The Milken Institute has just updated its State Technology and Science Index, and neither Missouri or Illinois has seen much movement since the last ranking four years ago. Missouri ranks 30th among the states, up from 31st in 2004. Illinois’ ranking…

Illinois is estimating its liability for retiree health care at $24 billion, the Bond Buyer reports. All states have to include such liabilities in their financial statements this year under a new accounting rule.

The number is much lower than the…

A new fee study by Joseph Hurley’s SavingforCollege.com finds that Illinois’ Bright Start is among the least costly college-savings plans. In fact, among plans that are available nationwide, only Ohio’s CollegeAdvantage  has lower costs than Bright Start. (Louisiana, Utah, Oregon and Kansas have cheaper options…

The Census Bureau, to promote the economic census it’s conducting right now, has come out with a list of fun industry facts about each of the 50 states. It turns out that everyone is No. 1 in something, even if…

Missouri and Illinois continue to have more people moving out than moving in, according to the latest migration study  by United Van Lines. In Illinois, 57.6 percent of all moves were outbound. That was the fifth-highest outbound percentage, behind Michigan (67.8…

The Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City has a new study that uses international patent applications as a measure of a state’s climate for innovation. By using submissions under the international Patent Cooperation Treaty rather than just measuring U.S. patents, Kauffman says…

Illinois was hit hard in the Rust Belt recession of 1980-81 and the dot-com recession of 2001. But the housing recession of 2007, if there is one, should touch the state relatively lightly.

At least, so says University of Illinois economics…

Do you want to be an athletic trainer, a carpet installer or a food service manager? Each of those occupations requires a license in certain states, but not in Missouri. In fact, according to a new study by the conservative Reason…

Missouri is the eighth-cheapest state in which to do business, according to a new ranking by the Milken Institute. It was 10th-cheapest (No. 41 from the top)  a year ago. Illinois is 18th-most-expensive, down from 15th last year.

Missouri also…

The Illinois Senate approved  a minimum-wage increase today, ensuring that the state’s minimum will rise to $7.50 an hour on July 1 and $8.25 by 2010.  It’s currently $6.50 an hour.

 Gov. Rod Blagojevich plans to sign  the bill. In a…