* 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.”
