-By Warner Todd Huston
Illinois continues to rack up plaudits as one of the worst states in the entire country for every measure that makes a successful state. Bad bond ratings, among the highest for people moving away from her, worst pension messes, crummy education, etc. And now, Illinois has won the booby prize as the single worst state in the union for its unemployment track record. Yaaaa, Illinois.
At 9 percent unemployment, Illinois now has the worst unemployment rate of every state around it in the Midwest. But even worse for the Land of Sinkin’–er, I mean Land of Lincoln–the state has the worst downward trends in employment for the whole country. Illinois’ unemployment rate has gone up more times than its gone down and that is the worst record in the whole country over the last five years.
As the Illinois Policy Institute recently noted, “Illinois’ recovery from the Great Recession has been hindered by self-inflicted wounds. After the 2011 tax hikes, the Illinois jobless rate jumped from 9.4 percent to 10.2 percent. The US average declined in the same period.”
Meanwhile, in the surrounding Midwestern state, every state but Illinois has had a downward trend for unemployment by about an average of some 2 percent. And yet, Democrat controlled Illinois has seen unemployment go up and up.
During the 1860s Illinois was called the “Sucker State” because of the plentiful river fish. But this nickname should be brought back because it is much more fitting today–but for a wholly different reason. Because anyone who lives here and isn’t planning to move elsewhere is a sucker.
But isn’t it interesting that the state that gave the U.S.A. Obama’s political career is the worst state in nearly every metric in the whole union?
But maybe things are looking up for Illinois. The state’s biggest, most bankrupt city, the place where more politicians go to jail than any other, the city of big shoulders, the Windy City, Chicago, has just been awarded with the left-winger’s most prized award. Chicago was named America’s 2014 Earth Hour Capital! The city that can’t pay its bills is tops with greenies. Yaaaa Chicago.
What a farce.
Here are just a few more of the “low lights” of Illinois’ standing among the states:
- Illinois Worst in Midwest for Private Sector Job Creation
- Illinois One of the Worst GDP Growth in Entire Midwest
- Illinois Ranks as ‘Worst’ For Small Businesses
- Of the Fifty, Illinoisans Have Least Trust in the State Government
- Poll: Even People in Illinois Say Illinois Worst State to Live In
- Illinois has the most underfunded pensions in the country and faces a deficit growth of $17 million per day.
- The state also has the worst funded teachers pensions in the country.
- Illinois was identified as one of the worst states in the union for its oppressive, jobs-killing lawsuit climate
- Illinois had more home foreclosures than almost every other state.
- Illinois ranks as the 49th worst debtor state in the nation.
- Illinois was ranked the 48th worst state for business.
- Illinois ranked 48th for unemployment making it among the worst five states for joblessness.
- Its government also has one of the worst rankings for state transparency and accountability in the nation, too.
- As to big city stats, Chicago tops the nation with the highest unemployment rate.
- Illinois has the worst credit rating
- Illinois Tops Nation in Growth of Food Stamp Recipients
- Mercatus: Illinois ranks at the bottom of the most free states
- Illinois Ranks as One of Worst States for Losing Citizens
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, Wizbang.com, among many, many others. Huston has also appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN, and many local TV shows as well as numerous talk radio shows throughout the country.
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