Ups and Downs Across the State

By Margaret Lyons in News on Mar 24, 2008 8:22PM

Today is World TB day, and we should be observing extra-hard in Illinois. 2007 saw 521 active cases of TB in the state, which is an all-time low. Go us! Except we're still the 5th highest in the nation, and there was a 25 percent increase in the number of drug-resistant cases. [IL Department of Public Health release]

Also at a longtime low are statewide union memberships. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007 14.5 percent of wage and salary workers in Illinois were union members; 16.4 percent were in 2006. Illinois still comes in above the national average, though, which is 12 percent. [NBC 5]

And something's going up, of course, though not what anyone would really want: tuition at two University of Illinois campuses. Trustees are considering raising matriculation costs at Champaign and Chicago 8 percent, which would put U of I at $20,034 per year, and UIC at $18,670. [AP]