DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - WAND News recently asked Dr. Ken Kriz what would be the best outcome for Illinois' economy to recover.
One projection would be a 'V-shape' recovery, where the economy would go down and bounce back up. Parts of the economy are expected to start rolling again because of Phase 3.
Professor David Merriman of the University of Illinois at Chicago said a V-shape recovery seems obscure.
"Even though we're opening up, we're going to be very handicapped at what we can do," Merriman said.
While COVID-19 still poses a threat, Merriman said part of the economic recovery could depend on how Illinois responds The problem is there isn't enough data to back it up.
U of I's Institute of Government and Public Affairs recently forecast more than 550,000 job losses in Illinois by March of 2021. The biggest losses are expected to be industries that provide resources, services, trade and construction.
Even though the impact of COVID-19 in central Illinois is not as hard as the northeast region, Merriman said central Illinoisans should care what happens in Chicago.
"Jobs loss in Chicago, unfortunately, are going to affect people down state," Merriman said.
