(The Center Square) – Illinois gets low marks on two new reports about worker freedom.
The Commonwealth Foundation gave Illinois an F in its evaluation of public sector labor laws. The group’s latest report cited the state’s policies allowing card checks, a qualified right to strike and payroll deductions, as well as incorporating a fundamental right to organize in the state’s constitution and potentially removing any restrictions of collective bargaining.
The report gave neighboring Indiana an A+. Iowa and Wisconsin got As.
The American Legislative Exchange Council ranked Illinois 42nd in the 2026 States that Work report on worker freedom and economic mobility.
Alan Jernigan, director of the commerce, insurance and economic development task force at ALEC, said Illinois has fallen behind neighboring states.
“The policy landscape really limits opportunities, freedom and the ability for people in Illinois, people wanting to move to Illinois to kind of find that perfect situation that works for them and their families,” Jernigan told The Center Square.
The report ranked Iowa 15th, Wisconsin 17th, Indiana 22nd, Missouri 23rd and Kentucky 28th.
According to the Illinois Economic Policy Institute’s State of the Unions study, workers in the Land of Lincoln earn higher wages than their counterparts in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Wisconsin even when factoring in cost-of-living differences.
Jernigan said Illinois has higher wages but fewer opportunities.
“The reality of the situation is with minimum wages in Illinois having one of the higher ones in the country, what that really does is it prices out those entry-level jobs and those opportunities for people that want to get started in their careers,” Jernigan said.
ALEC ranked Illinois 20th for government sector job prevalence.
“When the government is the kind of leader in job opportunity and all of that, it does really limit the employer’s opportunity to kind of keep going and grow and find their own routes, which the private sector provides,” Jernigan said.
In addition to ranking 42nd overall in the ALEC report, Illinois ranked 42nd with an average 10-year private sector employment growth of 2.24% from 2016 to 2026.
