Illinois In the Cellar

At a recent town meeting, one Democrat state representative said Illinois ranks 6th in new job creation.

I can't easily find that number, but I do find this one, attributed to a liberal think tank in the Chicago Tribune today:

Illinois lags behind the rest of the region and had the fourth-worst job growth in the nation between 2001 and 2004, according to the Economic Policy Institute. "We have historically understood Illinois to be the economic driver in the Midwest region and, in fact, that reputation seems to be slipping," Mohn said.

The Heartland Alliance, which includes longtime Democrat operative David Wilhelm on its executive committee, comes to this conclusion:

The decline in high-paying manufacturing jobs is one reason the state ranks first in the Midwest in the deep poverty category, said Amy Rynell, director of the alliance.

Perhaps there could be another explanation, not covered in the Tribune article, that might lead us to a real solution to the problem, not just predictable hand-wringing by union allies---the state business climate.

Even liberals know that jobs do not grow on trees.

Forbes, in analyzing think tank measures of business climates by states, points out that these rankings can vary widely, so most states can claim a good report from some group. But based on their chart of the Big 8 states, Illinois is at best in the middle of the pack and at worst at the bottom.

And since Forbes looked at those rankings last summer, most states have markedly improved their balance sheets. See my previous post, States of Plenty.

Not Illinois.

Under Governor Blagojevich, we are billions more in debt, have the largest unfunded pension liability in the country, and as pointed out above, the fourth worst job growth in the nation.

The national Democrats are not promoting the Gov as one of their rising stars for a possible Presidential bid down the road. Virginia's governor, a Democrat in a red state, gave the response to the state of the union speech.

So unless we toss him out this fall, it looks like Illinois will be in the jobs cellar for some time to come.