States of Economic Comparison – Editorial – Wall Street Journal

One not so surprising exception is Illinois where growth was revised down 1.2%. Its neighbors Indiana (1.5%), Michigan (2.5%) and Wisconsin (2.6%) experienced modest upward revisions. Illinois incomes have grown faster over the last year (3.7%) than during the late Obama years amid an uptick in manufacturing, but the state still lags in the Great Lakes region. Manufacturing earnings in Illinois have increased 4% over the last four quarters, but workers and businesses have been fleeing. Last year 80% of Illinois cities lost population, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. Swelling worker pension obligations are driving up property taxes, and some towns are imposing special fees to pay for public-safety pensions. Springfeld is still a wholly owned subsidiary of the government-worker unions.