Cook County, Metro East crack top 5 ‘judicial hellholes’ in U.S.

By Dylan Sharkey

12/07/2021

Illinois courts’ long history of being friendly to plaintiffs and personal injury attorneys showed up again in a reform group’s annual ranking. Cook County, St. Clair County and Madison County together moved up in the rankings of “judicial hellholes.”

TAGS: ATRA: American Tort Reform Association, Cook County, judicial hellhole, Metro East

Pritzker claims statewide economic growth, but these Illinois metro areas are shedding jobs

By Bryce Hill

02/10/2020

Despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker touting growth in “every major region,” Illinois shed jobs in three metropolitan areas and lagged the national average in seven more.

TAGS: Bloomington, BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, budget, Carbondale, Champaign, Chicago, constitutional amendment, economic competitiveness, economic growth, economics, economy, employment, fair tax, flat tax, government spending, graduated income tax, Great Recession, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, income growth, JB Pritzker, job creation, jobs, labor, Madison County, metro areas, Metro East, Moline, pensions, Peoria, population, progressive income tax, recession, Rockford, spending, spending cap, Springfield, St. Clair County, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, unemployment, Urbana, working-age

Pension costs push Metro East property taxes up, as population shrinks

06/17/2019

Residents in Illinois’ Metro East area are fleeing a growing property tax burden, fueling regional population loss.

TAGS: Madison County, Metro East, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes, St. Clair County, taxes

Southwestern Illinois loses big chunk of population, with one exception

By Brad Weisenstein

04/25/2019

One Illinois county in the greater St. Louis area is losing so many residents it ranks No. 5 nationwide for population loss. Its neighboring county was one of the few in Illinois to grow.

TAGS: Madison County, Metro East, Monroe County, outmigration, population, St. Clair County

Metro East voters dissolve underwater park district

By Brad Weisenstein

11/07/2018

Taxpayers voted overwhelmingly to dissolve Collinsville Area Recreation District – but the debt the district incurred will burden taxpayers for years.

TAGS: Collinsville, consolidation, local government consolidation, Madison County, Metro East, property taxes

Belleville has seen sharpest population decline among top Illinois cities since 2010

By Vincent Caruso

06/08/2018

As Illinois struggles to address its people problem, population loss has plagued communities across the Land of Lincoln. But the shrinkage in some areas has been more severe than others.

TAGS: Belleville, jobs, Metro East, Missouri, outmigration, population