By State Rep. Darren Bailey -
Illinois’ economic fortunes are turning around. After years of struggling to recover from the so-called Great Recession of 2008, the tide seems to be turning. Here are some of the headlines this year from the Illinois Department of Employment Security:
- Illinois Payrolls Up in Nearly All Industries from Prior Year
- Illinois Payrolls at Record High in January
- Jobs up in Eight Metro Areas
- Illinois Payrolls Up in April
- Unemployment rate down in twelve metros
- Illinois Payrolls Up 11,400 in June
- Illinois Payrolls Hold Steady in July – Unemployment Rate Drops to 4.2 Percent
- Unemployment Rate Falls to Historic Low in August – Illinois Payrolls Remain Stable, with 65,000 More Jobs than a Year Ago
- Unemployment Rate Falls to New Historic Low in September Illinois Payrolls Up Across Most Industries
These aren’t all of the headlines, but they are representative of the state’s positive economic news.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t always been that way. Self-inflicted wounds from higher taxes and job-killing regulations in recent years left our state in a vulnerable condition, resulting in economic growth lagging behind the rest of the nation – as a whole – and most of our neighboring states.
Even as late as 2018, a decade after the so-called Great Recession was over, Illinois was still struggling:
- One of the worst states for wage growth
- Job growth lags the national average and thousands of job losses.
- Economic vitality ranked 32nd among the 50 states
Illinois’ economic wounds were serious and they didn’t go unnoticed. Other states began plotting to lure our businesses away, such as Indiana. Most recently, Kentucky and Florida have joined the effort, but we are beginning to turn things around.
By this time, you might be wondering what happened for Illinois to turn the corner.
There’s no doubt in my mind, the primary positive factor is the leadership of President Donald J. Trump.
The great national economy is positively impacting Illinois. The President’s policies, including tax cuts and deregulation, helped create 4 million new jobs and deliver a 50-year best unemployment rate, and record low unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and women.
There are 160 million people in the workforce – another record, while middle-class income has risen to the highest on record.
Meanwhile, 8 million people are now off Food Stamps, construction jobs have increased, and manufacturing and consumer confidence are sky-high.
Some may argue that Illinois’ fortunes are because of a new administration in Springfield. Frankly, no legislation that passed this spring and was signed into law this summer has had a chance to begin influencing the state economy. It’s the national economy, which impacted Illinois, and there’s only one person whose leadership stands out. That’s President Trump.
The wins we’ve experienced are not for a select few. This has been a broad-based economic recovery, but the President’s first term has not just been about economics. Illinoisans and Americans are better off when it comes to national security (rebuilding the military, defeating ISIS, building a wall to stop illegal drugs and human trafficking) and foreign relations (standing up against terrorist-sponsoring states such as Iran, working out a peace with North Korea, protecting American jobs from unfair Chinese trade and keeping Russia in check).
The President has also been a champion for pro-life, veterans and protecting our Liberty. He’s enacted legislation and executive orders covering opioid abuse, criminal justice reform, right-to-try, protecting Medicare and domestic energy production – making the United States the number one producer of oil and natural gas.
President Trump has accomplished all of these objectives, and many, many more, and he’s done so in the face of a massive onslaught of personal and political attacks.
He began his presidency as a plain-spoken, what-you-see-is-what-you-get, regular guy, despite his riches, and he’s remained that way. He’s not a slick politician. He didn’t have to run for president and expose himself to the horrendous behavior of his political opponents, some of whom were his friends before he ran for office.
President Trump didn’t go to D.C. beholding to anyone or any special interest group, other than the American people, which I suspect is one of the motivations behind the attempts to undermine his presidency and get him out of office. The effort to remove him from office began mere moments after his inauguration, according to a Washington Post story from Jan. 20, 2017.
Don’t kid yourself. The name-calling and hatred toward Donald Trump are aimed at the half of America who supported him in 2016 like you and I. Candidate Trump’s opposition called us a “basket of deplorables.” Their hatred has not subsided and their three-year, lie-filled effort at impeachment is a direct assault on our Republic, which seeks to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
Illinoisans and other Americans who voted for Donald Trump, nearly 63 million people, must be his protectors, just as he has been ours.
