ILLINOIS & THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

There are many opportunities and challenges facing Illinois in today’s global economy. Illinois consumers have access to products from every corner of the world and their buying decisions dictate not only the price and perceived quality of a product, but — ultimately — the company’s success or failure in the world marketplace.

For companies succeeding and for those seeking to gain or hold onto a competitive advantage in the global marketplace, competition for new jobs has become extreme and extends beyond the state line. Technology enables backroom operations, customer service, and manufacturing to be performed anywhere on the globe. But these worldwide economic circumstances challenge all states equally. Illinois ’ economy has been among the strongest in the nation, registering the 18th largest GDP in the world. Our concern is that research shows us that Illinois is not growing at the same rate as our country or our sister Mid-western states.

These alarming trends did not begin with this Governor or this Legislature. And yes, the federal government must respond to the global job competition issues with proactive trade and currency policies. However, the actions of our state elected officials are very critical considering the growing national and regional job competition and Illinois ’ dependency on exports (40%) to neighboring states.

Historically, Illinois ’ existing employers have generated the largest number of new Illinois jobs through continued investment in their human capital, products, and supplier networks. Even in the most challenging times past, our private sector has enhanced the public welfare and quality of life by providing jobs, payrolls, taxes and civic philanthropy that are the lifeblood of our culture and democracy. Can Illinois ’ policy makers nurture this critical employment base to lead the state economy through the downward cycle? Conversely, can tax and regulatory policy decisions in Illinois adversely impact job creation and business investment decisions in the ever-changing environment?

We believe the answer to both questions is yes. With more than 80% of Illinois voters stating that a candidate’s position on job creation is the most important consideration when deciding to vote, the call for a concise, unified, pro-growth initiative is greater now than ever before. Business leaders must step up to see that our state’s economy remains diverse, balanced, and resilient. For this reason, the Illinois Business Roundtable, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Illinois Chamber, The Illinois Civil Justice League, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce created the Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth, and Prosperity.

The focus of this coalition will be to educate and inform members, their employees, and Illinois policymakers of state policies that need to be enhanced for economic growth and state policies we need to change that inhibit growth. The simple metric that will be applied to state and local tax and regulatory policies is “will this make Illinois a more or less attractive place to create jobs and invest?”