Instead of creating a business-friendly environment by keeping taxes and regulations low, Illinois state government and the city of Chicago have a laundry list of special tools they claim promote economic development. These tools include: tax increment financing, or TIF, districts; economic grants; and a series of loopholes in the tax code. When government gives...

Imagine an Illinois economy so vibrant that companies felt they had to be in Illinois to reach their fullest potential. Imagine a tax environment so competitive that companies across the country battled to get a piece of Illinois real estate. Keep imagining, because this certainly isn’t a reality. The fact is, Illinois ranks 48th in economic...

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...