MARCH 2004
ILLINOIS SPOTLIGHT
Illinois Churns
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ust a year ago in the Land of Lincoln, a fledgling governor, Rod Blagojevich, was inheriting a state budget deficit nearing US$5 billion, and a Site Selection Governor's Cup award earned under the watch of his predecessor.
Today, although there has been a general trend of fee hikes, he has held the line on no new taxes or tax increases, while taking action to cut government waste and use the state's own real estate to its advantage. Among the austerity measures was a 25-percent cut in the budget of the state's Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), but like the corporations it seeks to attract, streamlining measures are enabling the agency to deliver more targeted services more efficiently.
The shifting to DCEO of training programs and other responsibilities from other state agencies will save the state's taxpayers nearly $16 million. Meanwhile, funds are set aside to launch entrepreneurship centers, help start-up companies, foster renewable energy and coal industry development, and aid the Argonne National Laboratory in launching its Center for Nanoscale Materials, expected to attract up to $200 million in R&D once it's up and running.
While measures to close corporate tax loopholes and tax interstate trucking are among the state's budget planks, as Blagojevich travels the state to unveil his 10-region "Opportunity Returns" economic development plan, his refrain is one that honors the region's manufacturing and transportation heritage, and seeks to boost both. But some of his actions speak louder than his speeches.
"I just attended a retreat the governor put together for about 150 business leaders," near Rockford, says Matt Mullen, president and COO of CenterPoint Properties Trust. The Cherry Valley toll plaza near the retreat site had become a business bottleneck over the years. So what did Blagojevich do about it?
"He got on a bulldozer and knocked it down," says Mullen.
Corporate types hope the photo op is symbolic of some business op coming down the road.
Today, although there has been a general trend of fee hikes, he has held the line on no new taxes or tax increases, while taking action to cut government waste and use the state's own real estate to its advantage. Among the austerity measures was a 25-percent cut in the budget of the state's Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), but like the corporations it seeks to attract, streamlining measures are enabling the agency to deliver more targeted services more efficiently.
The shifting to DCEO of training programs and other responsibilities from other state agencies will save the state's taxpayers nearly $16 million. Meanwhile, funds are set aside to launch entrepreneurship centers, help start-up companies, foster renewable energy and coal industry development, and aid the Argonne National Laboratory in launching its Center for Nanoscale Materials, expected to attract up to $200 million in R&D once it's up and running.
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While measures to close corporate tax loopholes and tax interstate trucking are among the state's budget planks, as Blagojevich travels the state to unveil his 10-region "Opportunity Returns" economic development plan, his refrain is one that honors the region's manufacturing and transportation heritage, and seeks to boost both. But some of his actions speak louder than his speeches.
"I just attended a retreat the governor put together for about 150 business leaders," near Rockford, says Matt Mullen, president and COO of CenterPoint Properties Trust. The Cherry Valley toll plaza near the retreat site had become a business bottleneck over the years. So what did Blagojevich do about it?
"He got on a bulldozer and knocked it down," says Mullen.
Corporate types hope the photo op is symbolic of some business op coming down the road.