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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
6:06pm
Mon Jun 10

Report: Future U.S. Economic Growth In Jeopardy Due To Youth Unemployment Crisis

More than 10 million Americans under the age of 25 are out of work or underemployed.

And a new recently-released report from the Center for American Progress warns that the youth unemployment crisis will deliver a significant and long-lasting blow to the country's future economic growth if lawmakers do not adequately address it soon.

"The labor market has failed these kids," said Jack Wuest, executive director of the Chicago-based Alternative Schools Network. "And the private sector doesn't want to deal with them."

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PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
3:59pm
Fri Jun 7

Walmart Workers Call For A Living Wage, Better Work Conditions (VIDEO)

Labor

When Larry Born’s privately-owned retail business closed its doors during the recession in 2009, he sought employment at Walmart. He said he didn’t know it at the time, but he walked into a “predatory employer” that pays “slave wages.” Born was one of nearly 100 people who protested outside Chicago’s Walmart Express store, at 570 West Monroe St., to demand better wages and improved working conditions for the employees of the world’s largest retailer.

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.”

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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.”

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
8:14pm
Mon Jun 3

New Report Highlights Need To Reform The Farm Bill's Sugar Program

Changes made to the federal sugar program in the 2008 farm bill have caused sugar prices to spike to record levels, which hurts businesses, manufacturers and consumers, a new report from the food and agriculture consulting company Agralytica shows.

Extra consumer costs due to the 2008 farm bill have tallied about $3.7 billion each year, according to the report (PDF) released Monday. Currently, sugar prices in the United States are about 46 cents per pound, which is higher than 28 cents per pound under the 2002 farm bill.

Sugar producers in the United States and Mexico have responded to the high prices in the U.S. market by expanding sugar production by 20 percent to 25 percent, said Agralytica’s Vice President Tom Earley.

The 2008 changes have made “a bad program even worse and have destabilized the U.S. sugar market,” said Earley, who is also an agricultural economist and trade policy specialist.

“Now we have too much sugar that’s driving prices down that’s going to result in significant costs for the government,” he explained.

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