Dupage Policy Journal

Illinois state Rep. John Cabello (R-Machesney Park) is among a growing number of lawmakers currently pushing for legislation designed to attract more businesses to the state and keep them from leaving.

Cabello recently joined fellow GOP state lawmaker Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) in pointing out that people in their districts are struggling after losing their jobs following the shutdown of a Jeep assembly plant, a WAND news report said. 

"If we grew at the same rate as some of our neighboring states, we would have a million more people living in Illinois over the last 10 years," Sosnowski said in the report. "These policies that this administration and the majority in Illinois continue to push are hurting job creators and hurting families in Illinois." 

Cabello noted that Illinois lawmakers could follow the example of neighboring state Indiana, which recently welcomed the opening of a new Stellantis plant and thousands of new jobs. Stellantis is the parent company of Jeep.

"We don't have to be smart about this at all," Cabello said in the report. "We can just take what Indiana has done in the last 10 years, take all the bills that they have passed in Indiana, implement them here, and we're going to be already in a different trajectory. The General Assembly is failing at their job."

Cabello added that state legislators should take action to provide a safety net for workers who suddenly lose their job due to company closures, the WAND report said. He went on to criticize Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic lawmakers for not caring about the workers who lost their jobs

"They're not doing anything to reverse the course and making this a business-friendly state," Cabello said.

Pritzker's approach has been focused on investing in education with the intent of helping young workers get good-paying jobs and so remain in the state. During a recent event, he noted that community colleges have strong relationships with local employers in order to help strengthen and increase the economy.