Politically-driven efforts to repeal the state’s prevailing wage law or to weaken public sector unions would decimate a majority of the middle-class occupations that remain for blue-collar workers in the state.
The State of Illinois should restore investment in wind power and other clean energy infrastructure to at least 2015 levels, according to the Illinois Economic Policy Institute in a new Economic Commentary [PDF].
Wind power generates positive impacts for the people of Illinois. Previous investments already prevent the emission of 7.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from Illinois and save 4.5 billion gallons of water every year. In addition, wind power has saved Illinois residents millions of dollars.
Continue reading “Illinois Should Restore Wind Energy Funding”
This report is the third in a five-part series on the “State of the Unions” for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. All five reports will be available at this link over the next month. A new study released today … Continue reading The State of Iowa’s Unions in 2016
States with higher minimum wages have added more jobs over the past 12 months. That’s the conclusion of a new Economic Commentary [PDF] released by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, which evaluates recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. … Continue reading States with Higher Minimum Wages Added More Jobs Over the Past Year
Illinois now has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, tied with only Alaska. In the month prior to Governor Rauner assuming office – when Illinois had an operating budget – the state’s unemployment rate was 6.0%, compared to a national rate of … Continue reading Illinois Has the Highest Unemployment in the Nation
The Illinois Update 