The Illinois Report 2010 assesses crucial issues facing the state of Illinois.

The recession of the past two years has left an indelible imprint on Illinois. The state faces tremendous challenges in providing the services its citizens are accustomed to and in reinvigorating its economy in the wake of the most severe downturn since the Great Depression.

The impact of the recession and its effect on Illinois’ fiscal condition are among the issues examined in The Illinois Report 2010, an assessment of the state’s performance produced by the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA). The report identifies the challenges presented by underlying structural problems in the state budget and the state’s failure to recover jobs quickly as issues that merit special attention.

“One of our goals is to provide information that is highly relevant to the legislative agenda and, because of the dire economic situation in Illinois, we have devoted a good deal of the report to analyzing these fiscal and economic problems,” said IGPA Director Robert F. Rich.

“We believe we have succeeded in this report in matching the major items on the legislative agenda,” Rich said.

The Illinois Report 2010 is IGPA’s fourth annual assessment of crucial issues facing the citizens of Illinois and is based upon the nonpartisan, evidence-based studies of the institute’s faculty and researchers. The authors assess the state’s performance on a range of issues, compare that performance with neighboring or peer states and offer some options for policy makers to consider as they deliberate solutions. Some findings from the fourth edition of The Illinois Report:

• The state’s budget situation grows continually more precarious. A major financial service recently reduced the state’s bond rating to second lowest in the nation.
• The state’s economy continues to struggle. Unemployment rose to double digits in 2009 and job creation could continue to lag unless the state makes more effort to build a framework that encourages more innovative economic activity for the next several decades.
• Minorities, specifically African-Americans and Latinos are disproportionately affected by the recession.
• Illinois has developed an agenda to increase access and quality in public higher education, but these goals cannot be achieved without a commitment by the state to stable revenue streams.
• Regaining public trust in government will require much more than passing new ethics laws.

The Illinois Report 2010 also includes analysis of the potential impact of federal health care reform on the state and waste and recycling programs in Illinois, and looks at the impact of federal agricultural policy on Illinois.

“We hope the information in this report can help to stimulate discussion on issues important to Illinois and to the Midwest region,” Rich said.

Go to The Illinois Report 2010.