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* From the liberal Economic Policy Institute…

During the third quarter of 2016, the African American unemployment rate was lowest in Vermont (6.2 percent) and highest in Illinois (14.2 percent). Illinois has had the highest unemployment rate for four consecutive quarters. Since the fourth quarter of 2015, the black unemployment rate in Illinois has risen 1.1 percentage points as unemployment has increased 0.7 percentage points statewide. Consistent with last quarter, seventeen states had African American unemployment rates below 10 percent in the third quarter of 2016—in 12 of these states, the rate was lower than the third quarter national average for African Americans (8.4 percent). […]

New York’s black-white unemployment rate gap was the smallest in the country. In that state, the black unemployment rate was 1.5 times the white rate during the previous quarter. This change was due to a decrease in the state’s black unemployment rate at the same time that whites increased their likelihood of unemployment. The largest gaps were in the District of Columbia, where the black unemployment rate was 8.0 times the white rate, and Illinois, where the black unemployment rate was 2.9 times the white rate.

Ugh.

We need a freaking plan.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:03 pm

Comments

Term limits will fix this.

Comment by Wow Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:09 pm
=== During the third quarter of 2016, the African American unemployment rate was lowest in Vermont (6.2 percent) and highest in Illinois (14.2 percent). Illinois has had the highest unemployment rate for four consecutive quarters. Since the fourth quarter of 2015, the black unemployment rate in Illinois has risen 1.1 percentage points as unemployment has increased 0.7 percentage points statewide.===

This bad news all comes on Rauner’s watch. Does the governor have any responsibility here, or only when his name is Quinn?

Comment by Anon Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:13 pm
Funding Higher Ed and Social Service Vendors, so they stop laying off people might help. Funding Childcare, so the parents can work might too.

Just sayin.

Comment by PublicServant Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:13 pm
Property tax freeze?

Comment by Any mouse Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:19 pm
Could it be the unions and manufacturing plants that tend not to hire AA? There is a class action lawsuit against a staffing company in Chicago that is tied up in the courts regarding this. *the story was it the Chicago Trib a few days ago. Also politicians must push for fair contracts for legitimate MBE companies so they can grow and hire AA.

Comment by Rocky Rosi Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:22 pm
New York’s income tax rate is double ours. Vermont is 9%. I say the plan should start with addressing our woefully low income tax rate, but its going to cost us. For instance, some people stand to lose 1.9 million for each precious point we increase taxes by.

Comment by S-Town Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:25 pm
Restructure the way we tax companies.

I believe that right now in Illinois, take two corporations with the exact same revenue & profit. The one with more employees pays more taxes because of the employer share of payroll taxes.

Raise the corporate income tax but add a tax credit for number of Illinois-based full-time employees.

Comment by Robert the Bruce Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:28 pm
===This bad news all comes on Rauner’s watch===

Beliefs like these are why there is no plan. Just blame one politician and ignore the multiple and intertwined causes and reasons for disparate treatment of some communities. Of course then the politician has to blame the other side, again with no solution. The next stage is the extremists from one side or the other makes a hateful statement, so that garners the media attention so the politicians can ignore the matter all together because the focus has shifted to extremist and what a bad person they are.

So what should be done? Spend money, work with experts and the community. Initiate multi-year programs with guaranteed funding levels. Or perhaps our elected leaders just need to have the courage to lead and not focus so much on telling us “the other side” caused the problem.

Comment by Jon Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:29 pm
Job placements should never be about a person’s race. There should be ‘no race question’ on the applications.

Comment by MAMA Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:30 pm
Progressives hate to admit it, especially in the age of Donald Trump, but illegal immigration plays a large role in African-American unemployment and wage suppression.

https://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/usccr/documents/cr12im2010.pdf

http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=briggstestimonies

Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:36 pm
Rocky Rosi ” Could it be the unions and manufacturing plants that tend not to hire AA ? ” thirty years plus in 3 unions( same company, think airlines ) Not one union had input on who gets hired . Only after you are hired does the union approach you about membership.

Comment by jon r Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:38 pm
What Jon said.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:40 pm
Deleting links and restating due to to the spam filter. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 4 professions with the highest percentage of African Americans include:

Barber shops
Bus service and urban transit
Home health care services
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities)

3 of the 4 of those professions have been heavily impacted by the impasse.

Comment by AC Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:46 pm
I think the best place to start is pre-K-12 education. In most educational studies, the AA students fall behind other students. Why? Sometimes its due to a disability and other times its due to lack of parent involvement. It can also come from schools that do not have the resources to go the extra mile to help their students in need.

I feel we need a plan to help more parents see why a good education will benefit them and their children. Kids with parents who instill upon them that they must do well in school usually do.

The problem is how do you make someone care about their child’s education?

Comment by MAMA Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:51 pm
- lake county democrat - Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:36 pm: -

Most illegal immigrants only get extra low wage jobs. Are you implying AAs only qualify for low wage jobs?

Comment by MAMA Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:59 pm
- jon r - Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 1:38 pm: =

The last time I went to the big AFSCME convention I saw more blacks than white people there so… it is not unions that is keeping the blacks from working.

Comment by MAMA Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:03 pm
I blame the IL Democrats and Mike Madigan. Why won’t they just give in and let Rauner raise taxes already, so we can prosper again?

Comment by JB13 Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:04 pm
Freezing taxes of poor black communities should help. NOT!

Comment by MAMA Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:05 pm
So many issues here and the fault lies with both parties.

Illegal Immigration
Poor Educational System
High Incarceration rates
Lack of new job (Hello legalize marijuana!)

Comment by Generation X Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:07 pm
Wait one second, and apologies to anyone who raised this point, how many Blacks live in Vermont? Even then a high unemployment rate for Blacks in Illinois compared to the rest of the nation is saying something.

Comment by Levois Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:08 pm
Gess it must be the fact there is no “Right To Work” in Illinois./s

Comment by yeah Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:10 pm
MAMA, It is not that AA only qualify for low wage jobs. That is a strawman statement and you are better than that.

For a variety of reasons, AA are disproportionately unskilled or semi-skilled labor rather than skilled or professional. This makes them more vulnerable to jobs being moved to lower wage areas or to having those jobs filled by people not authorized to work in the United States.

Dr. Ben Carson shows that having a poorly educated mother does not absolutely prevent one from success. But he is an exception and not the norm.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:11 pm
This all revolves around school funding. You have to better fund education to get the unemployed the skills they need for the jobs. Yet you also have to lower property taxes, which is a key component of education funding, so that employers will build the work facilities in areas of high employment.

I think the GA is trying to find a solution to the school funding problem, but right now has its hands full with continuous attacks and budget impasses. Perhaps the ILGOP can take Cullerton’s suggestion and let the GA legislate for a bit?

Comment by A Jack Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:15 pm
I am happy to say that there is a plan to fix the problems in Illinois and grow the economy. Its major parts include:

Term limits
Property tax freeze
Right to work zones
Unemployment Insurance reform
Tort reform
Repeal of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Law
Pension reform

In addition, better outcomes from schools, especially in Chicago, will help.

Comment by Hit or Miss Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:16 pm
I might come off as kind of mean, or god forbid racist. But. Most of the above posts elude to the same failed solutions as have been tried for the last how many decades?

More govt programs. More education spending. Blame one political party more than the next. Institutionalized racism. Too low of minimum wage.Blame, blame, blame.

I have a close personal friend in Chicago who owns a mid-size construction firm. Literally he can put every AA who walks in the door on a project. He CANNOT do this with any other race. The problem. Most young kids, regardless of race, have horrible work ethics. Work a couple weeks. Call in sick. Worse yet. Just don’t show up. Next applicant. Change the attitude. The results will change.

Comment by blue dog dem Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:21 pm
BDD…. how do you change a person’s attitude or work ethic? Education perhaps?

Comment by A Jack Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:29 pm
A Jack. Not formal education. Examples from family, friends, peers, associates. At the old widget factory, I have yet to be disappointed by a hire where I knew the work ethic of family members.

Comment by blue dog dem Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:37 pm
BDD - Agreed.

The Ability to GSD - Get (Banned Word) Done - is one of those traits that are hard to see in a simple application / interview.

The kids who do have a solid work ethic and want to do the work to develop a skill, usually, get into the trades. Most kids don’t get you have to push a broom, or handle menial tasks for a while before you get to swing a hammer or assemble said widget.

Comment by Dee Lay Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:51 pm
==New York’s income tax rate is double ours. Vermont is 9%==

Both states tax retirement income.

Comment by City Zen Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 3:17 pm
Anyone have a handle on whether Sanctuary City or County status having an impact on AA employment?

Comment by yeah Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 3:45 pm
Family, friends, peers? If most young kids as you say have no work ethic, then how are they going to learn anything from their friends or peers who have that same work ethic? They aren’t going to search out the one guy who has a job because he is too busy working. You have to break the cycle and the only time proven way to do that is through education.

Comment by A Jack Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 4:05 pm
A Jack. I respectfully disagree. But I will retract one thing I said.’most’ kids is an overstatement. Should have said ‘many’.

A question I pose. How many of the unemployed have graduated from high school? Whether white, black or brown. My point. There are enough formal education opportunities out there for the willing.

I will go one step further. There are plenty of employment opportunities out there for the willing.

Comment by blue dog dem Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 4:34 pm
==This bad news all comes on Rauner’s watch. Does the governor have any responsibility here, or only when his name is Quinn?==

The stat I noticed was that the change (increase) in unemployment for blacks was 1.9% from Q3 2007 to Q3 2016 (ten years, pre-recession until now). It was 1.8% for Hispanics and .5% for whites. The only group that had a slight decrease (.1%) was Asians. Three things:(1) unemployment increased for nearly everyone in the state according to this study over the past 10 years; (2) its not like this is a new phenomena and it clearly didn’t get any better (actually got worse) under the first African American President in the history of the country; and (3) Democrats controlled this state for all but the last two years of this time frame.

So, I don’t care if you want to blame Rauner, but maybe it’s not a government thing…..

Comment by Jaded Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 4:40 pm
==- blue dog dem - Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 2:21 pm:==

The “but” is where we know to stop reading the nonsense you’re peddling.

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 4:46 pm
It would greatly help any hypothetical plan if the state government were not in a state of long term shutdown and several Chicago muni units were not effectively insolvent.

Maybe walk before we run lol sorry thus ends my attempt at late week humor

Comment by Will Caskey Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 5:21 pm
Captain. Just keep pretending that past practices have worked and will work in the future.

Comment by blue dog dem Thursday, Dec 8, 16 @ 5:24 pm