Sprint to add over 1,000 jobs in Chicago

Of the 1,050 new jobs announced, Sprint expects about half to be retail positions and the other half to be filled by wireless experts, network technicians and engineers.

On Sept. 1, Sprint announced that by the end of 2016, the company will bring 750 jobs to Chicago, in addition to the 300 new jobs it announced in March.

Sprint also plans to invest $150 million in the area during the same period.

In March, the company said it would make Chicago the first city upgraded to a faster network through the use of LTE Advanced technologies, which allow for high-speed mobile downloads and advanced cloud services. Sprint will also add new cells in the area for faster mobile service and will open new retail stores.

Of the 1,050 new jobs announced, Sprint expects about half to be retail positions and the other half to be filled by wireless experts, network technicians and engineers, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.

The company now employs over 800 people locally and has over 160 retail stores across the Chicago area. Prior to this announcement, Sprint already was working on a project to install upgrades in Chicago Transit Authority subway tubes.

Sprint will receive no economic incentives from the city for its planned expansion of operations and personnel.

This is in contrast with the Amazon deal announced on Aug. 10, in which Amazon agreed to open a new fulfillment center in Joliet in exchange for $10 million in tax credits over 10 years. Illinois’ Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has also dangled tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks in front of other large corporations such as AAR Corp. and eBay.

While the state has lavished tax incentives on large companies to lure them to Illinois, small businesses still must bear the brunt of Illinois’ complicated and heavy taxes and other regulatory burdens. According to a 2015 survey of approximately 600 small businesses in Illinois, the state received grades of F for overall friendliness to small businesses, the ease of starting a business and the state’s tax code.

Companies such as Sprint are choosing to expand their retail presence in Illinois, but jobs that provide the opportunity to move up the economic ladder are fleeing the state – especially in the manufacturing sector.

“Local governments are focused on retail because of the sales tax,” said Marty Flaska, owner of Hoist Liftruck, which recently moved 300 jobs out of Bedford Park, Illinois, across the border to East Chicago, Indiana. “But [retail] jobs are very low-paying, generally $8 to $13 an hour. … Those jobs aren’t going to buy a home in this neighborhood. They’re not going to put a kid through college. It’s the jobs we provide that do that. They take a blue-collar worker with little education and help him provide for his family. That’s what manufacturing does.”

Sprint’s planned new hires and investment in Chicago are good news for the city and the state. However, if Illinois wants to see more such investment and employment gains from big and small companies alike, it must stop relying on one-off corporate sweetheart deals, reform its anti-business workers’ compensation laws, and make its tax code and regulatory climate friendlier to all companies.