Lawmakers vote to subsidize Illinois’ border communities. It’s a failed strategy. – Wirepoints

By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner

Illinois’ failed policies hit everyone in the state, but some areas get hit especially hard, namely Illinois’ border communities. Think Danville, Quincy and the Illinois quad cities. It’s nearly impossible for those communities to compete when Illinois’ gas taxes, property taxes, workers’ comp costs, labor and pension costs and more are so much higher compared to those just a few miles over the border. 

So what’s the Illinois legislature’s plan to help those communities? Lower costs by cutting property taxes? A roll back in public sector union bargaining powers? 401ks for new government workers? Or maybe a partial reversal in the recent doubling of Illinois’ motor fuel taxes? 

No to any of that. Instead, lawmakers want to pour subsidies into Illinois’ border cities. Their plan is to take tax revenues from everyone across the state to artificially prop up cities where the mess is most visible. Lawmakers are trying to hide the state’s lack of competitiveness, not fix it. 

That’s what SB3930 does. The bill calls on the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity – the agency that hands out the state’s business subsidies – to prioritize communities and businesses close to the border.

From the bill summary:

Amends the Illinois Home Grown Business Opportunity Act. Provides for additional contents of the economic plan to assist businesses and municipalities located geographically close to bordering states as developed by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Provides that the Department shall create the Border Community COVID-19 Mitigation Grant Program. Provides that grants shall only be provided to businesses and municipalities located geographically close to bordering states. Provides for the adoption of rules.

The Illinois Senate passed the bill on March 24th with a unanimous vote of 55-0. The bipartisan vote is disappointing, if unsurprising. Republican lawmakers should be decrying the state’s uncompetitiveness and lack of reforms, but they can’t go on the record rejecting aid to struggling downstate communities. So they all voted for it.

The bill is now waiting on a House vote and it’s likely they’ll vote the same way. 

But if they really wanted to fix problems, House members would consider these few ways to make not just border cities, but all of Illinois, more competitive. We compare policy solutions to those in Indiana since it’s the state, among our bordering neighbors, that takes away the most Illinoisans yearly. 

  • Lower Illinois’ property tax rates. Illinois’ average rate is 1.97 percent, more than double Indiana’s average of 0.81 percent. On a $300,000 dollar home, that’s a difference of $3,500. 
  • Cut gas taxes, currently the nation’s second-highest. Indianans’ gas prices are currently 30 cents cheaper than those for Illinoisans. 
  • End the bloated school spending in Illinois. Illinois spends $16,200 per student. Indiana spends just $10,400 and yet its student outcomes are as good or better than Illinois’. 
  • Reduce workers’ comp costs. Illinois employers pay $1.00 per $100 of covered wages while employers in Indiana pay just $0.70.
  • Roll back the collective bargaining power of unions. Illinois allows workers to bargain over salaries, benefits, hours, working conditions and more. It also allows teachers to strike. Indiana restricts bargaining to wages and fringe benefits and teacher strikes are illegal.
  • Become a right to work state. Illinois forces new employees to join the union of a unionized business. Indiana is a right-to-work state that does not require employees to join a union when hired.
  • Pass something more and more Illinoisans want: School choice. Indiana has one of the most accessible school choice program in the country. 

With SB3930, lawmakers are tacitly admitting their policies make Illinois uncompetitive. The state’s record population shrinkage is clear evidence of that.

But rather than fix the problems they’ve created, lawmakers are going to use taxpayer dollars to help cover for them.

Government-created problem, meet government created solution.

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debtsor
1 year ago

no honorable mentions for IL’s most famous border city: East St. Louis?

Last edited 1 year ago by debtsor
Anticoyote
1 year ago
Reply to  debtsor

I thought that was Cairo

Being Had
1 year ago

Cook County is home rule and the whole Senate voted for the bill. So, I’m wondering to what extent Cook is going to participate in subsidizing.

Curious Observer
1 year ago

The only thing this bill does is raise the cost of everything in this state, no matter where you are located. Illinois doesn’t have a money printing press, so JB McBloatyFace has to take money from somebody who has a job and works hard. The beast of over taxation in Illinois needs to be starved. After this bogus bill is signed and taxes go up it will still be cheaper to go across those state lines for whatever you need. As you know whatever taxes paid in Illinois are wasted on the corruption of the Madigans, Burkes, Arroyos, Cullertons, and… Read more »

NB
1 year ago

I’m sure the machines spin for this bs bill will be to trot out the old tire argument that blue state Illinois in a federal tax donor state and therefore Illinois border communities are put at uncompetitive disadvantage (they’re “victims”) to the unfair neighboring fed tax welfare states.

jajujon
1 year ago

I live in a border community. We shop for groceries, gas, all the basic needs across the state line. Gas prices are $0.40+ lower, no sales tax on groceries, lower sales tax. Illinois’ stupid solution is so bass ackwards.

Ted and John have outlined an Indiana state marketing program! I’m sold!

A.
1 year ago

The bill language sounds like a lot of nothing. Underlined sections were new:  (6) notification to all small businesses and14    municipalities of funding opportunities that the State of15    Illinois and the federal government are offering to small16    businesses and municipalities; and17        (7) notification to all small businesses and18    municipalities of new restrictions placed upon communities19    as it relates to the COVID-19 public health emergency. So they are going to inform border communities of what is available and what the new Corona rules are (God help us if they do that again!) And then create a new worthless Covid grant, subject to future appropriation and rule-making! Sec.… Read more »

Riverbender
1 year ago

People living in border areas will not stay instate when funds are delivered to businesses controlled by political insiders.

nixit
2 years ago

Basically penalizes the cities and counties further inland. This is what the JB and state Democrats would classify as a race to the bottom.

Boscowama
2 years ago

Aren’t failed strategies, Democrats stock in trade?

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A statewide concern: Illinois’ population decline outpaces neighboring states – Wirepoints on ABC20 Champaign

“We are not in good shape” Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski told ABC 20 Champaign during a segment on Illinois’ latest population losses. Illinois was one of just three states to shrink in the 2010-2020 period and has lost another 300,000 people since then. Ted says things need to change. “It’s too expensive to live here, there aren’t enough good jobs and nobody trusts the government anymore. There’s just other places to go where you can be more satisfied.”

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