The future of Illinois is a topic close to Douglas L. Whitley’s heart.
Figuratively and literally.

Reaching into his left breast suit pocket, the president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce pulls out a card he hopes gets others to think about the future as well.

The chamber is tasked with supporting the prosperity of the state’s business community, but the 14 “factoids” on the card illustrate how difficult a task that can be.

“Corporate income tax rate is third highest among states,” according to one.

“Per-capita personal income is 13th among the states, from fourth in 1992,” another reads.

“We know our state has been financially and ethically challenged in recent years,” Whitley said. “It is critical that we work together to restore confidence in economic opportunity, education and government.”

Whitley, who was in Jacksonville with Sen. Sam McCann to announce the state chamber’s endorsement of the Carlinville Republican, hopes to get the message out to new lawmakers.

Copies of the talking points for “Illinois Jobs Agenda 2012,” a followup to the chamber’s

“Jobs Agenda: A Blueprint for Growth and Prosperity” from last year, are being mailed this week.

“Because of reappointment, next January more than half of the lawmakers will be new faces,” Whitley said. “The tone’s begun to change.”

Part of the wake-up call has come from threats of existing businesses to relocate or decisions by new firms to locate elsewhere.

“[W]hen Caterpillar and most other companies look to locate a new factory in the U.S., Illinois is not in the running,” Doug Oberhelman, chairman of the Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. wrote for a commentary in The Chicago Tribune.

McCann, who was sworn into office about 10 hours after a lame-duck vote that increased personal and corporate tax loads in the state, said people are coming to realize Illinois’ problems won’t be solved by just taxing away.

“People are starting to realize we’ve been like addicts when it comes to spending,” he said.

The fiscal stabilty that has eroded is one of the key components of the jobs agenda. Other factors are reducing the cost of doing business, improving workforce readiness, investing in infrastructure and restoring fairness to the courts.

McCann said open and honest dialog will be crucial to the process.

“I view [the Legislature] as a board of directors and the governor as the CEO,” he said. “We need to constantly stay engaged. We need to have a plan.”

DAVID C.L. BAUER, Journal Courier, Jacksonville, IL

 

http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/whitley-38312-future-hard.html

Created: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 5:30 a.m. CST

Associated Press4:56 p.m. CST, February 20, 2012

Pat Quinn deserves a passing C or C+ grade on job-creation policies as governor, but his administration must do more to improve the business climate and burnish the state’s image to woo would-be investors, a key business leader said Monday.

Illinois Chamber of Commerce President Doug Whitley made the comments as he launched a two-day, statewide tour to highlight obstacles he says stymie growth and thwart attempts to reduce a state jobless rate that’s hovered stubbornly around 10 percent. The national unemployment rate is closer to 8 percent.

The head of the 3,500-member chamber singled out Peoria-based Caterpillar’s recent decision to open a new manufacturing plant that will employ 1,400 workers, not in the heavy equipment maker’s home state but in Georgia.

“The next time Caterpillar thinks about locating a plant, we at least want Illinois in the running,” Whitley said in a telephone interview from Aurora, the first stop on his tour. “The fact some of these companies don’t even consider Illinois — that’s got to change.”

Asked later Monday to respond to Whitley’s less-than-stellar jobs grade, Quinn said he deserved better. At least one group, the United Auto Workers, would give him an A for helping to persuade Chrysler to add 1,800 workers at its Belvidere plant, he said.

“We work every day on that issue (jobs), and it is the most important issue we have in Illinois,” he said.

If Illinois fails to get its economic house in order, Whitley said, there’s a real danger of losing businesses to states with more business-friendly reputations, like Indiana.

Illinois’ own reputation has suffered both from the unpredictability of its economic policy over the past decade and from a series of high-profile corruption scandals, illustrated most recently by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich‘s multiple corruption convictions.

“Every year there is talk about raising the corporate tax, or there’s another governor going off to prison,” he said. “People don’t think about job creation (when they think Illinois); they think about corrupt governors.”

The chamber is voicing its views as Quinn prepares to deliver his much-anticipated budget proposal Wednesday. Quinn has cut spending and raised taxes, but Illinois remains in dire financial shape — in large part because of yawning health and pension costs.

Whitley did praise the governor for identifying economic development as a priority, and especially for putting renewed focus on generating more trade between Illinois and the rest of the world. But he says Quinn “gets a really low grade on fiscal policy.”

“The situation is not terribly different in Illinois than the situation in (debt-crippled) Greece,” Whitley said. “We are going to have to do things that aren’t terribly popular — but it’s the only way to turn this state around.”

Among Whitley’s prescriptions for re-energizing the state’s economy is to cut Illinois’ corporate tax rate, lower workers’ compensation costs, lessen public employee unions influence and reform state courts so businesses aren’t as susceptible to lawsuits.

Whitley was scheduled to be in Aurora, Joliet and Peoria on Monday. His stops Tuesday were to include Springfield and Belleville.

​James Warren writes a column for The Chicago News Cooperative.jwarren@chicagonewscoop.org

For example, wind turbines are among the most successful type of projects supported by the PTC. Thirteen major wind power companies have their global or U.S. headquarters in Chicago, and another 100 companies in Illinois are dedicated to the wind energy supply chain. This capacity can increase if the 1,500 wind turbines in planning stages right now can come to fruition with the help of the tax credit.  Each average-sized project creates 150 temporary construction jobs, 10-15 permanent maintenance jobs, and many other indirect jobs. These opportunities range from trained laborers who service turbines to accountants to insurance agents to engineers. Furthermore, local producers of construction supplies like sand, concrete, asphalt, and gravel see increased business as developers count on their supplies to build.

In the past, when Congress has let the wind component of the PTC to expire, installations have decreased by 73 to 93 percent the next year. This sharp decrease means a parallel cut in job openings and in property tax payments and lease payments in just this industry alone.

 We don’t think the PTC should be extended forever.  However, we believe with a four-year extension the industry will have the certainty needed to bring the industry out of its infancy.  Certainly an on-again, off-again yearly battle filled with economic uncertainty cannot result in the ultimate maturity of this important new economic and energy resource.  We strive for this kind of predictable environment for any kind of energy development and for regulations as well as tax incentives. 

mlindenberger@dallasnews.com

http://transportationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/02/cycling-advocate-gets-shot-dow.html

Posted Feb 16, 2012 @ 09:55 AM

 

There are many advancements in Illinois energy that sometimes leaves consumers scratching their heads, especially when a salesperson knocks on their door offering cheaper rates on their ComEd bill.
Tom Wolf, executive director for the Illinois Chamber Energy Council, explained that most parts of Livingston County are supplied by ComEd, but the energy that they use is from a different supplier.
“About 12 years ago, the Illinois legislature passed legislation that allowed alternative retail electricity suppliers, or ARES, to broker electricity to businesses and individuals in Illinois. If you look at your ComEd bill, there should be two prices on that — a price for electricity and a price for the delivery of electricity. What the market is doing is paying for the electricity. These ARES buy about 80 percent of the business community’s electricity; Ameren or ComEd no longer buys them. Their energy is just a pass-through. They have their return investment from the infrastructure,” he explained.
What that means is that electricity can come from a number of suppliers that supply the electric company with electricity; a bill shows the cost of the energy a person uses, from whatever company supplies it, and the cost for supplying it. The money a person pays for the electricity goes to the supplier and the cost for the delivery goes to the electric company, whether it is ComEd or Ameren.
Wolf says that there are 41 companies in Illinois that offer individuals and companies the opportunity to buy electricity from them. The full list is available at the Illinois Commerce Commission’s website at www.icc.illinois.gov.
“When people are knocking on your doors saying they can save you money on your electricity bill, they’re basically being accurate,” Wolf said.
He recommends that, when a customer is thinking about taking any of these offers, they do research on each supplier available.
“There are plenty of places to check these suppliers out. C.U.B. has a website and the Illinois Commerce Commission has pluginillinois.org, which lists all of their companies, their offerings and rates. Its “buyer beware,” he advises.
Wolf explained that questions customers should ask while researching is whether there’s a one-year or three-year contract required to sign up. Also, they should ask if there’s a buy out if you decide you don’t want to be a part of it anymore.
He also explained why the electricity from one of these other suppliers is always less expensive.
“Because they’re nimble and they can buy on the spot market and they can hedge, verses a company like ComEd, that goes through the IPA that only buys once a year and rotates every three years, they can give you cheaper power. Its that simple,” he said. “It’s a chance for individuals, if they so choose, to save some money.”
Wolf visited The Daily Leader before a meeting to explain what direction Illinois energy is taking currently and in the future. News of wind farms have made their presence known in the state as pipelines have also. Something Wolf mentioned that may surprise some is that the top two countries we import oil from are Canada and Mexico. He also stated that 98.8 percent of the natural gas supply to the U.S. is North American-based.
For other information about what direction Illinois energy is headed in, visit www.ilchamber.org, choose “energy” on the drop-down menu “councils.” That link will give a reader access to Wolf’s blog and other press releases.

 

http://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/news/x922340795/Explaining-energy-options

By Tom Wolf

Executive Director, Energy Council Illinois Chamber of Commerce