Rockford Sun

U.S. Representative Darin LaHood stated, "it is past time to restore fiscal sanity in Illinois" after highlighting the state's economic health ranking. He made this statement in a July 8 Facebook post.

"Illinois ranks last in economic health, and Springfield's plan to fix it is another tax and spending spree," said LaHood, U.S. Representative of Illinois's 16th congressional district (R), according to Facebook. "It is past time to restore fiscal sanity in Illinois and allow hardworking families to keep more of their money."

In his post, LaHood shared a link to a State Journal-Review news article reporting on a WalletHub survey that compared all states based on economic activity, economic health, and innovation potential. According to the newspaper article, Illinois earned a score of 38.50, ranking 28th out of 51 for economic activity, 51st for economic health, and 26th for innovation potential.

WalletHub divided the ranking into three categories, with 33.33 points possible for each category. According to WalletHub, the elements considered for economic health included unemployment and underemployment rates; changes in nonfarm payrolls and total civilian labor force; median annual household income adjusted for cost of living; growth in state personal income; government surplus/deficit per capita; share of population in poverty; unfunded public pension plans per capita; growth in the number of businesses; fiscal health; building permit activity; average educational attainment of recent immigrants; foreclosure rate; and average educational attainment of recent migrants from other U.S. states.

Washington was ranked as the top state with a total score of 71.10, having an economic activity rank of 1, an economic health rank of 15, and an innovation potential rank of 2. Mississippi was rated last with a total score of 26.67, holding an economic activity ranking of 48, an economic health rank of 50, and an innovation potential ranking of 45.

Congressman LaHood has represented Illinois since 2015, initially serving the 18th Congressional District until redistricting placed him in the 16th District. His political experience includes four years in the state senate from 2011 to 2015. He also served as a state and federal prosecutor for more than nine years and worked for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada.

LaHood holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loras College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois-Chicago John Marshall Law School. He resides in Peoria with his wife.