Illinois has a public service workers shortage. This includes thousands of unfilled teaching positions at local school districts. Labor shortages have been linked to inadequate pay and benefits as well as other issues like burnout. One proposed solution has been to reform the two-tiered retirement system for state and local government workers—half of whom are […]
Illinois has a tax system that requires working and middle-class families to pay higher shares of their incomes towards state and local taxes than high-income earners. State lawmakers have debated whether to amend the Illinois Constitution to allow for higher income taxes on annual net incomes over $1 million, with new revenues lock-boxed and dedicated […]
Champaign County, Illinois, is facing a housing shortage that has caused home prices and rents to rise, leaving many families unable to find or afford housing. The median sales price of a home in Champaign County has increased by 14 percent over the past year and 44 percent of renters in the county are “costburdened,” […]
While Illinois is better positioned to withstand a recession than at any point over the past two decades, federal funding cuts and freezes since the beginning of 2025 pose imminent threats to Illinois’ $1.2 trillion economy. Policy changes in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” budget reconciliation law, targeted freezes during the federal government shutdown […]
Pre-apprenticeship programs, or apprenticeship readiness programs, have emerged as key pathways into skilled trade careers. By increasing the number of qualified workers eligible for registered apprenticeship programs, pre-apprenticeships combat skilled labor shortages in the construction industry. In Illinois, the two largest pre-apprenticeship programs are the Highway Construction Careers Training Program and the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship […]
Illinois is facing a housing shortage that has fueled increases in home prices and rental rates and negatively affected the economy. With home prices rising by 9 percent and asking rents increasing by as much as 10 percent across Illinois in 2024, this report explores the severity of the housing shortage and housing affordability issue […]
Registered apprenticeships are career training programs in which participants “earn while they learn” with tuition costs covered by employers or joint labor-management organizations, who gain access to domestic supply pools of skilled workers. Apprenticeship training is vital to the success of the construction industry, which accounts for 70 percent of apprenticeships in Wisconsin. While across […]
Bipartisan public approval of labor unions remains near historic highs. Data shows that unions boost workers earnings, expand health insurance coverage, and improve access to paid leave. Though the unionization rate fell nationally, the United States added union members in 2023 for the second consecutive year.The United States added 135,000 new union members in 2023, […]
Project labor agreements (PLAs) are pre-hire agreements that establish terms and conditions of employment for all crafts on large infrastructure projects. The mutual agreements are between a construction owner—such as a contractor, developer, or public body—and a coalition of labor unions supplying skilled workers for the duration of the project. The main purpose of a […]
In July 2021, Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 3940, amending the Motor Vehicle Franchise Act to ensure that auto mechanics at Illinois’ car dealerships earn equal pay for equal work.The bipartisan law, which is also referred to as the Multiplier Act, passed 85-24 in the House and 58-0 in the Senate. It removed a […]