Dupage Policy Journal

Former Illinois state Rep. Jeanne Ives recently commented that the Pritzker administration's policies are harming Illinois' business climate.

"They can't even bring in businesses when they're heavily subsidizing it," Ives said in a video posted to Facebook on Aug. 26. "We are destroying our economic competitiveness entirely. This is not rocket science, folks. You vote for politicians, they vote for policies, and those policies affect your lives - and livelihoods, and businesses, and everything else. They are destroying our economic competitiveness... Remember, we're 0 for 18 in attracting battery manufacturers, which is an industry that Pritzker is all-in for. He wants them here. That's his holy grail, other than the abortion industry...and he can't even compete..."

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act into law in November with the goal of attracting EV production to the state, a government press release said. The law offers incentives and tax credits for businesses that manufacture EV batteries.

"By signing the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act into law, we're making clear to the world that Illinois is open for business and on track to be the best place in the nation to manufacture and drive an electric vehicle," Pritzker said in the release. "It's no secret that transportation is the leading source of climate pollution - so we're incentivizing green economic development. It's good for business - and it's the right thing to do. The Reimagining Electric Vehicles Act is about acknowledging there doesn't need to be a trade-off between a cleaner environment and more jobs. We can do both, and today we take a giant leap forward in that quest."

In spite of Pritzker's efforts, EV battery makers are choosing other states, such as Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio to house their production facilities; a recent Crain's Chicago Business report said. General Motors and LG Energy, which are partnering to construct an EV battery plant, recently announced that they chose Indiana for their site. Rivian, which assembles EV trucks in Normal, Ill., has chosen Georgia for the site of its first battery production facility. Bad state finances, high taxes and the long process for getting permits for new factories are some of the factors contributing to Illinois' reputation as not being an employer-friendly state.

The report also noted that the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which Pritzker signed into law last year, has added an additional concern for businesses in that it is expected to drive up energy prices, which are already a large expense for manufacturers.

Chief Executive magazine conducted a survey of approximately 700 business owners from every state, and the results ranked Illinois 48th overall, meaning it is the third-worst state in the country for business, The Center Square reported. Only California and New York were ranked lower than Illinois. Texas, Florida and Tennessee were ranked as the top states for doing business. 

“We’re too corrupt,” Ted Dabrowski, president of Wirepoints, told The Center Square. “Our taxes are way too high. We have way too many regulations and we have massive debts, and that is plenty of reason enough for companies to not want to locate in Illinois, not to mention the state is shrinking in population so it's not a growth state to put your business in.”