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The
study was done by WalletHub and ranks the 50 states from best to
worst in terms of the average length of the work day for males,
childcare costs, and the share of men in good or better health.
Jill Gonzalez, a policy expert with WalletHub, explained how
Illinois did in their rankings.
"We looked at everything from economic and social well-being,
work-life balance, and childcare," Gonzalez said. "Illinois did
pretty well across the board, it ranked as the tenth best state
for working dads this year."
Illinois ranked 15th in "economic well-being" and 20th in
"work-life balance," Gonzalez said.
"Right now Illinois has the fifth-highest median family income,
adjusted for cost of living, but at the same time they have the
fifth-lowest child care costs," she said.
Illinois was also toward the top when compared to other
midwestern states. Only Minnesota and Wisconsin finished higher.
"Illinois is kind of middle of the pack, or slightly above
average when looking at the other states in the Midwest,"
Gonzalez said. "Minnesota did the best ranking second overall,
Wisconsin finished seventh, and Illinois tenth."
Despite the top ten ranking for working dads, Gonzalez said
there are still areas in which Illinois can improve.
"The two areas where Illinois needs the most work is work-life
balance so the parental leave policy in Illinois could be better
and also the average work day for males is longer than in other
states," she said.
Illinois ranked 15th in economic well-being, 20th in work-life
balance, 2nd in child care, and 20th in health.
Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a
reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a
producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan
University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south
suburbs of Chicago. |
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