Healthcare · Chicago, IL-IN
Weiss Memorial and West Suburban, two Chicago-area safety-net hospitals, closed in 2025 and 2026 and eight Ascension hospitals moved to Prime Healthcare, while Illinois stays outside the nurse compact and LPNs remain the metro's thinnest clinical pool. Careerscape's healthcare recruiters belong to a national, remote team organized by industry and recruit for employers on both the Illinois and Indiana sides of the metro.
What changed
Chicago's hospital map moved more in the last 20 months than in most decades. Ascension St. Elizabeth closed in February 2025. On March 1, 2025, Prime Healthcare completed its purchase of eight Ascension hospitals in Illinois, including Resurrection and Saint Mary of Nazareth in Chicago, Saint Francis in Evanston, Holy Family in Des Plaines and Saint Joseph in Joliet and Elgin, and said it had offered jobs to substantially all of the hospitals' employees.
Then two safety-net hospitals owned by Resilience Healthcare shut. Weiss Memorial in Uptown closed on August 8, 2025, a day before Medicare was set to end its participation. West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park stopped emergency, inpatient and clinic care on March 25, 2026, and furloughed staff. In September 2026 the hospitals' landlord reached a settlement to buy out the owner, with Insight Health Systems expected to buy both hospitals. Neither had reopened, Weiss had lost its state hospital license, and Insight said West Suburban could take at least four months to reopen and Weiss longer.
For employers, that means experienced nurses, techs and registration staff from those hospitals have been looking for work on the West Side and North Side. It also means candidates ask harder questions about a hospital's finances than they did three years ago. At the other end of the market, Northwestern Medicine plans a tower of about 1.2 million square feet with more than 200 new inpatient beds on its downtown campus, pending city and state approvals, which will need staff of its own.
The largest systems in the metro, named here as market context only, include Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health (formed when Advocate Aurora and Atrium Health merged in December 2022), Endeavor Health (NorthShore and Edward-Elmhurst, merged in January 2022) and Rush. For the citywide hiring picture outside healthcare, see our Chicago staffing agency page.
BLS May 2025
Federal estimates for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro, all employers. A location quotient above 1 means the occupation is a larger share of local jobs than it is nationally.
| Occupation | Jobs in metro | Median pay · vs. U.S. | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 100,240 | $100,490+3% | 1.02 |
| Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | 11,420 | $78,070+21% | 0.61 |
| Nursing Assistants | 45,850 | $46,940+11% | 1.09 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 6,530 | $131,740±0% | 0.70 |
| Physician Assistants | 3,050 | $127,940−6% | 0.65 |
| Physical Therapists | 7,880 | $105,720+3% | 1.02 |
| Radiologic Technologists and Technicians | 5,650 | $82,140+3% | 0.84 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | 16,680 | $123,090−1% | 0.96 |
| Medical Assistants | 15,640 | $47,270+3% | 0.66 |
| Medical Records Specialists | 4,510 | $57,970+13% | 0.80 |
| Respiratory Therapists | 3,620 | $87,060+6% | 0.89 |
| Dental Hygienists | 6,470 | $100,260+2% | 1.00 |
The metro has 100,240 registered nurses and 45,850 nursing assistants, both at or above the U.S. share. Licensed practical nurses are the thin spot: a location quotient of 0.61, with a median of $78,070, 21% above the U.S. median of $64,400. That gap is what long-term care and clinic employers feel when an LPN search stalls. Physician assistants (0.65) and medical assistants (0.66) are also scarce, and PA pay here runs about 6% below the national median, so out-of-state PAs may see a Chicago offer as a step down. Medical records specialists earn 13% more than the U.S. median. Jobs and median annual pay for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, all employers, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). “Vs. U.S.” compares with the national median. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: above 1.0 means the job makes up a bigger share of local employment than it does nationally.
Licensing
The BLS metro reaches into northwest Indiana. Indiana belongs to the Nurse Licensure Compact; Illinois does not. That changes how fast a nurse can start on each side of the state line.
| Question | Illinois side | Indiana side |
|---|---|---|
| Compact multistate license accepted? | No. HB 4369, which would join the compact, was re-referred to the House Rules Committee on March 27, 2026 | Yes. Indiana is a compact member state |
| Nurse licensed in another state | Applies for an Illinois license by endorsement through IDFPR | A multistate license from a compact home state already covers practice |
| Working while the license is pending | Temporary permit for endorsement applicants with an unencumbered license; IDFPR issues it within 14 working days and it lasts 6 months | Not needed for multistate license holders |
| Who issues RN and LPN licenses | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) | Indiana's state nursing board; a compact license is issued by the nurse's home state |
Temporary permit rules: 225 ILCS 65/60-11. A nurse with a felony conviction in the past five years, or license discipline in the past five years, can be refused a permit. Not legal advice; confirm details with IDFPR. Source: Illinois General Assembly, 225 ILCS 65/60-11 and HB 4369 bill status.
Where it clusters
Clinical employers group in a few places. Commute lines matter in Chicago, so a candidate's home neighborhood often decides which offer wins.
Rush University Medical Center anchors the Near West Side, where Rush is the largest nongovernmental employer. Rush University trains nurses and allied health staff on the same campus.
Northwestern Memorial's campus, where the planned tower would add more than 200 inpatient beds and connect by bridges to existing buildings and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
Endeavor Health's Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park and Skokie hospitals, plus Prime's Saint Francis in Evanston.
The area most affected by the Weiss and West Suburban closures, and where displaced staff are most likely to be looking.
Outer-ring hospitals that changed owners in the Prime sale: Saint Joseph in Joliet and Elgin, and Mercy in Aurora.
Inside the same BLS metro but under Indiana's compact licensing rules, which can make it faster to bring in nurses from other compact states.
Hiring advice
Practical points from the data and rules above.
For an out-of-state RN, confirm the endorsement application and temporary permit request go in together. The permit gives up to 6 months to practice while IDFPR finishes the license.
The metro LPN median is $78,070. An offer built from national benchmarks will lose to employers who know that number. Our LPN salary guide has the national view.
After Weiss and West Suburban, nurses ask about ownership, finances and unit staffing. Have a straight answer before the first interview.
Northwest Indiana nurses can commute into Illinois, but they need an Illinois license to work there. Indiana-side employers can use the compact to recruit nurses from other member states.
Respiratory therapists and radiologic technologists are below the U.S. share here. Contract staffing covers the gap while a permanent search runs.
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FAQ
No. Illinois has not joined the Nurse Licensure Compact. HB 4369, which would ratify it, was re-referred to the House Rules Committee on March 27, 2026. A nurse licensed elsewhere needs an Illinois license through IDFPR before working on the Illinois side of the metro. Indiana is a compact member, so nurses at hospitals on the Indiana side of the metro can practice on a multistate license from another compact state.
It depends on the full endorsement review, which we cannot predict. The faster route is the temporary permit under 225 ILCS 65/60-11. If the nurse has an active, unencumbered license elsewhere and applies with the endorsement application, IDFPR must issue or refuse the permit within 14 working days. The permit lasts 6 months, or until the full license is issued.
By BLS location quotients, licensed practical nurses (0.61), physician assistants (0.65), medical assistants (0.66) and nurse practitioners (0.70) are the thinnest pools relative to the U.S. LPNs are also expensive: the metro median of $78,070 is 21% above the national figure. Registered nurses and nursing assistants are closer to or above the U.S. share.
A recruiter calls people who are not applying, screens license status and shift fit, and sends a short list of candidates who meet your requirements. Careerscape recruits remotely for Chicago employers through its healthcare staffing practice, and you review candidates in the Employer Portal. There is no Chicago office; the recruiters are organized by industry.
Yes. Contract-to-hire lets a nurse or technologist start on our payroll and move to yours after a trial period you agree on up front. It is common for units that need coverage now and a permanent hire later. For senior roles such as a nursing director, executive search is the better fit.
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