Kankakee Times

State Representative Jackie Haas emphasized the necessity of reducing financial burdens on job creators and residents. "If we reduce taxes and other burdens on both job creators and residents, we can make Illinois a place filled with opportunity," she stated in an August 18 Facebook post.

"If we reduce taxes and other burdens on both job creators and residents, we can make Illinois a place filled with opportunity," said Haas, according to Facebook. "It's time we turn Illinois into a destination for growth."

In her post, Haas shared a link to an August 6 report from The Center Square, which focused on job cuts and wage growth. According to the report from Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), more than 1,100 workers in Illinois were laid off in July. It also noted that through July 2024, there were 7,300 layoffs reported. WARN figures showed that Illinois had more layoffs than Florida but fewer than California, Texas, New York, and Washington.

Screenshot of Rep. Jackie Haas' Aug. 18 Facebook post | Rep. Jackie Haas' Facebook page

The article further mentioned that four Illinois companies reported layoffs of 100 or more employees in July. These included John Deere in Moline, GEODIS in Romeoville, NBC Universal/NBC Sports Chicago, and Keplr Vision of Bloomington. Additionally, The Center Square indicated that the Democratic National Convention (DNC) announced 75 layoffs starting September 6. Western Illinois University has also approved an unspecified number of job cuts.

Regarding wage growth, The Center Square consulted Orphe Divounguy, economist and host of the Everyday Economics podcast. Divounguy said hiring has slowed and that "wage growth has slowed to 3.6% year over year, down from 3.9% in June." He also expects the Federal Reserve to begin focusing less on inflation and more on the job market. Although he said concerns over a potential recession could be exaggerated, Divounguy added: "If initial jobless claims remain at this level or tick higher, then some analysts might start to be concerned."

Rep. Jackie Haas was elected to represent Illinois’ 79th House District in December 2020. She is CEO of the Helen Wheeler Center for Community Health; she was a social worker at Riverside Medical Center and holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Valparaiso University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois-Chicago.