Illinois
Chicago and Illinois have among highest unemployment rates in country
Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., on Chicago’s preparation for the DNC, the city’s migrant crisis, Planned Parenthood’s offering of free abortions and vasectomies at the DNC, and the 2024 election polls.
As the Democratic National Convention enters its second day on Tuesday, Chicago and Illinois as a whole are grappling with some of the highest unemployment rates in the country compared to their peers.
The longtime Democratic Party strongholds of Chicago and Illinois have seen their populations steadily decline over the last decade with relatively high tax rates discouraging residents from sticking around long-term.
That policy regime has cultivated an economic climate that is among the most challenging in the country, with Illinois’ unemployment rate ranking the second-worst in the U.S. while Chicago’s is tied for the highest among major U.S. metropolitan areas.
The most recent jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) compared the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. and found that as of June 2024, the Chicago metro area had a 6.2% unemployment – tied with Las Vegas for highest in the country.
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Chicago and Illinois as a whole have among the highest unemployment rates in the country relative to their peers. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
That rate is a full percentage point higher than Detroit’s 5.2% unemployment rate, which ranks as the second-highest of the Midwestern metro areas and 47th among the 50 largest metro areas.
A broader analysis by the BLS that includes all 389 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. had the Chicago metro area ranked 368th in the country.
“Chicago has fewer workers and more unemployed residents than before Mayor Brandon Johnson took office in May 2023,” the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) noted in a report. “Johnson ran on the idea, and has continuously proclaimed, that his administration is ‘making Chicago the most pro-worker city in the country.’ There’s just one problem with that – today, nearly 100,000 Chicagoans are out of work.”
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Chicago is a longtime Democrat stronghold and has hosted the party’s convention a record 12 times. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
The think tank added that when narrowing the focus to the Chicago city limits and excluding the broader metro area, the unemployment rate is 7.1%, which is 1.8 percentage points higher than the rate seen in June 2023 and translates to 26,000 more unemployed Chicago residents.
“If Johnson truly wants to turn Chicago into the most pro-worker city in the country, his focus should be on rehabilitating his relationship with the city’s business community and finding sustainable solutions to reverse Chicago’s high unemployment and population decline rather than hiking taxes on a struggling city,” IPI wrote.
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Chicago is hosting the 2024 Democratic National Convention. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
The BLS found that in July, Illinois had a 5.2% unemployment rate, trailing only Nevada’s 5.4% jobless rate for the highest in the nation. Illinois’ unemployment rate is double that of the top five states with the lowest unemployment rates – from South Dakota’s 2% to Nebraska’s 2.6% – and well above the 4.5% national rate.
IPI noted that the Prairie State added a modest 37,300 jobs compared to a year ago and that “growth ranked Illinois 48th among all states for non-farm job growth at 0.61%. This falls far short of the 1.61% growth the nation had during the year.”
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One area in which IPI found Illinois had the highest growth rate in the U.S. was state government jobs, as Illinois added 8,900 jobs for a 6.25% increase.
However, the report noted that Illinois’ post-pandemic recovery has lagged and ranks 45th in the nation, with the state having only 15,300 more jobs than in January 2020.
Illinois
Where to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois today: TV channel, time
Iowa basketball (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) welcomes in No. 16 Illinois (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a top-25 conference tilt.
The 19th-ranked Hawkeyes are looking to get the taste of a frustrating road loss at Minnesota out of their mouths. Iowa trailed by as many as 14, but rallied back to take the lead in the game’s final two minutes. The Golden Gophers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer from Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and then watched as a series of potential game-tying Iowa threes wouldn’t drop in a final, frantic sequence from Williams Arena.
Illinois enters winners of four straight and six of their past seven. The Illini rolled past Rutgers on Thursday, 81-55.
Watch Iowa vs. Illinois
Iowa owns a 57-24 all-time record against Illinois in Iowa City, though the Illini have owned the series of late. Illinois has won four straight over Iowa and nine of the past 10. That stretch of success from the Illini comes on the heels of a five-game Iowa win streak in the series from 2018-20.
As tipoff approaches, here’s how and when Hawkeye fans can watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois:
How to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois
TV: Fox
Tipoff Time: 11 a.m.
Iowa battles Illinois on Fox in its “Gold Out” game from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Jason Benetti (play-by-play) will be joined by Steve Smith (color).
How to stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois
Hawkeye fans can stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois with Fubo, which offers a free trial to first-time subscribers.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnHawks
Illinois
Ex-husband charged in Tepe murders, held in Illinois jail
The ex-husband of a woman found shot to death with her current husband Dec. 30 in Columbus’ Weinland Park neighborhood has been charged with murder in the deaths.
Michael David McKee, 39, of Chicago, faces two counts of murder, according to Franklin County Municipal Court documents.
According to online court records, a warrant was issued Jan. 10 for McKee’s arrest. Winnebago County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office records indicate he was booked into jail there shortly before noon local time. He will remain there until authorities extradite him back to Franklin County.
Winnebago County court records show McKee is scheduled for a hearing there on Jan. 12, likely an extradition hearing to begin the process of his return to Ohio.
Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, died Dec. 30, just after their five-year wedding anniversary, after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Weinland Park. The couple’s two young children, both under the age of 5, were found physically unhurt inside the home.
Columbus homicide detectives identified McKee through neighborhood video surveillance, police alleged in court documents. They tracked the suspect “to a vehicle which arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly after.” They found the vehicle in Rockford, Illinois, and found evidence that McKee had the vehicle before and after the killings.
Columbus police have not publicly identified a potential motive in the couple’s deaths.
In a statement released after McKee’s arrest, the Tepe family thanked Columbus police for their “tireless” work to find the suspect.
“Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon,” the Tepe family said. “We thank the community for the continued support, prayers and compassion shown throughout this tragedy. As the case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible fully accountable.
“Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we carry forward their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind,” the statement said. “We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world.”
McKee and Monique married in 2015, according to Franklin County Domestic Court records. She filed for divorce in May 2017 with the formal divorce decree being issued about a month later. Court filings indicate the divorce was amicable. Monique did not share any children with McKee, whom the divorce filings identify as living in Virginia at the time.
Around 9 a.m. on Dec. 30, coworkers of Spencer’s from the dentistry office where he worked in Athens called Columbus police after Spencer did not show up for work and no one could reach Spencer or Monique by phone.
An officer went to do a well-being check but went to a home on Summit Street instead of the Tepe home, according to Columbus police body camera video. About 40 minutes after that check, friends of the Tepes found them dead in their home.
Police have focused the investigation on the window of time between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Dec. 30, which is when they believe the couple was killed. On Jan. 5, detectives released video from a security camera showing a person walking in an alley near the Tepes’ home during that time frame, calling the person a “person of interest.”
That person is now believed to be McKee.
Medical licensure databases show McKee has active licenses in both Illinois and California. He is identified as working as a vascular surgeon in a practice in the Rockford area, the same area where his vehicle was found.
McKee went to medical school at Ohio State University and has family in the Zanesville area, according to publicly available information.
A public visitation for the Tepes will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Schoedinger Northwest funeral home on Zollinger Road in Upper Arlington. An additional gathering for a celebration of life will occur from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Due Amici in Columbus.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
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