Quick hits: Illinois news in brief for Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Illinois lags in wage, job growth
Small business growth lags in the Land of Lincoln according to a recent report by Paychex, which puts Illinois last in hourly and weekly wage growth among small businesses.
Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch said a preliminary impression of the data suggests Illinois’ reaction to the pandemic may be to blame.
Honor Flights for veterans canceled for the year
Flights to take veterans of foreign wars of advanced age to Washington D.C. to visit memorials in their honor have been canceled for this year.
The Land of Lincoln Honor Flight organization hoped to continue flights in October, but travel restrictions in the air and on the ground by bus will make it more difficult for the aging population.
Similar groups have canceled flights out of Chicago through the year, but other states’ groups are continuing flights.
Chicago struggles financially despite federal cash, watchdog says
Despite an influx of federal taxpayer dollars going to the city of Chicago during the COVID-19 pandemic, an analysis of the city’s finances by Truth In Accounting said the city’s position worsened. The city saw federal funds of nearly $1.2 billion during the previous fiscal year.
But the city’s debts continued to increase, the group says. By Truth In Accounting’s review, the city needs $38.7 billion to pay its bills.
BBB warns about Child Tax Credit scams
The Better Business Bureau is warning of potential scams around a program that starts later this month sending checks out to parents on a monthly basis.
The IRS will issue checks to eligible parents starting on July 15 through the end of the year.
The BBB says potential con artists could try and gain personal information to steal a person’s identity. For more information about potential scams, visit BBB.org/ScamTracker.
Some small towns still waiting on federal COVID-19 funds
More than $740 million from federal taxpayers for Illinois’ non-Community Development Block Grant cities should be released. That’s the message from the Illinois Municipal League.
The group says larger communities in Illinois are getting direct payments from federal funds. Small communities must rely on the state government to request and allocate such aid.
That’s impacting funding for more than 1,250 communities, the group said.
More vaccine winners announced
Three $100,000 prizes were drawn Monday in the second round of the Illinois COVID-19 vaccine lottery.
The winners are from Chicago, Springfield and Quincy.
The next drawing for three more $100,000 winners is July 19.
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