The tenure of Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has been one of controversy, especially stemming from the stalemate he’s involved in with the state legislature that’s put multiple colleges and universities in financial distress. To add to that, the Chicago Reporter has declared that Illinois now has the highest unemployment rate in the United States.

While unemployment has steadily gotten lower throughout the nation, Illinois’ has only gone up since Rauner’s been in his position. Before the Republican governor took office, the state was in the “middle of the pack.”

“Businesses value certainty and they want to have confidence that the places where they’re doing business will be able to provide essential services and provide education and higher education so they can get the skilled workers they need,” said Frank Manzo IV of the Illinois Economic Policy Institute.

RELATED: Chicago State University Is Laying Off 300 Employees

Another concern that Manzo raises is that taxpayers are aware that the current unpaid bills tied to the month-long budget stalemate will have to be paid at some point.

“If you’re a business, if you’re a worker or a family, you’re noticing that,” Manzo continued. “You’re going to bear the burden of the mistakes that are being made now.  And the cost of inaction going forward gets compounded, and the tax rates will only have to go higher if we don’t do something about it now.”

This new information may help explain how nearly half of black men aged 20-24 in Chicago are both unemployed and out of school, according to the Chicago Tribune, which is a huge concern that leads to many other issues.

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