Workforce/Economic Development

Given the sluggish job growth during the recovery that has followed the Great Recession, decision makers both nationally and here in Illinois have indicated an interest in pursuing policy initiatives that will help spur the economy. Many have identified supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship as key to this effort. While various regulatory, spending and other policies (e.g. grants, technical assistance, incubators, and technology transfers) can directly and/or indirectly impact small businesses, the primary policy tools available fall into two distinct categories. On the one hand, policymakers can opt to reduce business and/or individual taxes in the hope that the tax relief will incentivize hiring and business expansion. Indeed, the Speaker of the House recently introduced a bill to reduce the state’s corporate income tax to stimulate job growth.

On the other hand, policymakers can make adequate investments in core public services and goods that businesses need to thrive, like education and infrastructure. Of the two primary policy tools available, the evidence overwhelmingly indicates that the latter approach is the best choice for supporting small businesses.

Knowing that the evidence shows business tax relief is not the best approach to stimulating the economy is one thing. What is crucial is that policymakers actually use this knowledge to craft effective, long-term solutions to one of the most challenging problems facing Illinois today—effectively stimulating the economy while dealing with the state’s fiscal shortcomings. After all, the state has an accumulated deficit of at least $7.6 billion in its General Fund budget for FY2014, the current fiscal year. This accumulated deficit is a very real problem that constrains the state’s ability to make the very investments in education and infrastructure that are so crucial to small businesses.

This Report highlights the best practices and policy initiatives decision makers could take to support small businesses in Illinois.  

Economic changes and recent developments in public policy have created new demands on our transit systems. Many communities, whether urban, suburban or rural are looking for solutions to expand existing transit and transportation services to accommodate routes to work, especially for low income families, as a result of new growth outside of central business districts, the development of jobs away from affordable housing for working families, and the expansion of low wage jobs, particularly in the retail and service industries.

This Report takes a look at what government funding is available to support transportation-to-work projects, such as the Job Access and Reverse Commute program; what has driven the interest in these new services for lowwage workers; and how communities can access these funds and serve as a catalyst to creating new services.

An introduction to public transit in Illinois: what it is, how it’s funded, who the major stakeholders are and how to get involved. Includes a glossary of transit terminology.

A comprehensive list of 2007 legislative bills from both sides of the Illinois General Assembly, organized by subject area.

CTBA working in partnership with Northern Illinois University produced the 2005 State of Working Illinois. The Report is one of the most detailed state analyses ever conducted on the Illinois economy. The Report tracks the effects of national and global economic trends on working families throughout the state and provides a wealth of information on jobs, income, and unemployment for each county in the state. The Report also identifies industrial sectors and occupational growth by sector, employment, education and income changes in each region. 

CTBA working in partnership with Northern Illinois University produced the 2006 State of Working Illinois. The Report is one of the most detailed state analyses ever conducted on the Illinois economy. The report tracks the effects of national and global economic trends on working families throughout the state and provides a wealth of information on jobs, income, and unemployment for each county in the state.  The Report also identifies industrial sectors and occupational growth by sector, employment, education and income changes in each region. 

CTBA working in partnership with Northern Illinois University produced the 2007 State of Working Illinois. The Report is one of the most detailed state analyses ever conducted on the Illinois economy. The report tracks the effects of national and global economic trends on working families throughout the state and provides a wealth of information on jobs, income, and unemployment for each county in the state. The Report also identifies industrial sectors and occupational growth by sector, employment, education and income changes in each region. 

The State of Working Illinois reports document how the state’s employment patterns have changed over the last two decades. The most significant trend identified was the replacement of good-paying jobs, mainly in the manufacturing sector, by lower-paying ones, principally in service sectors. This shift has been dramatic. Manufacturing was the largest employer in Illinois in 1990, accounting for slightly more than 20 percent the state’s workers. But by 2006, the low-wage service sector was the top employer, accounting for over 30 percent of all workers in Illinois. This transition from high-wage to low-wage jobs is a topic of vital importance to the state’s economy and to the lives of working Illinoisans and their families. Consequently, Low Wage Employment provides a detailed examination of the state’s low-wage employment, identifying such factors as the occupations, earnings and demographics associated with the low-wage sector.

CTBA working in partnership with Northern Illinois University produced the 2008 State of Working Illinois. The Report is one of the most detailed state analyses ever conducted on the Illinois economy. The report tracks the effects of national and global economic trends, such as rising inequality, on working families throughout the state and provides a wealth of information on jobs, income, and unemployment for each county in the state. The Report also identifies industrial sectors and occupational growth by sector, employment, education and income changes in each region. With over 800 tables and charts, The State of Working Illinois is the comprehensive reference on the Illinois workforce.

This Fact Sheet highlights the reasons why raising the minimum wage is needed in Illinois.