Kankakee Times

Illinois state Rep. Jason Bunting (R-Emington) has called for better economic policies after the Prairie State ranked among the worst states for economic health.

"Illinois' economy ranks #32 in the country, but our economic health came in at #49," Bunting wrote in a Facebook post on June 5. "We need better economic policies as we move into the future."

In his post, Bunting shared a link to WalletHub's rankings. According to the data, Illinois had a total score of 41.94. The state scored 19 for economic activity, 49 for economic health, and 26 for innovation potential.

The February 2023 Economic Forecast for the State of Illinois by Moody’s Analytics and Economic and Consumer Credit Analytics noted that the economy will grow gradually in 2023, and payrolls are on track to return to pre-pandemic levels. The authors of the report also noted that Illinois was one of the stronger performers in the Midwest between 2022 and 2023.

Job growth, for example, has outpaced the Midwest, but “Illinois’ jobless rate averaged 4.7% in the fourth quarter, compared with 3.8% in the region and 3.6% in the nation,” according to the report.

In February, the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability stated in its monthly briefing that unemployment was 4.7% in its latest month’s figures and 4.7% in the prior month, compared to 5.1% a year ago. Standard and Poor gave Illinois General Obligation bonds a rating of an A-, up from BBB+.

In December 2022, WTVO reported that Fitch, a credit rating agency, predicted Illinois will struggle economically in 2023.

“It is fair to say that Illinois is going to face a tougher situation than most other states given its rating level,” Eric Kim, a Fitch analyst, told The Center Square.

One reason for the state's low rating, according to Fitch, is that “the state has the largest public employee retirement costs in the country.”