Explore our content

All types | All dates | All authors
Job Creation
Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
5:42pm
Wed Jun 5

Taxpayers Protest TIF Funding Of DePaul's New Basketball Arena (VIDEO)

The allocation of $55 million of Chicago’s tax increment financing (TIF) dollars for the building of a new DePaul University basketball arena at McCormick Place is “unjust,” according to a group of approximately 20 protesters who took their message to the university’s student center Wednesday.

“A private university can fund their own stadium,” said Adenia Linker, 45, a member of the education advocacy group, Raise Your Hand, and participant in Wednesday’s protest. “I understand the need for tourism dollars and the need to bring people to the lake, but we also need the infrastructure of education for the next generation.”

Read more »

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
4:58pm
Wed Jun 5

Illinois Ranked A National Leader In Clean Technology Deployment

Illinois is “leading the charge” for clean technology deployment in the country, according to a new report from Clean Edge, a research and advisory firm dedicated to energy efficient and environmentally friendly industries, policies and applications.

The firm’s inaugural U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index report, released Tuesday, ranked Illinois’ clean-tech marketplace as 8th in the nation for strong policies that reduce the state’s environmental footprint.

“The clean-tech sector is the critical industry for economic leadership and economic development in the 21st century,” said Clint Wilder, senior editor of Clean Edge and co-author of the report. “If you want to plan for the future at all, it’s important to establish leadership and establish your state as one of the clean-tech hubs in the U.S., and I think Illinois has done a very good job of that.”

Read more »

PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
8:11pm
Tue May 28

Long-Term Unemployed Face Continued Economic Challenges

Unemployment

Although the U.S. labor market has seen some improvement, it is not enough to significantly help the long-term unemployed and individuals who have exhausted their unemployment benefits, say economists and labor experts. We take a closer look at this issue in part one of our latest look at the nation's unemployment crisis. Check back with Progress Illinois later this week for a look at how the sequester cuts have only added to the woes of the long-term unemployed.

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
7:17pm
Thu May 23
1 comment

Environmental Activists Demand A Fracking Moratorium, Stage Sit-In At Quinn's Office (UPDATED)

Environmental activists are ramping up advocacy efforts against hydraulic fracturing, commonly called “fracking”. Meanwhile, the Illinois House Executive Committee passed a regulatory compromise bill Tuesday and the full chamber is expected to take up the legislation any day now.

The oil and gas drilling technology, according to the bill’s opponents, is unsafe and damages the environment. But as the bill makes its way through the Illinois General Assembly, drilling companies have already leased land in Southern Illinois — reportedly about half a million acres around the New Albany Shale rock formation, according to the Star-Telegram.

“Fracking is not safe, it destroys communities; it endangers our water supply; it is not safe for the workers; and it is not a bridge fuel,” said Melody Lamar, a member of Illinois People’s Action.  “I’m so sickened by what I’ve seen from our legislators.”

Read more »