May Jobs in Illinois Increase +9,200; Job Growth Still Lagging Behind Other States
Illinois Unemployment Rate Remains at 6 percent
CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that Illinois’ unemployment rate in May held steady at 6.0 percent. The state’s unemployment rate is higher than the national unemployment rate reported for May, which inched up from the prior month to 5.5 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment gained +9,200 jobs, based on preliminary data released by the Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The BLS revised April data which showed a further increase in Illinois’ job gain from a preliminary +4,800 to +5,400. Illinois has gained an average of 5,300 jobs per month since recovery from the 2008-09 recession while a majority of other states have seen a quicker recovery, per BLS data. The number of jobs in Illinois will not reach pre-recession levels until approximately June 2016, according to IDES analysts’ estimations.
“Though 9,200 new jobs are good, this represents a job growth rate of less than 0.2 percent,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “Illinois policymakers must continue to focus on improving our underlying business climate.”
In May, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Professional and Business Services (+6,900), Leisure and Hospitality (+3,300) and Government (+2,300). The three industry sectors with the largest declines in employment were Manufacturing (-2,500); Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-2,300); and Financial Activities (-1,200).
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +62,100 jobs with the largest gains in Professional and Business Services (+27,500); Education and Health Services (+14,800); and Construction (+13,700). Two key sectors posted over-the-year declines in May: Manufacturing (-7,300) and Financial Activities (-5,300).
The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work. IDES’ IllinoisJoblink.com (IJL) program, which helps jobseekers connect with hiring companies, recently showed that 168,271 help wanted ads were available and 59,192 resumes were posted. Many positions however continue to remain unfilled. The Department continues its efforts to help spur job growth in Illinois.
In May, the unemployment rate stood 1.1 percentage points below the unemployment rate a year ago when it was 7.1 percent. The number of unemployed workers increased 0.3 percent from the prior month to 392,000 and was down -15.6 percent over the same month for the prior year.
“Illinois needs to take decisive action to address persistently low job growth through structural reforms to make Illinois competitive and attractive for business,” said Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director (DCEO) Jim Schultz. “Governor Rauner’s proposed reforms will create an environment in which Illinois businesses and families can thrive.”
* Tony Leone, a Republican and former assistant House clerk under Speaker Michael Madigan, talked to Bernie about what happened after Gov. Jim Thompson appointed him to the state property tax appeals board…
Leone said Madigan called him to his office.
“He said, ‘Listen. I want you to recuse yourself from any complaint that … my law firm is representing,’” Leone recalled, noting that as speaker, Madigan ran House operations.
“At this point, I had no idea he was even an appeals attorney or his law firm handled appeals,” Leone said. “I walked out of the room having an awful lot of respect.”
“I think people ought to be careful about making insinuations that maybe he uses his influence on those types of appeals,” Leone added.
Leone said he wasn’t pointing the finger at anyone in particular, including the governor.
* And speaking of Madigan’s property tax work, check out Ben Joravsky’s latest in The Reader…
Rauner and his aides blasted Madigan for operating a law practice that takes advantage of the speaker’s clout with Cook County Democrats to win lower taxes for his well-to-do downtown clients. […]
But what the governor and his aides conveniently neglected to mention is that GTCR, Rauner’s old investment firm, is also one of the insiders benefiting from Madigan’s clout. That’s because GTCR is housed in a River North high-rise whose landlord hired Madigan’s law firm to handle its property tax appeal, according to the Cook County assessor’s website. […]
Finally, there’s the case of Kenneth Griffin, the wealthiest man in the state, who runs Citadel, a hedge fund.
Griffin has donated more than $5 million to Rauner’s campaign fund. Plus, he let Rauner use his private jet in the last campaign.
Griffin’s hedge fund is headquartered in the so-called Citadel building at 131 S. Dearborn. To handle its property tax appeal, the landlord of the Citadel building has hired—drum roll, please—Madigan’s law firm!
Gov. Bruce Rauner has said that he wants to reduce Amtrak train service in the state starting July 1, but the Illinois Department of Transportation hasn’t informed the national rail line about any cuts to its state aid, according to an Amtrak spokesman.
Company spokesman Marc Magliari said Tuesday that Amtrak still is accepting bookings for current levels of service. Rauner announced a new round of cuts to state programs Friday as he continues to negotiate with Democratic leaders in the Illinois Legislature, namely Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, over the state budget. […]
Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Guy Tridgell said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the agency was waiting for Amtrak to provide “detailed cost and revenue projections for each route in order to make decisions about the frequency and level of service that the state can afford in anticipation of the Madigan-Cullerton budget.”
Amtrak plans to continue operating under its current schedule until it hears otherwise.
Seems odd.
* Meanwhile, from the Capital Development Board…
From: “Golden, Jodi”
Date: June 17, 2015 at 10:40:36 AM CDT
To: CDB.Executive.BoardMembers
Subject: FW: Stop work Letter
Board Members – I hope this note finds you all well. I wanted to inform you that the attached letter was mailed on Monday evening to contract holders with CDB. At this time we have no appropriations to continue with projects, therefore, unless this changes by June 30th, all work must be stopped by June 30th. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.
Thanks for your service to CDB!
Best,
Jodi
* The letter, with emphasis added…
To Whom it May Concern:
In accordance with Section 20-60 of the Illinois Procurement Code (30 ILCS 500/20-60) and the Capital Development Board’s (CDB) Standard Documents for Construction, the CDB directs you to stop all work you are performing under the above-referenced contract by June 30, 2015. You are further directed to do nothing after that date that would incur any additional cost to the State. This action is necessary because no appropriation bill was passed by the General Assembly this spring that would allow payments from the CDB to continue.
You should submit a payment request for work performed up to June 30, 2015, to the CDB project manager for the project. The CDB project manager will assist you in addressing any issues with the payment request and will answer any questions you might have regarding this stop work order, including design services of any kind, construction services of any kind, storage of all construction materials and equipment, and securing the job site.
Please note that the funds were available when you entered the contract with the CDB, but the General Assembly has failed to appropriate monies for the upcoming fiscal year starting July 1, 2015. The CDB is working diligently to correct this situation, but it requires legislative action.
If it is determined that the funding problem cannot be fixed in a reasonable time, then the CDB will formally advise you that the contract is suspended. The project manager will advise you about any developments.
The CDB sincerely regrets the need for this action and greatly appreciates your cooperative response.
Sincerely
Jodi Golden
Acting Executive Director
* A top legislative Democrat responds via e-mail…
We sent them the capital re approp bill [yesterday]. If they are saying there are ongoing projects that were not re appropriated, that would be OMB’s failure to notify the legislative budget folks of what projects were completed and what ones needed continued approp authority. I know our staff sought suggestions from OMB on all parts of the budget. And of course the capital bill and all budget House bills with the exception of the k-12 bill were on file for three days in the Senate and we never heard there was any problem with the capital re approp bill.
*** UPDATE *** A Rauner administration official just called to point me to two bills: HBs 2913 and 2914.
They’re about a thousand pages of approps and re-approps for capital projects. The Democratic bill, the Rauner official said, is only about 75 pages - or 925 pages short.
“They knew what they were doing,” the Rauner official said, and added some unprintable stuff.
Thursday, Jun 18, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Since 1974, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued more than 850 recalls for toy products, many for hazards like magnets, lead and other dangers hidden in our children’s toys. In the face of such risks, and with so few resources at hand, American parents have come to rely on consumer groups and the civil justice system to serve both as an early warning system and an enforcement mechanism against negligent corporations.
Between 1990 and 2007, 196 children died from choking on toy parts, small balls and balloons. Nearly a quarter of a million children are treated at U.S. emergency rooms for toy-related injuries every year. A series of lawsuits in the late-2000s not only helped remove lead-tainted toys from store shelves, but also helped establish quality assurance programs overseen by the courts. A lawsuit filed by the family of a toddler who died after ingesting tiny magnets brought awareness to the hidden dangers of magnetic toys.
Civil actions by parents across the country have consistently forced corporations and regulators to take action. For more information, click here.
Thursday, Jun 18, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions hold a strong belief in giving back to their communities at the credit union level and on a geographic basis. Twenty-four chapters unite the state’s 305 credit unions and are integral to fulfilling their mission for nearly three million consumer members. Like the boards at credit unions, chapter boards are also run by volunteers.
The Illinois Quad Cities Chapter alone serves 10 credit unions and their 241,000 members in a three county area. Similarly to other credit union chapters, Illinois Quad Cities is particularly active in community charitable activities and worthwhile causes. This includes helping consumers protect their personal information by sponsoring community shred days to properly dispose of documents. The chapter also hosts “community nights” to provide local organizations a forum for requesting financial support. As a result, more than $17,000 has been provided to a variety of local charities. Motivated by their stories, credit unions separately hold fundraisers to support these groups, as well participate in events for others, including the local children’s hospital.
Members know credit unions will be there for their daily financial needs and support their community – just some of the many virtues that define the credit union difference.
* Speaker Madigan responded to this question on Tuesday…
Does the governor really want a solution, or does he want chaos and upheaval in the state?
“I really don’t know, and I don’t plan to try to answer that question.”
* The Question: Does the governor really want a solution, or does he want chaos and upheaval in the state? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
The plaintiff, Bill Hadley, filed a defamation lawsuit against the defendant, Subscriber Doe, a/k/a “Fuboy,” based on statements made by Fuboy in the comments section of a newspaper website. After the suit was filed, Hadley requested the circuit court, pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 224 (Ill. S. Ct. R. 224 (eff. May 30, 2008)), to order Fuboy’s internet service provider to disclose Fuboy’s identity. The circuit court granted the request and the appellate court affirmed. 2014 IL App (2d) 130489. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the appellate court.
BACKGROUND
On December 28, 2011, the Freeport Journal Standard published an online newspaper article entitled “Hadley returns to county politics. Candidate stresses fiscal responsibility.” The article discussed plaintiff Bill Hadley’s decision to again seek election to the county board of Stephenson County, Illinois. Online readers could post comments in response to the article after completing a basic registration process.
On December 29, an individual using the name “Fuboy” posted the following comment: “Hadley is a Sandusky waiting to be exposed. Check out the view he has of Empire [Elementary School in Freeport, Illinois] from his front door.”
Fuboy also made a second comment, stating: “Anybody know the tale of Hadley’s suicide attempt? It is kinda ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ with Pottersville win[n]ing out. We can just be happy that Stephenson County is fortunate enough to have this guy want to be of ‘service’ again.”
Giving the words used by Fuboy their natural and obvious meaning, and considering the timing of the comment, we find the idea Fuboy intended to convey to the reasonable reader by his statement, “Hadley is a Sandusky waiting to be exposed. Check out the view he has of Empire from his front door,” was that Hadley was a pedophile or had engaged in sexual acts with children.
Fuboy contends, however, that the comment is susceptible to an innocent construction. He maintains the appellate court failed to consider the political context in which the statement was made, as well as the fact that it was made in an effort to seek debate over the candidate. We do not find this argument persuasive.
Me neither.
I have tracked down more than a few nasty commenters over the years. For whatever insane reason, some people think that they can say anything they want in an anonymous context. They can’t. Not here, at least.
And the Illinois Supreme Court thankfully upheld that viewpoint today.
* Years ago, I ran into George Ryan at a Greek restaurant in Chicago. He was still governor back then, although it was late in his term.
Ryan sat down at my table after a while and we chatted about various stuff. I don’t really remember. Pretty soon, though, some folks at the next table came over and asked the governor if he would take a picture with them. They were all smiles and said very nice things to him.
Ryan came back and said he just couldn’t believe all those negative polls about him because this sort of thing happened to him all the time.
I didn’t want to spoil his moment, but I knew then and still know now that people are pretty much always that way around “celebrities.” If you’re on the teevee, folks are generally nice to you.
Heck, they’re even nice to me. I don’t think a stranger has ever once picked a fight with me over something I’ve written. Notice, I said “stranger.”
Asked whether Madigan felt his own message was getting out to the public, the speaker responded: ”Our encounters with people would say yes,” Madigan said.
What types of encounters?
“People that I rode with in the elevator this morning, who said they didn’t quite understand why a TV commercial would be run in the middle of a legislative session, when we’re several months after an election and many, many more months before the next election.”
It’s no surprise to me that folks who found themselves on the same elevator with a very powerful politician would try to take his side on something.
Anyway, it was just kind of a weird thing to say and, again, I hope he doesn’t really believe that.
A health care union is launching its own ad push in an attempt to counter Gov. Bruce Rauner’s statewide TV ad launch.
The ad, called “Wrong Priorities,” features first-person testimonials from family of the elderly and disabled, who say their quality of life — and actual lifespan — improves if they’re able to stay at home.
“Governor Rauner’s dangerous budget cuts target Illinois’ most vulnerable,” a narrator says on the ad.
The ad, on social media and online media, is part of a larger paid effort that could include a cable and TV ad buy, according to the union.
* Keeping in mind that this is only an online purchase, rate the ad…
* The Chicago Tribune editorial board on Speaker Madigan’s response to Gov. Rauner’s new TV ad…
How amusing that the patron of scorched-earth politics and endless campaigning tries to paint the other guy as extreme.
Madigan campaigns year-round. Always has, through structured roll calls that allow vulnerable incumbents to take safe votes. By bottling up Republican bills in committee to limit Republicans’ success. By swapping out his members during committee hearings so they don’t have to take controversial votes. By passing legislation that makes it more difficult for challengers or independents to get on the ballot. By blocking term limits. By raising money year-round. All of those maneuvers are designed to protect his majority for the next election. In other words, campaigning.
[Madigan’s] operatives sent campaign mailers last fall that claimed Leslie Munger, a Republican running for the House, supported child abusers in schools. Ads and automated phone calls claimed she opposed background checks on school workers, which was untrue, and would expose children to pedophiles.
Now that’s extreme. […]
Madigan’s operatives suggested in a separate mailer that Republican Rep. Sheri Jesiel sided with rapists over rape victims.
They make a valid point here. When compared to Madigan’s standard direct mail program, these Rauner ads are pretty darned tame.
