by Dylan Sharkey Illinois Policy
In a tweet announcing one-time property tax rebates, Gov. J.B Pritzker claimed Illinois is better for working families thanks to his administration.
Unemployment rates and property taxes show that is false.
“I promised to put state government back on the side of working families – and we’re doing just that,” Pritzker tweeted.
The measure for working families in Illinois is the unemployment rate. The most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates Illinois’ unemployment rate at 4.5%, the highest in the Midwest and third highest nationally.
Four years ago, Illinois’ unemployment rate matched the national rate. As of August, Illinois’ rate was nearly a full percent higher than 2019 while the national rate is back at 3.7%.