Today’s quotable
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. JB Pritzker press conference after the debate…
Q: In recent years, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, new jobs in the year have ranged from 800,000 to one and a half million. Illinois is something like 25,000 jobs. Do you agree with that data? And if so, what do you plan to fix that disasterous situation?
Pritzker: I appreciate that. That’s exactly what I’ve been focused on. Here’s what we’ve had to do: we’ve had to create an economic development program…
You know, when I came in, I’m a businessman, I went immediately to the Department of Commerce and said, “Okay, tell me who here and at Intersect Illinois,” that was Rauner’s Organization, “who here is responsible for economic development? Let’s get together and work on doing this better. It turns out almost no one was responsible for economic development. It’s embarrassing, and so we had to create a new economic development [entity]. In fact, we created the Illinois Economic Development Corporation. The result of that is that we are actually beating a whole bunch of states when we’re competing against them in order to attract businesses to the state.
I mentioned during the debate, $700 billion companies have come to the state of Illinois. I think it’s important for us to continue that work. I’m on the phone virtually every week with a CEO or some leader of a company around the world to try to bring them to the state of Illinois. And as you know, we’ve updated the tools that we have, the incentives. We’ve updated the way in which we deal with them, and we have what I refer to as white glove service in order to make sure that they know how they can get done what they need in the state of Illinois. And I’ve heard over and over from those companies, we have the best of those in the entire country, that we know how to treat companies that are coming here. And in fact, I have a friend who’s at one of the other states, one of the seriously competitive states with us, who’s involved in their economic development program, who told me directly he’s hearing Illinois’s name many more times these days than he heard in years past. I’m pleased about that. We have more to do.
Please pardon any transcription errors.
- Sue - Thursday, Oct 15, 26 @ 8:48 am:
Don’t know if JB appreciates how silly he sounds constantly touting his economic success- Illinois is not at the top of any relocation lists- we are at the very bottom of GDP growth- we have one of the highest UE rates in the country and based on IRS data- we are the third worst for outward migration of taxpayers- this is pure gaslighting
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, Oct 15, 26 @ 9:03 am:
There’s always been an economic development component to DCEO. It’s what the E is for.
- Time Will Tell - Thursday, Oct 15, 26 @ 9:03 am:
It may be easier for big businesses seeking tax breaks and corporate inceptives to get assistance from the State, but changing laws and less emphasis on small business assistance has made it harder for smaller businesses to succeed. At least half a dozen new laws pass each year increasing regulatory requirements and administrative burdens for small businesses. There aren’t “white glove” services for the little guys and gals.
- Thomas Paine - Thursday, Oct 15, 26 @ 9:09 am:
@Sue -
I don’t think that’s true.
The Chicago region, including the increasingly Democratic suburbs and collar counties, is hugely successful.
The GOP regions of the state are hemorraging jobs.
50 years ago, you provided some economic incentives, built a factory, and good paying jobs were locked in to your community.
Its not that way any more.
You have to build the kind of community people with college degrees want to call home.
Rural Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Wyoming are doing it.
Nashville, Atlanta, Houston are doing it.
Champaign has done it.
- Paul Peterson - Thursday, Oct 15, 26 @ 9:28 am:
He has a template for dealing with tough questions
Noun, verb, blame Republican who left office 8 years ago (who did not have the luxury of a supermajority legislature or his party) or the Republican administration
The results are clear yet he refuses to acknowledge the lackluster economic growth during his tenure