Illinois Quick Hits: State unemployment rate hits 5%

Illinois Quick Hits: State unemployment rate hits 5%

April 16, 2026/Newspaper Staff/

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the state’s unemployment rate reached 5% in February, up 0.1 percentage point from January and up 0.3 percentage point from the same month, one year ago.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payrolls decreased 0.3% in February.

FEDS ANNOUNCE MIDWAY BLITZ-RELATED CONVICTION

Sentencing is scheduled on July 22 for a Lyons man who admitted that he used his vehicle to impede, intimidate, and interfere with the work of federal immigration agents during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago last October.

Prosecutors say Anthony Gonzalez Alvarez, 27, admitted that he drove his pickup truck into a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle and filed a false police report to conceal his involvement in the collision.

Gonzalez Alvarez faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

CPS RESTORES FEDERAL FUNDS CUT OFF FROM SPECIAL ED STUDENTS

The Archdiocese of Chicago says Chicago Public Schools will restore federally-funded special education services to students in Catholic schools on Monday.

The archdiocese announced April 9 that CPS was abruptly ending special ed services to more than 800 students.

In a new statement released Thursday afternoon, the archdiocese thanked CPS CEO Macquline King and her staff for restoring services to students with disabilities.

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