•November 16, 2016•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

I am writing this the day before the election, so as you read this you know much that I did not yet know. Thus I turn to broader topics: Where are we in Illinois at present, and whither are we tending?

Illinois has for years been growing more slowly than the nation and the rest of the Midwest, even though we have we have riches in transportation infrastructure, location, water and talent that most other states would die for.

In 1950, we were one of the four richest states in the nation, and Illinois per capita income stood at 128 percent of the national average of 100 percent. Since then, the state’s wealth has been steadily declining, relative to other states.

We are now at about 104 percent of the national average or right about in the middle.

But we were a big industrial state in the post-war era when all other major economies were flat on their backs. The heady days of the 1950s are not likely to come back soon.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.