Bill,
Now Bill, why do you have to be like that? I updated the post to add a smiley, because clearly you missed the joke.
But, to answer your question, no, I don't hire illegals, don't work with them either.
I am fortunate enough to live in an area of the country with few illegals. We have no barrios, and we have no Mexicans congregating in front of Lowes or Home Depot (yet we have several of those). Actually, I take that back, it is not because I am fortunate. It is because I made a conscious choice to move away from, and to no longer live in areas with a large number of illegals.
I posted the comment as a joke, because whenever I see a statistic given on the Internet that is clearly pulled out of thin air I think of that old joke. I'm not saying that I doubt that an overwhelming majority of illegals in your area are paid in cash. Heck, I am confident that most are paid in cash, regardless the area. I dont doubt that at all. I just find the 99% statistic to be arbitrary, and probably not a real factoid backed up by a real study. Again, no offense.
Regards,
TJR