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By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Business license approvals are down in Illinois’ biggest city, where the cost of doing business remains high. Illinois Policy Institute assistant editor Dylan Sharkey said Chicago had about 29,400 new and renewed business licenses approved from October 2023 to October 2024. “When you walk

By Brett Davis | The Center Square (The Center Square) – With the 2025 session just around the corner, legislative leaders from the four caucuses have expressed their varying views on the causes of Washington state’s projected $10 billion to $12 billion operating budget deficit, including how to address the gap. Those differences were articulated

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is not backing down from his promise to increase public education funding at the expense of city and state taxpayers. Johnson spoke at the City Club of Chicago this week and answered questions about the city’s budget deficit, which is

By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – Biopharmaceutical company Amgen, Inc. on Thursday announced a $1 billion manufacturing expansion in Holly Springs, which it says will create 370 jobs. The company has been approved for a state Job Development Investment grant of up to $4.8 million over 12 years. It

By Elyse Apel | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Republican Gov. Brian Kemp recently announced winners for grants encouraging both rural development and housing infrastructure. All the grants were issued through OneGeorgia Authority, an initiative of the Department of Community Affairs hoping to encourage “economic vitality in rural Georgia.” On Wednesday, the six inaugural

By Chris Wade | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants to reduce or eliminate income taxes for the city’s lowest income earners with a new proposal that comes as he fights federal charges and gears up for reelection next year. The Democrat’s “Axe The Tax For

By Christen Smith | The Center Square (The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania talks about fighting for American consumers struggling with oppressive economic forces that he says are caused by corporate power undermining competition and the capitalist system.

By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – Illinois state Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago, is hoping to see the new Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker expanded to benefit even more than the thousands of residents now on its radar. As many as 300,000 individuals could be at

By Christen Smith | The Center Square (The Center Square) – There’s a lot of talk in Harrisburg about permitting reform and economic growth. It’s bipartisan. It’s bicameral. And it’s appealing to businesses of all shapes and sizes. So, if Pennsylvania lawmakers and Gov. Josh Shapiro know all this to be true, why does the

By Elyse Apel | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The entertainment industry is pushing for more tax credits in Georgia, as industry leaders say other states and cities are pulling the industry away with promises of more money. On Wednesday, the state’s House Rural Development Council met to hear from a panel on current

By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square (The Center Square) – A new study shows that a large number of Illinoisans may be buying their cigarettes from nearby states.  The Tax Foundation compared 2022 census data and cigarette sales figures to try to determine the percentage of out-of-state cigarettes being consumed.  Illinois, which adds nearly $3

By Zachery Schmidt | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – A free-market group gave seven state legislators a perfect score in its 2024 Wyoming State Economic Scorecard. Club for Growth Foundation awarded state Sens. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne; Bob Ide, R-Casper; Troy McKeown, R-Gillette; and Cheri Steinmetz, R-Goshen County, a 100% rating for their

By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – Eighteen North Carolina counties have economic designation changes in 2025, which could make a difference in the grants they receive from the state for economic development. Cherokee, Chowan, Duplin, Gates, Granville, Haywood, Jones, Onslow and Pasquotank counties are moving to a “less distressed”

By Tim Clouser | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Spokane County passed its 2025 budget on Monday, decreasing total spending by nearly 6% while using up $57.4 million of its overall fund balance.  The $864.8 million budget pulls back the reins as inflation continues and tax revenues flatline. The Board of County Commissioners managed

By Jon Styf | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers was scheduled to begin a statewide public listening tour on Monday before he is scheduled to submit his proposed state biennial budget in early January. At issue is a projected $4 billion surplus of state funds and how much of

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – The Illinois Bankers Association says Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin writing a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is “missing the forest for the trees.” An Illinois law that goes into effect in 2025 seeks to bar interchange fee

By Morgan Sweeney | The Center Square (The Center Square) – As Americans celebrated Thanksgiving, recovery efforts continue in the wake of Hurricane Helene and the major storms that have hit the East and Gulf coasts.  As communities work to get back on their feet, a handful of congressmen and women from Virginia and North Carolina

By J.D. Davidson | The Center Square (The Center Square) – A trade association that promotes small businesses around Ohio and the country wants to highlight the impact of small businesses on their community as the holiday shopping season hits full swing. The National Association of Independent Business recently released a report that showed the impact

By Morgan Sweeney | The Center Square (The Center Square) — The cost of a Thanksgiving meal for 10 in Virginia is down from last year’s record high of $66.88 to an average of $58.41, or $5.84 per person. Thanksgiving dinner prices in the commonwealth lagged the nation some; while prices peaked nationally in 2022 at

By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – More than $2 million in grants have been approved for a freight shipping company plannning a $13.7 million expansion in North Carolina. RXO Inc. plans to employ an additional 216 people at the Charlotte facility and produce a minimum average salary of $89,000,

By Steve Bittenbender | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – Drivers going through Kentucky this Thanksgiving weekend will be paying, on average, about 14 cents a gallon less for the fill-ups this year. Data from AAA released on Wednesday found the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.831. While the

By Tim Clouser | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The Spokane City Council is gearing up to pass its 2025 legislative priorities, potentially asking the state to bypass climate regulations and raise property taxes while eyeing a new model.  The process is routine for the council but comes with new challenges this year as

By Christina Lengyel | The Center Square (The Center Square) — The next step toward faster permits in Pennsylvania starts with a simpler application process. So says Gov. Josh Shapiro, who traveled to Hazle Township in Luzerne County last week to sign an executive order launching the Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program, intended to improve