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Economy
Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
4:10pm
Fri Mar 22

Creative Economy Initiative Could Serve As Economic Boon For Illinois

With hopes of giving a boost to Illinois’ struggling economy, Gov. Pat Quinn rolled out a new initiative this week focused on investing in the arts and strengthening the state’s cultural offerings.

Illinois’ nonprofit arts organizations contribute $2.75 billion to the local economy through direct spending and revenue generation, according to a report by Arts Alliance Illinois and Americans For The Arts.

More than 78,000 full-time jobs are supported through art nonprofits throughout the state, as detailed in “Arts & Economic Prosperity IV.”

Prompted by these statistics, Quinn has launched the Creative Economy Initiative.

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PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
3:30pm
Fri Mar 22
1 comment

Environmentalists Urge State Lawmakers To Support Fracking Moratorium (VIDEO)

Environment

Environmentalists and public health advocates at today’s demonstration against fracking at the Thompson Center say the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act, which has earned the support of Gov. Pat Quinn, doesn’t go far enough to protect the environment or ground and drinking water. Progress Illinois was there to learn more about why they are calling for a two-year fracking moratorium.

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
4:22pm
Wed Mar 20
2 comments

Federal Government Workers Call For Congressional Action At Stop The Sequester Rally (VIDEO)

As federal employees brace themselves for furlough days, members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) rallied against the sequester in downtown Chicago today.

Chanting anti-austerity slogans and carrying signs, more than 100 union members and supporters gathered in Federal Plaza Wednesday to protest $85 billion in  across-the-board federal budget cuts that went into effect March 1.

“Congress in their infinite wisdom are cutting jobs through sequestration,” said John O’Grady, president of the AFGE Local 704, which represents workers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
1:57pm
Wed Mar 20

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Would Improve Sluggish U.S. Economy, New Report Shows

A legal status and road map to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country would have positive impacts on the U.S. economy, and the sooner reform is implemented, the bigger the gains, a new report from the Center for American Progress shows. 

Citizenship for the undocumented brings significant increases in economic growth and earnings as well as tax revenues and jobs, said the report’s co-author Robert Lynch, visiting senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

“Legal status and citizenship enable the undocumented to produce and earn much more,” he said. “The resulting productivity and wage gains then ripple through the economy because immigrants are not just workers, they are also consumers and tax payers. They will spend their increased earnings on thousands of things.”

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
10:58am
Wed Mar 20

Schakowsky Launches Interactive Budget Web Page

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D, IL-9) launched the new, interactive You Choose web page today, asking people to make decisions about the sequester's $1.2 trillion in across-the-board spending cuts and the House Republican budget proposal.

You Choose is an alternative to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s YouCut page.

Schakowsky said she’s launching the You Choose because she wants to hear from her constituents and others around the country about their take on the nation's fiscal issues.

“Congress will be making budget choices over the coming days and weeks that will affect every person and business in our country,” Schakowsky said. “It is critical to acknowledge that the question facing us isn’t just whether we solve our fiscal challenges, but how we do it.”  

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