Kankakee Times

Republican state Senate candidate Phil Nagel said Illinois’ economy and workers continue to suffer under the mismanagement of state Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) and the other Democrats in Springfield.

"The high taxes and burdensome regulations that have made doing business in Illinois harder are now causing our economic recovery to lag behind neighboring states," Nagel said on Facebook. "With new economic numbers showing that Illinois’ unemployment rate is the third highest in the nation and the highest in the Midwest, the people of the 40th District deserve a Senator in Springfield that will fight to cut taxes and limit regulations, so that job creators and workers can stay here at home. We deserve better than the disastrous economic policies of Patrick Joyce.”

As of August, Illinois is 1.4% behind the nation in job recovery following the economic downturn in March 2020, Illinois Policy reported. The state is still missing 89,000 jobs and has the third-highest unemployment rate in the nation at 4.4%                 

With policy decisions that have exacerbated the threat of recession, Illinois will be put in a difficult position as the flexibility of the state’s budget is minimal due to pension obligations and a $1.8 billion unemployment trust fund deficit, Illinois Policy reports.                  

Since the start of COVID-19, Illinois has spent nearly $5 billion fighting the negative economic implications of lockdowns, according to the website Realms of Discordia. The $5 billion spent was a part of Congress' State and Local Recovery Fund Relief Package approved by the Biden administration. The money was intended to stabilize state budgets and finance operating costs to maintain public service costs.       

As of July 1, 2022, Illinois has a combined state and local tax rate of 8.73%, ranking eighth in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation. The state tax rate is 6.25%, and the average local tax rate is 2.48%, which maxes out at 5.25%.                

According to the Bureau of Economic Statistics, in 2020, Kankakee County ranked 15th in Illinois for real GDP at $5.6 million, down 2% from 2019.