* Gov. Pat Quinn yesterday announced a big “new” Illinois wind project…
During his visit to Beijing today, Governor Quinn announced that Goldwind, one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world, will build a $200 million wind farm in Lee County, Illinois. The company will break ground on the Shady Oaks project later this fall. Once online, the project will provide 109.5 megawatts (MW) of power, and create more than 100 construction and a dozen permanent maintenance jobs in Illinois. According to the American Wind Energy Association, one megawatt of wind energy can provide enough electricity to meet the needs of 225-300 households. Therefore, 109.5 MW can provide the electricity needs of approximately 25,000 homes.
OK, so maybe the official ground breaking will occur later this fall, but according to the LaSalle NewsTribune the project has been underway since 2005, and construction began in earnest last spring…
Englehart, Zimmerman and her brother, Alan, are among landowners that signed on to the project back in 2005 when GSG Wind Energy of Sublette started the development. The project was then sold to Mainstream Renewables which in turn partnered with Goldwind USA late last year. The project was then fully acquired by Goldwind, a company that got its start by constructing wind turbines in China. The 120-megawatt Lee County wind farm is the first large-scale project undertaken by the company following a 4.5-megawatt pilot project in Minnesota.
There have been quite a few complaints about what the wind farm is doing to local farmland, but the company is obligated to compensate farmers for any losses, and nobody was ordered to sign those contracts.
* And the governor’s gross exaggeration doesn’t mean the trip isn’t worthwhile…
Among those going with the governor is Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey. Quinn said the trade mission will encourage companies such as Wanxiang America Corp, which recently opened a $12.5 million, 40,000-square-foot plant that makes solar panels in Rockford, to bring more business to Illinois. Wanxiang is one of the top 500 companies in China and its Rockford plant is the largest solar panel manufacturer in the Midwest.
“They are investing strongly in creating jobs in solar technology, and we want to encourage that,” Quinn said.
Also, keep in mind that Indiana’s governor and/or his lt. governor have traveled to China every year for a number of years. Illinois can’t afford to just sit back here.
* Meanwhile, an online survey of just over 300 people is getting some big media play…
llinois now ranks among the states with the worst business climates, according to a survey of business executives and site-selection consultants.
Illinois comes in third from the bottom, before California and New York, in the survey of more than 300 respondents by Development Counsellors International, a New York-based consulting firm that specializes in economic development.
Illinois was not among the worst states three years ago. But its business climate took a hit this year when Gov. Pat Quinn approved an increase in the state’s tax on corporations, to 9% from 6.8%, moving past Michigan, New Jersey and Massachusetts to the bottom of the pile.
Actually, only 72 corporate executives took the online survey, and almost 20 percent of those weren’t “C-Level.” The rest were location advisors/consultants…
The survey was conducted completely online. Respondents were contacted via email and invited to participate in the survey. A hyperlink to access the online questionnaire was provided and the choice of a $10 Starbucks Card or a $10 iTunes Card was offered for participation.
* And despite what the stories are telling you, the respondents were asked for their “perceptions” of best and worst state climates…
It is important to note this survey, and all preceding “Winning Strategies” surveys, are studies of perceptions. A perception is an attitude, belief or impression and not necessarily a reflection of reality. Business executives have certain identifiable opinions and beliefs about doing business in the United States and throughout the world. Some of these perceptions may be accurate and some may be genuine misperceptions.
Look, there’s no doubt that Illinois has real problems. But if a CEO makes a siting decision based on “perceptions” alone, then that CEO is pretty darned stupid. And considering how many corporations are actually headquartered in these bottom five states, there’s a real problem with how this survey was both conducted and portrayed…
The Top Five
1. Texas 49.4%
2. North Carolina 27.8%
3. South Carolina 14.3%
4. Tennessee 13.9%
5. Florida 13.5%
The Bottom Five
50. California 70.5%
49. New York 46.5%
48. Illinois 24.4%
47. New Jersey 23.5%
46. Michigan 16.1%
* It also appears that media habits are driving those “perceptions”…
* The Wall Street Journal (both the print publication and WSJ.com) and the Fox News network ranked among the top news sources for the survey audience.
Both of those media outlets have regularly pummeled Illinois, and as long as Democrats are in control here, there’s little hope that the beatings will ever stop.
* In other news, this infighting between states is getting way out of hand. Check out a story from today’s New York Times…
Pearson Education could teach someone a few things about how to play one state off against another.
The educational media company, a division of the corporation, based in London, that publishes The Financial Times, said Monday that it would move about 650 jobs to Manhattan from suburban offices in New Jersey and Westchester County. Some of the cost of moving will be offset by at least $13.5 million, and possibly as much as $50 million, in tax breaks and other incentives offered by city and state agencies in New York.
City officials framed the arrangement as a victory over New Jersey officials, who have been offering large packages of financial incentives to attract and retain big employers. But just last week, New Jersey agreed to provide $82 million in cost savings to Pearson, which plans to take more than 1,200 jobs out of Upper Saddle River, N.J., by 2014 and send more than 600 of them to Hoboken, N.J. One of the stated reasons for New Jersey’s largess was to keep all those jobs from going to Manhattan.
So, to recap: Pearson could receive as much as $132 million in incentives for deciding to move half its Upper Saddle River jobs to Manhattan and the other half to Hoboken. But the net gain in jobs for the New York metropolitan area would be close to zero. And still, officials on both sides of the Hudson River seemed quite pleased with the deals they had struck.
Sheesh.
* Related…
* Illinois Leads A+ Debt Poised to Rally on Widening Yield Gap
* China calls on U.S. to create better environment for business cooperation: Wang made the remark during a meeting with Pat Quinn, the governor of Illinois, a U.S. state that has many cooperative programs with China. “The governments of both countries should help solve problems related to local cooperation through practical action and create a good environment for substantial cooperation between companies, as this will promote employment and economic growth in both countries,” Wang said.
* Finke: Even vocal critics keep quiet about Quinn’s China trip
* Editorial: Good luck, governor, on trade mission<
* Motorola hunting for office space in Chicago: “I do believe a healthy Chicago makes for a better business environment. And I do believe in Rahm. He’s an action-oriented guy who swings. He doesn’t study. He’s relentless and evangelical in his determination to make Chicago more relevant and more current.”
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 8:11 am:
The Top Five
1. Texas 49.4%
2. North Carolina 27.8%
3. South Carolina 14.3%
4. Tennessee 13.9%
5. Florida 13.5%
The Bottom Five
50. California 70.5%
49. New York 46.5%
48. Illinois 24.4%
47. New Jersey 23.5%
46. Michigan 16.1%
Hmm, can anyone discern a particular world-view among these 76 big, big titans of industry who are causing all the fuss?
One thing’s for certain: The great majority of folks in the “Top Five” can thank the folks in the “Bottom Five” for having the vision and paying the bills to transform them from the economic, cultural and moral jerkwaters their “leaders” were always been content to be.
- Aldyth - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 8:45 am:
As a general rule, big businesses like places that have cheap labor, low taxes, and few regulations. That’s why China has been so popular.
Someone should ask those executives if they want their grandchildren to live in places that have cheap labor, low taxes, and few regulations. Having air that is fit to breathe, water that is safe to drink, and soil capable of growing crops that are not full of toxins is generally considered desireable. Big corporations are certainly well-known for respecting and protecting the environment.
I’d use the sarcasm font, if it was allowed.
- Fed up - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 10:08 am:
Hmmm another example of Quinn being less than truthful. I see a pattern of dishonesty. Quinn has become a symbol for what is wrong with politics.
- mokenavince - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 10:24 am:
As far as wind power and solar these are just pipe
dreams.Real power should be generated by natural
gas and nuclear power. And coal will be a big factor for a long long time.
- mokenavince - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 10:28 am:
Quinn doesn’t have chance in hell matching wits with the Chinese. FED UP is right in more ways than one.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 10:30 am:
–As far as wind power and solar these are just pipe
dreams.–
Might as well tell Leif Erikson (okay, Columbus, too) to turn around then. The Pilgrims can forget about their pipe dreams, too. Nothing of importance can be accomplished with wind power.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 10:43 am:
With all the reading I’ve done on wind power from a variety of sources, I think the truth lies somewhere between “totally useless” and “our savior” when it comes to wind power meeting our future energy needs. Maybe it will avert the “Mad Max” syndrome, where we will be throwing anything burnable we can scavenge on the pile, by a few years. I’m in favor of exploring this resource with moderate subsidies (and Gov. Quinn’s efforts to increase its use), but not throwing all of the energy eggs into this one basket.
- Allen Skillicorn - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 11:37 am:
Curious, who’s paying the $200M price tag for the wind farm? That what buy a lot of electricity from traditional plants.
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 11:49 am:
mokenavince,
Many of those windmills will be installed on bullet trains, creating the perfect boondoggle…
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 12:36 pm:
Well done Cincy, wind power and trains in the same snark. Uncle Rupert must be so proud.
What are you worried about cleaner air, less kowtowing to the medieval despots who control most of the Earth’s oil? Because as we all know, on the Seventh Day, God rested but invented the internal combustion engine and we must keep it holy.
Are you worried about costs, or, gasp, subsidies? What do you think it costs to keep four carrier groups in the Persian Gulf, as the Navy does now? If that’s not an oil subsidy, then what are they are doing, fishing?
- Downstate Illinois - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 1:53 pm:
Rich, you describe Quinn as an arsonist firefighter in one of your columns and you blame Fox News and the Wall Street Journal for Illinois’ perception problems!
The bad business climate is real, not just perceived, or at least it’s perceived by a lot of business owners I know right here in this state.
I think the green energy hype are at best boondoggles that are designed only to make ratepayers shovel out more for their electric bills.
Still, I applaud the governor for going to China. Trade missions can be important and it’s something Blago never did.
I also think the state should be footing the bill for his airfare (at least for a regular seat, he can pay for the upgrade). Him paying his own way is about as useless as the empty luggage Jimmy Carter used to carry as a prop boarding Air Force One.
The only thing I’m surprised about the trip is that I didn’t know Super 8 had motels in China!
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 2:07 pm:
Wordslinger,
I am worried that these best-intentioned green efforts are ill-advised. America has ample fossil fuel resources to last many decades, and current pollution control measures to assure clean air. What we don’t have is endless money to spend on technologies that are not economically viable. It’s a simple cost-benefit calculation.
- walkinfool - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 2:33 pm:
Corporate business leaders are often immersed in a political culture, as under-informed and misdirected as any other group of individuals who hang together talking about government. That is why many of our big company leaders will testify, when first asked, that state income taxes are their biggest problem in Illinois, and then come back and apologize, and change their testimony, after they check with their CFOs and discover that that they actually paid little or no state income tax. This has happened multiple times with legislative committees on job creation. So there is a real difference between initial perceptions in response to surveys, and informed judgments made after due diligence, even for these people.
This is not to say we don’t have real problems, but they are mostly of the regulatory, and risk management sorts. At the same time, we do generally well on trained work force, living and cultural environment, and infrastructure supporting business, versus other states.
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 3:56 pm:
===What we don’t have is endless money to spend on technologies that are not economically viable. It’s a simple cost-benefit calculation.===
Someone said something very similar to this before we subsidized building canals. And before we helped the railroads connect the continent. And before we created interstate highways.
And now Cinci is speaking for many Americans when he repeats it. I hope we ignore Cinci’s voice now on high speed rail the same way we ignored the anti-canal free marketeers. High speed rail is the infrastructure project of this generation, not tomorrow’s.
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 4:27 pm:
The canals only lasted a couple of years, remember. It was a failed technology.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 4:42 pm:
===It was a failed technology. ===
Pretty sure there are some still in operation.
Also, they weren’t failed tech. They got replaced by railroads.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 4:51 pm:
Yep. Quite a few still operational… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_canals_in_the_United_States
- Montrose - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 4:52 pm:
+ It was a failed technology.+
Improvements in technology that make technology obsolete is not failure, it is progress.
I don’t think rotary dial phones are failed technology simply because we do not need them anymore. And I won’t think coal plants are failed technology if and when we are able to replace them with renewable energy sources.
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 5:08 pm:
If you want to fund the infrastructure, fine. We built the canals, but didn’t pay for the mules and barges. If you want to fix up the tracks, fine. But have nothing to so with funding the trains. If you want to fund airports, fine. But don’t buy the aircraft. If you want to do fundamental research into solar technology, fine. Don’t back the companies that make the panels, as we most recently learned.
Conservatives do not mind funding good infrastructure and research, but every time that the taxpayer is on the hook for government’s choice of winners and losers, there’s problems.
- Snj - Tuesday, Sep 20, 11 @ 7:13 pm:
So on one hand we have Washington and the President handing out half-billion dollar taxpayer funded loan guarantees to US solar companies like Solyndra — which just filed for bankruptcy protection less then one year since the loan was granted….and on the other hand we have states like Illinois cutting deals with countries, like China, that help drive the US companies that the taxpayers gave money to into bankruptcy..
Oh yeah that makes sense… :-/
We need to encourage that more!
On the number of homes this 109 megawatt wind farm plant will provide energy to…simple math says they are claiming 4.4 Kilowatts per home for 25,000 homes.
Wait until everyone plugs in their Telsa roadster electric vehicle which requires 220 volts 70 amps for a quick charger — which is 15.4 Kilowatts and it takes 3.5 hours for a full charge!
If the lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise the plant will be lucky to support about 5,000 homes.
…and finally, I like to know exactly what kind of jobs are going to be created because all jobs are not alike. Are they jobs that Americans will be willing to do or will they go to the illegal immigrants? Will they be min-wage part-time temporary slave labor Chinese labor camp jobs or living wage jobs that can generate tax revenue ro pay down the debt and create disposable income for economic growth?
No-one has even said that Americans will do the jobs and I wouldn’t be surprised if Washington wasn’t lobbied to bring in more H1-b Visa holders to do these jobs — like in the high tech computer I/T field because as you know there is this mass shortage of qualified workers in the USA. We just don’t have the people that understand this technology (so the experts tell us)
The last thing we need is some jobs smoke screen diversion to show unemployment has fallen and the jobs are not of the wealth generating variety.
Yeah..sarcasm, but you and I know the deal.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 21, 11 @ 8:17 am:
–Conservatives do not mind funding good infrastructure and research, but every time that the taxpayer is on the hook for government’s choice of winners and losers, there’s problems.–
You don’t speak for “conservatives,” you speak for yourself. And your comments reflect more of a knee-jerk hostility to some perceived domestic “enemy” than any “philosophy.”
Canals are a “failed technology?”
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 21, 11 @ 9:34 am:
–America has ample fossil fuel resources to last many decades, and current pollution control measures to assure clean air.–
Unless you’re suggesting nationalization of natural resources (you socialist you), “America” does not “have” anything.
Multinationals tap our oil, refine it eight ways to Tuesday, and sell it on the world market. We’re all just consumers.
Oil exports, tapped from United States natural resources, have been on the rise for years.
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=95&c=us&l=en
- JustaJoe - Wednesday, Sep 21, 11 @ 1:33 pm:
I don’t think that Illinois has the WSJ and Fox News to blame for its bad reputation. Illinois has itself to blame.