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.

Paychex’s Small Business Watch showed over the last 12 months Illinois’ hourly wage grew 1.7% and weekly wage grew 0.85%. That’s compared to neighbor and national leader Missouri, which grew its hourly wage 4.09%.

In 2020, nearly half of all Illinois state legislative races were completely uncontested. This means that the people representing Illinoisans weren’t chosen by the people; they’re just the only individuals in their districts who bothered to file for candidacy.

Back in 2018, 82% of races were uncompetitive, meaning that the winning candidate got more than 55% of the vote. Often, this is the result of “deep” red or blue districts. The existence of these in itself is not a problem; the problem arises when lawmakers are able to draw the lines to choose what voters vote for their seat.

Redistricting in Rock Island County has been pushed back after the state of Illinois unexpectedly moved the deadline from July to the end of December for a final map to be redrawn and submitted to County Clerk Karen Kinney.

County board members voted in April to downsize the board from 25 to 19 members and reapportion the districts. A contract was approved in May with Berteau Consulting, LLC and Grapple, LLC, at a cost of $15,000 to redraw the districts.

The Internal Revenue Service will be issuing checks to Illinoisans eligible for the Child Tax Credit starting on July 15 and continuing through the end of year, a potential opportunity for fraud and scammers.

The Better Business Bureau is advising people to be on the lookout for potential scam artists once the checks start going out. Chief Executive Officer for the BBB Chicago, Steve Bernas, said that when the government is in the news scammers will emerge.