* This video is going kinda mini-viral on Facebook and Twitter…

Minnesota has a much different and much healthier economy than we do. As the ad points out, the state’s unemployment rate was 6.8 percent before Gov. Dayton took office. At the same time, Illinois’ rate was 9.3 percent.

* And man, is it ever lousy here. From COGFA…

Illinois’ economy continues to lag the nation as well as surrounding states even as the current economic recovery, while comparatively long in historical terms, remains the weakest in the post WWII period. From 2010, following the start of the recovery in mid-2009 through 2016, inflation adjusted GDP in the United States averaged 2%. The pace of growth was below that of 2.4% on average in the years from 2001 to 2007, which included 3.8% growth in 2004 and 3.3% in 2005. This in turn was well below the average growth rate of 3.87% from 1992 to 2000, with growth in a rage of 4.1% to 4.7% each year from 1997 to 2000.

The latest Illinois forecast by IHS Markit was done in early October and is located at the top of the next page. The table shows Real Gross State Product remaining in the 1.0% area each year from 2015 through 2017, before rising at an average growth rate of 1.7% in the years 2018 – 2020.

One of the more notable aspects of Illinois’ economy in recent years has been the recurrent outflow of people from the state. Illinois’ population continues to decline and at best is forecast to hold steady by 2019 and 2020. Total employment in Illinois thus indicates little in the form of growth, rising 1% or less during the forecast years. As a result of such weakness, Illinois’ unemployment rate is anticipated to continue higher than in most states as its ace of improvement is projected to lag that of the nation as a whole as well as that of the Midwest.

In September the national unemployment rate was 4.2% with the 12 states comprising the Midwest at the same 4.2% rate. However, unemployment rates differed greatly among the 12 Midwest states. The highest rates in the Midwest in September were Ohio, which had an unemployment rate of 5.3%, followed by Illinois, which had the second highest rate at 5.0%, and Michigan at 4.3%.