Reading the Illinois Economy

Geoffrey Hewings, director of the University of Illinois Regional Economics Applications Laboratory, argued that Illinois had been in an employment recession since 2000, losing some 368,000 jobs since December 2007 and roughly $1.5 billion a year in income to out-migration. He discussed the state's current account and pension deficits, interstate Midwest trade, tax structure, and what he called bipartisan legislative denial. Fall 2010 series "De-/Re-Constructing the American Dream." Walter McMahon introduced the speaker, with Mike Doyle at the head table; a lengthy audience Q&A followed on universities as economic engines, pensions and federal-state fiscal devolution.