Small business in Illinois, four other states, divided over minimum wage votes, By Joyce M. Rosenberg (AP), October 29, 2014, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Workers in five states, including Illinois, could get a raise after Election Day. Some small business owners say raising the minimum wage will pressure their companies, forcing them to cut employees’ hours or jobs. Others say it’s the right thing to do for workers and the economy. In addition to Illinois, minimum wage referendums are on Tuesday’s ballots in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, where minimums range from $6.25 to $8.25 an hour. Some small business owners say raising the minimum wage will force them to cut employees’ hours or jobs. Higher minimums were already approved this year in 10 states, the District of Columbia and Seattle…”
Tag: Illinois
Medicaid Enrollees
Cook County releases 1st snapshot of new Medicaid patients, By Peter Frost, June 2, 2014, Chicago Tribune: “New data released in May offer the first look at the health, habits and demographics of about 100,000 new enrollees in Cook County’s expanded Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. The picture it paints is bleak. More than half the new patients covered by Cook County’s Medicaid expansion program haven’t seen a doctor in the past 12 months. Eighty-five percent of them are unable to obtain needed medications. Nearly one-fourth have spent time in a hospital in the past six months and an additional 1 in 5 are worried about finding a place to stay in the near future. They suffer from heart disease, high cholesterol. . .”
Kids Count Report – Illinois
- Group: Number of children in poverty up 43 percent in five years, By Debra Pressey, March 6, 2014, Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette: “The number of kids living in poverty in Champaign County grew by nearly 43 percent in five years, according to a new report released Thursday by the statewide organization Voices for Illinois Children. The annual Kids Count report, released Thursday, found 23.4 percent of Champaign County children were living at or below the poverty line in 2011, compared to 16.7 percent in 2006…”
- Latest ‘Kids Count’ report a mixed bag, By Tobias Wall, March 6, 2014, State Journal-Register: “A report released Thursday shows Illinois has made some progress when it comes to its children’s health, but minority and low-income children are still at higher risk. According to the Illinois Kids Count 2014 report published by Voices for Illinois Children, fewer kids are uninsured, and overall infant mortality and teen death rates have continued trending downward. But the report also found that minority infants are more likely to be born at lower birth weights, infant mortality rates are higher among minorities, and overall child poverty rates in the state have risen…”