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 The average Illinoisan needed a pay raise of $5,920
to keep up with inflation during the past 12 months. That worker only got a
little more than $3,057.
So, that $3,057 pay bump was actually the equivalent of a nearly $2,900 pay cut.
When you add up all the price increases from inflation, Illinoisans are paying
$4,675 more for the same goods and services this year compared to last year.
On an annual basis, the average Illinois worker will shell out $1,483 more for
gasoline this year, $929 more for housing, $523 more for groceries, and $387
more for utilities. By the time you add up all the different ways inflation
nickels and dimes you, the total cost adds up to more than $4,675.
The most recent inflation data, released July 13 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, projects average prices rose 9.1% from June 2021 to June 2022. The
latest inflation figures come as bad news, because experts previously thought
inflation might have plateaued. Prices continued to rise beyond expectations in
June.
Illinoisans are feeling the pain of the highest inflation rates in 40 years. In
many cases, there’s little Illinoisans can do to avoid inflation.
Gasoline is up 60% in the past year; grocery bills are up 12% on average; energy
services are up 19%. Workers can’t just stop their daily commute, buy less food
for their family, or stop heating and cooling their homes. A large portion of
these expenses are necessary, so high inflation means Illinoisans are gritting
their teeth and paying higher bills. That leads to cutbacks in other
recreational and leisure activities and reduces savings, which ultimately lower
Illinoisans’ quality of life, today and in the future.
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With many economists forecasting a prolonged period of high inflation, the
Federal Reserve will likely be prompted to continue interest rate hikes. For
Illinoisans, this presents an unpleasant tradeoff: continued high inflation or
an increase in unemployment because of rising interest rates.
Neither scenario will be friendly for Illinoisans, however they appear
unavoidable as record spending and wide-spread federal stimulus coupled with
supply chain disruptions and pent-up demand from COVID-19 have created our
current inflationary environment.
Illinois faces an additional economic challenge from a proposed amendment to the
Illinois Constitution. Public worker unions are pushing Amendment 1, which would
make union power nearly untouchable in Illinois and is projected to increase
average property taxes $2,100 or more as a result of taxpayers being forced to
fund greater government union demands.
Voters Nov. 8 will decide whether to grant union powers no other state allows,
or whether to curb their property taxes.
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