McHenry Times

State Sen. Don DeWitte (R-West Dundee) said in his e-newsletter that Caterpillar's decision to move its headquarters out of state is bad news for Illinois and would lead to the loss of 230 jobs.

"Born and bred in the Land of Lincoln, the long-time Illinois company Caterpillar, Inc. announced last week its plan to move its headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois, to Irving, Texas," DeWitte posted on his website. "For Illinois, the announcement is devastating news, with an expected loss of about 230 direct jobs by the end of the year on top of indirect jobs and potential new job growth that could result from any expansion within the company. The giant manufacturing company's move comes just weeks after another Fortune 500 company, Boeing, announced its plans to leave the state. The Wall Street Journal reported that Illinois is among the states that has lost the most manufacturing workers in the last five years. Additionally, Illinois' unemployment rate continues to lag behind other states at 4.6%. The national average is at 3.6%."

Caterpillar announced on June 14 that it is going to relocate its headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois, to Irving, Texas, according to a press release. "We believe it's in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move, which supports Caterpillar's strategy for profitable growth as we help our customers build a better, more sustainable world," said Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby.

Illinois Republicans have criticized Gov. Pritzker, saying that Caterpillar's decision was mainly because of Illinois' poor business climate, NBC 5 reported. "My administration will continue to drive job growth throughout the state, making it clear to the world why Illinois is the best state in the nation to live, work, play and do business," Pritzker said.

Chief Executive magazine conducted a survey of around 700 business owners from every state and ranked Illinois 48th overall in business climate, meaning it is the third-worst state in the country for business, The Center Square reported. The only states that have been ranked worse than Illinois are California and New York. Texas, Florida, and Tennessee were ranked as the top states for doing business.

"We're too corrupt. Our taxes are way too high," said Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski. "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."