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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.
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