In the wake of the Great Recession, the Illinois economy has sluggishly improved. In most cases, working Illinois outcomes have yet to return to pre-recession levels. Nevertheless, there is reason for optimism. The labor market has made progress by almost all metrics since the lowest depths of the economic downturn.
Still, much work needs to be done. Public policies should be altered or enacted to speed up economic growth, promote high-quality job growth, raise wages, reduce both demographic and societal income inequality, eliminate poverty, and improve the incentive for employers to provide workers with good benefits.