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Rauner talks growth in DeKalb

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* Rauner campaign…

Governor Rauner joined the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp. Thursday, helping them celebrate 30 years of growing jobs in DeKalb County. The governor gave the keynote speech at the celebration, and lauded the efforts of DCEDC while providing commonsense solutions to continue growing jobs in DeKalb County and throughout the state.

Check out the Daily Chronicle coverage below:

When the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp. celebrated its 30th anniversary, it was able to brag that DeKalb County is now on international radar, having doubled the number of international companies with locations in the county, as well as companies in other countries excited about the prospect of moving here.

Gov. Bruce Rauner gave the keynote speech at the State of the County banquet Thursday at Faranda’s Banquet Center in DeKalb.

…Rauner said that with a few small changes in Illinois, the state could be very competitive in attracting businesses from around the country and world.

“We gotta tweak a couple things, and if we tweak a couple things we’re going to bring them in on a massive scale,” he said. “We gotta reduce the regulatory burden, and we have to have tax relief. … It’s not rocket science, it’s not complicated.”

Rauner said many businesses told him while he was on recruiting tours of China, Japan and Israel that even if half of the reforms get done, they’ll move to Illinois.

…The county also doubled the number of international companies with a presence in it in 2017. Finnish company LEDiL, an LED light manufacturer, and Solotech, an audio visual company from Quebec, joined Nestle and Tate & Lyle as foreign companies with a presence here.

To increase the region’s competitiveness, Rauner said he wanted NIU and other Illinois colleges and universities to integrate more with businesses as they do on the West Coast and in Israel. To help universities recover from the two years of budget uncertainty and declining enrollments, he said he wanted to add $500 million into higher education funding.

“This is a labor of love. We love Illinois,” he said. “This is home.”

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 12:45 pm

Comments

–…if we tweak a couple of things, we bring them in on a massive scale.–

Who actually believes that’s how the global economy works?

Commissar Rauner does a little central planning tweaking in Springfield, and he opens up the spigot of global capital.

It’s comic-book communism.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 12:52 pm
“Rauner said many businesses told him while he was on recruiting tours of China, Japan and Israel that even if half of the reforms get done, they’ll move to Illinois.”

Reminds me of a junior high kid yammering about all the girls from summer camp who secretly want to date him.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 12:53 pm
Trust is the price of perfidy
No one trusts you to keep your word

Comment by Honeybear Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 12:53 pm
===To help universities recover from the two years of budget uncertainty and declining enrollments, he said he wanted to add $500 million into higher education funding.===

I wonder where he’s going to find that kind of dough. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see that kind of investment in higher education. But I can read a budget book and I can’t see anyone finding a pile of cash like that anytime soon.

Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 12:59 pm
Perhaps Rauner thinks that the Trump tax cuts will spur the Illinois economy so much that rising incomes will generate that much more revenue for the State.
Or perhaps he’s just making another phony promise.
Easy to pick the right answer

Comment by Truthteller Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:09 pm
I am guessing that much of DeKalb’s success in recruiting companies and growing jobs is due more to its location [to the Chicago area] than anything else. They just happen to be in the right place. Recruiting companies to come to Carbondale in Southern Illinois is a much harder task.

Comment by Joe M Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:17 pm
OK, so is the $500M coming out of the $9B in yearly interest payments? Illinois is truly in the toilet unless and until someone gets serious about the debt issue. We can’t begin to enhance programs when our current infrastructure and programs are dying on the vine. But It’s not just Rauner who isn’t addressing this, Pritzker doesn’t talk about this on his website, nor Biss, only Kennedy touches on this this.

Comment by NeverPoliticallyCorrect Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:22 pm
As a person who is in DeKalb County frequently, maybe, just maybe, keeping the largest employer, NIU, healthy is a big part of keeping DeKalb and the region healthy.

Comment by 100 miles west Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:22 pm
If he can’t give us a few names how about an idea of the size or type of industry that is interested. He has no credibility absolutely none. What he does have is an active imagination

Comment by DuPage Saint Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:23 pm
Rauner has been extremely erratic with it comes to higher education. Maybe he’s finally making a pivot on the disaster that has been his administration, but I think I’m getting whiplash on watching what he says and what he does.

Comment by Ahoy! Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:26 pm
Here’s a tweak for you Brucie. Get rid of noncompete clauses, like California. https://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2016/05/23/why-states-should-stop-the-spread-of-noncompete-pacts/

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:36 pm
“We gotta tweak a couple things”

That’s code talk for letting him have four more years so he can pretend he loves Illinois, all the while moving the goal post, repeatedly, like we saw during his Grand Bargain “episode.”

Who was doing the fact checks on this dude? There is an avalanche of material in the just last few days. Let’s see what the independent experts have to say!

Comment by cdog Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:37 pm
“labor of love”??

I am guessing this is the first time the Guv has used labor and love in the same sentence.

And I thought he was a fighter, not a lover.

Comment by Henry Francis Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 1:37 pm
Henry Francis, lol.
Although I think Rauner would rather see people work for the love of the job, rather than silly stuff like money and healthcare

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 2:03 pm
Cripes, I should have worn my boots today as it is getting very deep….

Rauner clearly knows nothing about, nor does he care, about how states grow and economy. Reducing wages isn’t one of them. Maybe he needs to go to Minnesota?

Comment by JS Mill Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 2:06 pm
==Maybe he needs to go to Minnesota?==

Maybe he can take some Illinois retirees with him to show them how good they have it down here.

Comment by City Zen Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 2:28 pm
== It’s not rocket science, it’s not complicated.”==

Yet you failed repeatedly to find a way to get it done. A total waste of a term in office. You let us down Benedict Rauner.

Go to your ranch in Montana and don’t return.

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 2:35 pm
MrJM @ 12:53p

At least the junior high kid would provide a name.

Comment by Jocko Friday, Dec 1, 17 @ 2:39 pm