By Bryce Hill (Illinois Policy Institute), includes “Illinois’ unemployment rate reached 7.2% in July, yet many businesses are struggling to find workers. We’ve all seen the ‘help wanted’ signs at businesses and social media posts asking us to be kind to those who did show up to work. … How can Illinois, which was already in the red before the pandemic, pay for these unprecedented benefits? It can’t. The state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is as much as $8 billion underwater.”