In Obama's Home State, Unemployment Is Spiking; Expect Media Silence

Photo of Tom Blumer.
By Tom Blumer (Bio | Archive)
August 15, 2008 - 11:22 ET
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Here's news the traditional media will work very hard to ignore.

According to data released by Uncle Sam's Bureaus of Labor Statistics today, the unemployment rate in Illinois is the fifth-highest in the country.

The Land of Lincoln had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 7.3% in July, up 2.2% from the previous year's 5.1%. That puts Illinois, along with California, in a tie for fourth place in the worst state unemployment rate derby, behind only Michigan (8.5%), Mississippi (7.9%), and Rhode Island (7.7%).

Illinois' 2.2% year-over-year unemployment rate increase is the third largest in any state, behind only tiny Rhode Island's 2.7% and smaller state Tennessee's 2.3%. Over 80% of Illinois' deterioration has occurred in the last three months, as its March unemployment rate was only 5.5%.

Meanwhile, in Arizona .....

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The seasonally adjusted uemployment rate is 5.1%, well below the national rate of 5.7%. Among states with a higher population than Arizona, only DC-dependent Virginia and GOP-led Texas have lower unemployment rates (Massachusetts is tied).

Let's summarize (USA data is here):

SAunempUSILAZ0708

The Land of Lincoln is currently the state represented in the US Senate by Democrats Barack Obama, Dick Durbin, and governed by Rod Blagojevich. Democrats control both houses of the legislature (General Assembly).

One "positive" development for Illinois was Barack Obama's decision to move Democratic National Committee operations to Chicago. That step appears not to have made much of a difference. This may be the best job-related idea -- moving the chairs around -- that Barack Obama has ever formulated. At least it didn't destroy jobs.

Arizona is represented in the Senate by Republicans John McCain and Jon Kyl, and governed by Democrat Janet Napolitano. Republicans control both houses of the Legislature.

Does anyone doubt that if the situation were reversed, we'd be constantly hearing about how bad things are in Arizona? Is anyone surprised that we're not hearing about how Illinois is falling off the cliff?

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

—Tom Blumer is president of a training and development company in Mason, Ohio, and is a contributing editor to NewsBusters


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Spending

August 15, 2008 - 12:13 ET by JDW

What isn't Obama promising to fix? How much do do the repairs cost and who funds them?

Remember Bubba's 92 promise not to increase middle class taxes? He had to fund his spending agenda.

What are the chances Obama will be forced to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2010? Why would the Obama media tell the middle class?

JDW

CHANGE: What's left in one's pocket after Obama is elected

 

DAILY WAVE

  We've also had an almost

August 15, 2008 - 12:46 ET by MidAmerica

  We've also had an almost complete meltdown of our state government.  Everything is run by democrats. 

  Illinois doesn't really exist anymore.  There is the new State called Chicago which owns a rural territory, called Illinois, that it manages.

You are so right.  My wife

August 15, 2008 - 13:42 ET by Killgrave

You are so right.  My wife is from Springfield and has told me about Chicago sucking all the life from the capital.  It's unforgivable that the bastard governor can't support his capital simply by his presence, and didn't bother to help out when the tornado hit a year or so ago.  The mayor had to do all the work.

Well, it's obvious what the cause is...

August 15, 2008 - 13:00 ET by c5then

Obama is no longer a State Senator there to 'fix the probelm'. Illinois is floundering around without his 'leadership'. He better become PResident fast or this is going to spread to the rest of the country. We need Obama to save us....

We now return you to reality...

The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.

While I appreciate the linkage here

August 15, 2008 - 13:12 ET by Dr_Liberty

While I appreciate the linkage here, I don't see this as an effective critique of Obama or as support for McCain.  Senators don't have a direct effect on these trends in their home state -- or at least they shouldn't.  The only way a senator could claim to have an effect on the unemployment rate would be to be bringing back lots of porkbarrel projects.  Likewise, I'm not sure how I could credit McCain with 'Zona's good economy.

One could argue that each person is cut from a political cloth that is typical of their home state -- Illinoisians are tax happy spenders and Arizonites are more frugal and less intrusive in the private sector.  But that still is a relatively weak linkage.

 

<insert witty signature here>

I somewhat agree that the linkage isn't that strong, but...

August 15, 2008 - 13:55 ET by Tom Blumer

..... IL is a thoroughly one-party controlled state, and Obama is part of the machine. He's also notably silent while Daley has been raising taxes on anything and everything. I also wonder what he had to say about the "Wal-Mart law" Daley (thank God) vetoed.

If McCain were from Illinois, we'd never hear the end of it.

I'm with Dr. Liberty

August 15, 2008 - 13:59 ET by sarcasmo

If there's any linkage at all, it's a result of too-big government, so an ostensibly conservative site bringing it up puts the wrong meme into the political mix, as I've said before with little effect.
JMR

The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.

   Well actually we're not

August 15, 2008 - 14:20 ET by MidAmerica

   Well actually we're not just suffering from big government.  Right now we have an out of control democrat governor that even a lot of democrat leaders want thrown out.  I refer to him as the Hugo Chavez of the Midwest.

fHow about it Midam - No one likes Blago (dem or rep)

August 15, 2008 - 16:52 ET by Dee Bunk

but he still gets re-elected. No matter how much Dems dislike their candidates they will always vote for them over the Republican. That's why we are going to be stuck with this lousy situation for ever.

 

  You're right I don't see

August 15, 2008 - 17:24 ET by MidAmerica

  You're right I don't see any solution to this mess.  But the last governor is sitting in prison and he was a Republican.  The real problem is that the political power has shifted to the Chicago metro area.  Downstate Republicans used to offset Chicago in elections but that was before the collapse of the manufacturing industry that was , along with the farming industry, the monetary lifeblood of the rural areas. 

   I've posted this joke before but if you lived here it has a painful reality to it.

   Two inmates are standing in the chow line and one turns to the other and say "You know, the food was better here when you were governor".

dr_liberty

August 15, 2008 - 14:10 ET by MidAmerica

  The linkage of obama and the deteriorating situation in Illinois is that the people who are driving this state into the ground are the people who found 'The One' and have been his chief sponsors up to the national stage.  He is one of them.

Exactly MidAm - Obama's "change" will make DC more like Chicago

August 15, 2008 - 17:11 ET by Dee Bunk

politics one of the few places were there is probably even more corruption. Blogo has already made the rest of IL irrelevant and only cares about Chicago.

Obama will represent Chicago first and foremost as President.

Dee Bunk is right

August 17, 2008 - 17:59 ET by petero

I would say that he will represent his friends in Chicago, not the common folk.  But I am sure he will also be very beholden to his new friends in Hollywood, as well as the other folks who have thrown $o much change at the Obama campaign.

Question for Dr. Liberty

August 17, 2008 - 20:48 ET by petero

In Obama's case, wouldn't the fact that he was a state senator from Cook County through 2004, be a point worth considering?

(I ask in a sincere manner, and not in a sarcastic one.)

obama 'home' state

August 15, 2008 - 13:41 ET by david999

obama's 'home' state is the country of Kenya (should be the corrected headline)

He was not born in Illinois, he moved there when he was 22. He moved to Hawaii when he was 11 from Indonesia. He has done nothing to help the people in Illinois except for Tony Rezko who is Syrian by birth who in turn helped obama buy a $2.26 million dollar mansion and he got the money from an old friend of Sadaam's who he helped get power starting in 1959 by the name of Nadhmi Auchi

obama is bought

He will not produce a birth certificate because he has none from Hawaii

 

Slightly off subject.....

From Ilinois

August 17, 2008 - 17:53 ET by petero

What's funny is the intelligent people whom I know that had been vigorous Bill Clinton defenders during his regime, and who now detest him because they are enamored with Obama.

Here in Illinois, nobody yet has been able to come up with anything that Obama has accomplished other than becoming famous, and speaking very well. 

One thing I can attest to is that his Senate staff is composed of arrogant, apathetic, and in a few cases, even ignorant, people.