Illinois is leading the Midwest in investments in parks, recreation and education according to the most recent report on national rankings from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Illinois far outranked fellow Midwestern states in spending on parks and recreation. Illinois ranks third in the nation in overall spending on parks and recreation and fifth on a per capita basis. None of the other Midwestern states broke the top 20 in this category, with Iowa coming in next in the Midwest at 21st on a per capita basis. Indiana and Kentucky rank 50th and 48th respectively. Parks and recreation opportunities in the state enable residents to lead a more healthful and active lifestyle and can spur economic development through tourism.  

The most recent data shows that Illinois is spending above the national average on elementary and secondary education and is leading the Midwest in this category as well. Illinois ranks fifth in the nation for the amount spent on elementary and secondary education. This spending includes both money from the state and property tax revenues. Illinois is followed by Ohio and Michigan, ranked 8th and 10th respectively. By investing in our youth, Illinois is investing in our future.

The Commission publishes several reports each year, including special topic reports that have or could have an impact on the economic well‐being of Illinois. All reports are available on the Commission’s website.

To read the full report, click here.

A star athlete making millions of dollars in St. Louis falls into Missouri’s top, 7 percent tax bracket. Compare that to the flat 3.75 percent income tax in Illinois and you begin to see why the Cubs might be having such success raiding the Cardinals’ of their prized free agents this off-season.

Those who hold up Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan as beacons of successful state economic policy may want to chew on a new report that shows the middle class is shrinking in those states faster than elsewhere in the nation.

That’s according to a Pew Charitable Trusts review of U.S. Census figures, the American Community Survey and other data between 2000 and 2013.

The percentage of middle-class households dropped nationwide, but Illinois is doing a better job of protecting the middle class than some of its Midwestern counterparts, the analysis shows. Middle-class households are struggling more in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan – each of which became right-to-work states under Republican governors during the period that Pew researchers evaluated.

A new academic study of state economies suggests there’s a hidden deduction lurking in Illinois union workers’ paychecks. Turns out anti-union states like Texas and Indiana overly rely on the federal taxes paid by union workers in other states to prop up their economies.

From the University of Illinois report …
While workers in right-to-work states account for just 37.4 percent of all federal income tax revenues, they receive 41.9 percent of all non-health, non-retirement government assistance, the paper says.

Illinois’ critics like to compare the state to its neighbors like Indiana and Wisconsin. But is that really fair? We took a look at the size of Illinois’ economy and compared it to our neighbors and the other 49 states. Here’s what we found:

According to World Bank statistics and the Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, Illinois’ gross state product is approximately $720 billion. If we were an independent nation, we’d rank 23rd in the world, between Saudi Arabia, with its nearly limitless oil wealth, and Switzerland, one of the world’s biggest financial centers.