Quinn’s Corporate Handouts Hold No Promises

by Alex Miller Representative Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, took the House floor on Wednesday, fervently criticizing the lofty tax exemptions that Governor Quinn has granted to large corporations who have threatened to leave the state due to Illinois’s poor economic outlook.  Franks insisted that he could not, in good conscience, watch so many millions fly into the hands of...

by Alex Miller

Representative Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, took the House floor on Wednesday, fervently criticizing the lofty tax exemptions that Governor Quinn has granted to large corporations who have threatened to leave the state due to Illinois’s poor economic outlook.  Franks insisted that he could not, in good conscience, watch so many millions fly into the hands of multinational corporations, while struggling small businesses throughout the state are grossly overtaxed.  While the governor insists these tax exemptions are saving Illinois jobs and improving the economy, others are beginning to ask a salient question: Are these corporate handouts even reducing unemployment?

Recently, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that at least some of Quinn’s negotiations effectively subsidize the cessation of jobs in Illinois.  Focusing their sights on Navistar, a truck engine manufacturer located in Lisle, Crain’s found that after a $64.7 million investment, Illinois may actually lose jobs.  Crain’s reported, “In its application for state tax credits, Navistar said it employed 3,100 employees in four Chicago-area locations, but planned to pare that number to 2,200, while hiring 400 more ‘over the next several years.’”  While Navistar and DCEO executives maintain that job creation will exceed those figures, no provision made in the deal between Quinn and Navistar affirms the number of jobs created or maintained.

When notified about the Navistar deal, Franks contended, “I think it’s bad public policy to use state dollars to subsidize the termination of employees.”  Rather than working to create a lucrative business environment by reducing taxes for small businesses and large corporations alike, Governor Quinn has essentially played favorites, using our tax dollars, not to promote education or decrease the deficit, but to entice select companies to stay in Illinois.