NEW YORK (AP) — A grassroots organization is encouraging U.S. residents not to spend any money Friday as an act of “economic resistance” to protest what the group’s founder sees as the malign influence of billionaires, big corporations and both major political parties on the lives of working Americans.

Costs of everyday essentials like groceries and gas are steadily climbing while wages remain largely stagnant, which is particularly true in the Chicago area where the inflation rate is higher than anywhere else in the country — an unwanted first-place position.

“By applying the sales tax only to goods and a small number of services, Illinois is missing the ability to tax much of the spending within its borders,” the nonpartisan Civic Federation said in its latest report.

President Donald Trump says he has ordered the U.S. Mint to stop making pennies, which he correctly says cost more than one cent to produce.

Undocumented immigrants account for 16% of America’s food supply chain, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 42% of farm workers are lacking legal immigration status.

Fears are heightening over the potential of a new trade war and its possible impact across the country. President Donald Trump has agreed to a temporary pause on the 25% tariffs he is proposing on goods from Mexico and Canada — the country’s two largest trading partners.

President Donald Trump’s plan to implement tariffs on key United States trading partners could affect more than $100 billion worth of goods imported to Illinois from Canada, Mexico and China. The countries were Illinois’ top trading partners in 2023.

The White House confirmed the pause to the United States, which followed a similar move with Mexico that allows for a period of negotiations about drug smuggling and illegal immigration. There is a risk that the tariffs could still come into effect, leaving the global economy uncertain about whether a crisis has been averted or if a possible catastrophe could still be coming in the weeks ahead.

Since taking office in the White House last month, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on EU imports and refused to rule out the use of military force to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

The trade penalties that Trump signed Saturday at his Florida resort caused a mix of panic, anger and uncertainty, and threatened to rupture a decades-old partnership on trade in North America while further straining relations with China.

The average price per dozen nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That’s not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts prices are going to soar another 20% this year.

Party City’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” its financial challenges, he added, resulting in the company’s collapse. The CEO said the company struggled to contend with inflation, which sent the company’s costs higher and dragged down consumer spending.

No state is immune from the negative effects of an economic downturn, but Illinois is more prepared today than it was for the Great Recession of 2007-2009 or the COVID-19 recession of 2020, according to a new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Project for Middle Class Renewal.

President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs are set to take effect on his first day in office through executive order, and they’re already drawing concern from economists about global and local impacts.

Business owners, industry members and economists alike warn that large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants, along with stricter border measures and the revoking of Biden-era protections, could have a seismic impact on the labor market and U.S. economy.

The rival positions get at a fundamental distinction between the two candidates on how to guide the world’s largest economy: Harris’ team is arguing that the rule of law creates the certainty that can make markets and workers thrive, while Trump is arguing that tariff increases and tax cuts are the keys for growth.