Latest News from Prairie State Wire

12 Illinois beaches have unsafe water quality for at least 1 out of 4 sampling days, study finds

By LGIS News Service | Jul 28, 2021

The number of Illinois beaches that had hazardous water quality for at least one out of four sampling days in 2020 was 12, according to a new analysis of bacteria data in 29 coastal and Great Lakes States as well as Puerto Rico.

Illinois ranks among 10 states with highest bond debt per capita

By LGIS News Service | Jul 28, 2021

Illinois’ more than $76.3 billion in bonded obligations equals a debt load of about $6,025 per resident, representing the 10th highest level of per-capita debt among the 50 states, according to a new analysis by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Illinois home construction activity among the weakest in U.S., study finds

By LGIS News Service | Jul 21, 2021

Single-family building permits issued in Illinois since 2010 amounted to eight per 100,000 residents, a pace that ranks 48th among the 50 states, according to a new analysis published by the Illinois Policy Institute.

Chicago had 19th highest homicide rate among largest U.S. cities during pandemic

By LGIS News Service | Jul 16, 2021

Chicago ranked 19th highest in a new analysis of pandemic-era homicide rate data among the 50 largest American cities, according to the personal finance website WalletHub.

DuPage, Lake top ranking of best Illinois counties to live in

By LGIS News Service | Jul 7, 2021

DuPage, Lake and McLean counties earned the three top spots on a ranking by the website Niche.com of the Illinois counties with the best quality of life.

Illinois comes in 45th in state patriotism ranking

By LGIS News Service | Jul 4, 2021

Illinois scored 28.53 out of 100 on a new analysis by the personal finance website WalletHub to determine which state populations are the most patriotic, based on their engagement in both military and civilian life.

Illinois pre-kindergarten programs rank 17th best among the states

By LGIS News Service | Jun 23, 2021

Illinois finished 17th best in a new pre-kindergarten education study from the website 24/7 Wall St. that examines such criteria as public spending on pre-K programs, total enrollments and fourth-grade reading proficiency.

Illinois comes in fifth on ‘fun states’ ranking

By LGIS News Service | Jun 16, 2021

Illinois scored 53.71 out of 100 on a new analysis by the personal finance website WalletHub to determine which states offer the most entertainment, recreation and amusement options for their residents.

Illinois ranks 4th worst in new state-by-state economic outlook analysis

By LGIS News Service | Jun 6, 2021

Illinois finished 47th in a study by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that examined the 50 states’ economic outlooks based on 15 policy measures.

Debts carried by Chicago, underlying agencies equal $126,600 per city resident

By LGIS News Service | May 18, 2021

The public debt accumulated by the city of Chicago and related agencies such as Chicago Public Schools and the transit authority equals $126,600 per resident, the highest financial burden among the nation’s 10 largest cities, a new study concluded.

Coronavirus-fueled fraud in 2020 cost Illinois $93.3 million, study finds

By LGIS News Service | May 12, 2021

Fraud crimes such as identity theft and shopping scams cost Illinois $93.3 million last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, representing a nearly 160 percent increase over the amount of fraud that took place in 2019, according to a study by QuoteWIzard.com.

Illinois among the 3 states least friendly to business, new ranking shows

By LGIS News Service | May 5, 2021

Illinois finished third from the bottom, just above New York and California, in a new study by the Chief Executive website ranking the best and worst states for business

Illinois outpaces all other states in local government units, study finds

By LGIS News Service | Apr 23, 2021

Local government entities in Illinois, including both general-purpose agencies and special districts, number nearly 9,000, a figure that towers above that of any other state, according to new data from the independent Civic Federation.

Illinois personal income fell 12.5% in Q4 2020, federal data shows

By LGIS News Service | Apr 21, 2021

The personal income of Illinois residents plummeted at an annual rate of 12.5 percent during the fourth quarter of last year as initial coronavirus benefits expired, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in a new study.

DuPage, Kendall, Monroe ranked most healthy counties in Illinois

By LGIS News Service | Apr 7, 2021

The counties in Illinois ranked highest for health outcomes in a new study from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute were in suburban regions – DuPage, Kendall and Monroe.

Illinois’ COVID-19 small business closures pegged at 36.5%

By LGIS News Service | Mar 30, 2021

The share of Illinois small businesses still closed compared to January 2020, just prior to the onset of the pandemic, stands at 36.5%, the eighth highest percentage among the 50 states, an online data tracker managed by Harvard University found.

Illinois homeschooling rate more than doubled during coronavirus crisis in 2020

By LGIS News Service | Mar 24, 2021

The share of Illinois households involved in homeschooling went from 2.1 percent as the pandemic ramped up at the end of April 2020 to 5.4 percent at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, the Census Bureau reported.

Illinois’ combined local-state tax rate ranks highest among all states

By LGIS News Service | Mar 17, 2021

The effective state and local tax rate for median Illinois households now exceeds 15 percent – almost three times the rate for the state with the lowest levies – according to a ranking published by the financial-services website WalletHub.

8.8% of Illinois bridges in poor condition, new federal data shows

By LGIS News Service | Mar 3, 2021

A county-by-county examination of bridge conditions in Illinois shows that just under 9% of the state’s 26,848 roadway bridges were in poor shape in 2020, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Chicago has 4 of nation's worst truck bottlenecks, transit study finds

By LGIS News Service | Feb 25, 2021

Four major traffic congestion locations were identified in Illinois over the past year, all of them in the Chicago region, according to a nationwide analysis of GPS data from more than 1 million freight trucks.

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