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CHICAGO TRIBUNE

SECTION 1 |

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Tony W . Hunter, Publisher R. Bruce Dold Editorial Page Editor

Gerould W . Kern, Editor Bill Adee Vice President/Digital Joycelyn Winnecke Associate Editor

Founded June 10, 1847

Jane Hirt Managing Editor

Peter Kendall, Deputy Managing Editor

ECONOMY AND JOBS

The best and worst states for business? Chief Executive magazine is unimpressed with Illinois. The Tax Foundation says our business tax climate tumbled seven places from its 23rd-place ranking in 2009. Are you surprised, then, that employers are steering clear? Number-crunchers at the American Legislative Exchange Council say our rate of job creation from 1998 to 2008 this is nonfarm employment trailed 47 other states, leading only Ohio and Michigan. The most recent U.S. Department of Labor numbers for July , seasonally adjusted rank unemployment rates from 14.3 percent in Nevada down to 3.6 percent in North Dakota. Illinois ties with Ohio at 10.3 percent. Illinois has 410,000 fewer non-farm jobs than 10 years ago a drop of 6.8 percent.

EDITORIALS

HEALTH

46th 30th 48th

10th

9th

38th 47th

Our total economic performance, based on such variables as personal income per capita, trails three-fourths of the states, ALEC says.

Worse yet, the same study says our economic outlook is miserable and dropping, from 43rd in 2008 and 44th in 2009.

16th

Household income averaged $56,235 in 2008, says the Census Bureau. Maryland topped the list at $70,545; Mississippi trailed at $37,790.

The state of this state

Illinois voters approach the Nov. 2 election with a chance to redirect their state. But toward what? How should we improve the state of this state? To begin answering those questions, weve pored over a virtual library of statistics to assess where Illinois stands relative to other states. What we see as the most meaningful of these rankings can be stark, even bleak. Our jobs climate steers potential employers elsewhere, our education system is comparatively mediocre, and our children are chubby. As you read, ask yourself: Is this the state where my family, my company, my career, can thrive? Is this the Illinois I want my generation to bequeath to tomorrows, and to the one after that? Or do I want to send Illinois in a different direction? Raising the final rank voter turnout on Nov. 2 can be a first step toward raising Illinois standing on many of these variables. In subsequent editorials well discuss which candidates are likely to be change agents. Early voting starts Oct. 12 and concludes Oct. 28. Right now, start recruiting your friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers to improve the state of this state.

In arguably the most troubling single statistic for the present and future health of Illinoisans, this is where we rank in rate of childhood obesity for kids ages 10 to 17.

One in five Illinoisans, 2.6 million people, receive Medicaid health care for the poor. Only Missouri and Maine spend higher percentages of their state budgets on Medicaid. In Illinois, that percentage is 29.9 percent.

3rd 3rd

Forbes last year rated Chicago near the top of its ranking for most toxic metropolitan areas in the U.S. The variables included air quality , access to clean water and other environmental hazards.

EDUCATION
ALECs newly issued measure of overall education performance for 2010 includes such factors as National Assessment of Educational Progress math and reading scores statewide, and outcomes for low-income students.

38th

18th

The Census Bureau says 12.2 percent of Illinois population lived below the poverty level in 2008. Mississippi topped this list with 21.2 percent; New Hampshire had the lowest percentage, 7.6. The Census Bureau says only California, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania hit employers with higher workers compensation costs. The Reason Foundations 2010 Annual Highway Report ranks our road system as comparatively poor: Illinois score was hurt by high administrative and maintenance costs coupled with poor ratings on narrow rural lanes, rural road condition, and urban interstate pavement condition.

27th

The Census Bureau says that, for the 2007-08 school year, Illinois topped three-fifths of the states in education spending per child in elementary and secondary schools. The State Board of Education says that, last year, Illinois public schools spent $12,363 in local, state and federal money per student. That total, $26.1 billion for 2.1 million students, is a per-pupil boost of 6.2 percent from the year before and excludes spending on educators pensions.

46th

1st

40th

Illinois leads the nation in the percentage of 3-year-olds served by state-funded preschool. But for 4-yearolds, this state drops to 13th. Worse, as pupils age Illinois high school graduation rate falls well below leaders New Jersey , Iowa and Minnesota. Per capita spending on public higher education ranks below the national average, according to a nationwide ranking for the 2006-07 school year.

19th

37th

GOVERNANCE

1st

Illinois, with 6,994 local governments in the Census Bureaus 2007 count, is trailed distantly by Pennsylvania at second (4,871), Texas at third (4,835) and California at fourth (4,344). Our state and local tax burden as a percentage of total income, according to the Tax Foundations numbers from 2008. The percentages range from 11.8 in New Jersey down to 6.4 percent in Alaska. Illinois percentage was 9.3.

STATE OF MIND
MainStreet.com juggles each states jobless rate, foreclosure rate and non-mortgage debt as a percentage of income to calculate a happiness index. Given how Illinois stacks up to other states, does this low ranking shock anyone? Feeling smug about the amount of volunteer work Illinoisans perform? Dont.

40th

30th

29th 29th

50th

A February report from the Pew Center on the States ranked Illinois dead last in the funding of its public pension system.

Nor is our voter turnout rate anything to admire.