Editorial:
The 2018 imperative: How to save Illinois
Editorial Board Chicago Tribune
When we write about the Amazon competition, which we’ve done a lot, we aren’t just analyzing Chicago’s bid to lure the tech giant’s second headquarters. We’re looking at how Illinois overall stacks up, and falls short, as a job creator. Amazon is a proxy and CEO Jeff Bezos is a stand-in for every employer deciding where to invest and grow — and where to avoid. So how does Illinois compare to other Midwest states? This state’s reputation lags because it’s mired in fiscal crisis and political dysfunction. Residents are leaving. Employers such as Foxconn and Toyota are investing elsewhere.
What must Illinois leaders do to repair the damage and generate more good-paying jobs? That’s the most important question of the 2018 statewide election cycle. It’s the issue that should consume the waking thoughts of every candidate for statewide or legislative offices. It should be the obsession of House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton.
Yet the leaders of Illinois aren’t doing enough and the people of Illinois aren’t hearing enough.
On Jan. 19, six Democratic candidates for governor met with the Tribune Editorial Board seeking our endorsement in the March 20 primary. Days later, we met with the two Republican candidates, Gov. Bruce Rauner and state Rep. Jeanne Ives. The Democrats responded to our questions by acknowledging the perilous fiscal condition of state government and Illinois’ weak jobs economy. They were not in denial. Good. But neither did they animate us with their strategies to confront the state pension crisis, and Illinois’ onerous tax and regulatory burdens.
Those are the realities that give Illinois its reputation for being unfriendly to employers. From what we heard, the Democrats mostly see more tax revenue, in the form of progressive income tax rates, as the solution for the fiscal problem. They don’t have a compelling plan for job growth. Not good, and not good.
Rauner and Ives appeared more eager to reform state finances and lure employers. They understand that Illinois needs more taxpayers. That said, their ability to strategize is hamstrung by the fact that Democrats have an iron grip on the legislature. Ives said she believes she’d be able to cut deals on spending issues. She also believes she could win support to shift new government employees to a 401(k)-style retirement plan, which would provide some relief to the pension crisis. Rauner is gambling on two federal court cases that would loosen the power of unions and make Illinois more friendly and flexible to business.
On Wednesday, Rauner gave the State of the State address to the General Assembly and went hard at lawmakers on the idea that responsible budgeting and pension reform are critical to creating jobs and stopping the rising outflow of residents to other states. Citing Amazon as both a target and a symbol, Rauner said, “We must rally around the cause of job growth for all Illinoisans. The simple truth of our shared experience is that we cannot tax and borrow our way into prosperity.”
We’d like to think the General Assembly was listening. But then we’re reminded that the House and Senate could have gaveled themselves into session weeks ago to debate issues such as workers’ compensation reform — an issue on which legislators of both parties have come close to agreement. Instead, they moseyed into Springfield at the very end of the month.
Illinois is in trouble, yet there is no sense of urgency from many of its leaders and many of its candidates for office. There is plenty of campaigning, but not nearly enough focus on Amazon and the Amazons to come. That’s a big problem for the future of this state. And every politician — especially those running for governor — should be talking about it nonstop.
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