Gov. Rick Scott will head to the Windy City for an economic development mission, hoping to lure Chicago-area businesses to the Sunshine State this week.
Scott made the announcement Tuesday, citing tax cuts and job creation as reasons why companies should opt into Florida’s business climate over Chicago, the largest city in Illinois and the third-most populous city in the U.S.
“Florida’s success story is in stark contrast to the anti-business policies that have overburdened Chicago families and companies for far too long,” said Scott.
Some surveys show Illinois to be unfriendly for small businesses, measuring small business owners’ perceptions of government policy and their views on how easy it is to start a business, hire workers and find economic success.
Thumbtack, a San Francisco-based company that specializes in matching local customers with professionals, recently conducted a survey which found Illinois failed in six areas, including the tax code, regulations and licensing. The highest rankings Illinois received were two “B-’s,” each in ease of hiring and training.
Scott ripped Chicago-area lawmakers and Illinois state legislators for passing “shortsighted policies” and “overwhelming increases” of taxes and fees while praising Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, for “trying to grow Illinois’ economy.”
“The average Chicago family today pays nearly $1,700 more in taxes and fees every year than they paid only seven years ago,” Scott said. “While Florida has been able to pay down $7.6 billion in state debt and increase general revenues by more than 30 percent without raising taxes, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and city leaders announced yet another proposed round of burdensome tax and fee increases just last week.”
Earlier this summer, the Illinois state legislature voted to override Rauner’s opposition to a state income tax increase after the state went a whopping 736 days without a budget.
Chicago votes mostly Democratic and the state went blue for Democrats during the 2016 election.
Scott said he hoped Illinois would become more like Florida and wouldn’t let up on his push to move businesses to the Sunshine State.
“The entire nation needs to follow Florida’s lead- but until then, we will keep calling on businesses to move to Florida,” he said.
Gov. Scott led a similar economic development mission to Connecticut earlier this summer. He had previously traveled to the state to poach businesses in 2015.
This is Scott's first visit to lure Chicago businesses to Florida.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
