![](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/389/2021/06/03124506/0603FlashIndex-300x147.png)
By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – A monthly measure of Illinois’ economic activity is positive.
The Flash index from the University of Illinois is up almost four points, just over 105, on a scale on which 100 is the break-even between growth and contraction. Study author economics professor Fred Giertz credits federal funds for helping goose the economy – but natural growth in future years is far from assured.
“In a normal situation, if you see Illinois going into the crisis situation (from) a stable situation you could say, we will muddle through the crisis, then growth will cure the ills that were already there,” Giertz says. “We went into a crisis with a crisis (going on) already, with the budget far out of balance.”
The Flash index is a weighted average of consumer spending, personal income, and corporate earnings.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].