Business climate costs Lake County jobs

Your front page article “Kenall Manufacturing plant leaving Gurnee for Kenosha” points out that this is the second Lake County employer that has left Illinois for Wisconsin in just two weeks with the loss of hundreds of jobs and lots of tax dollars. As a retired group president of manufacturing companies doing business around the world and who has been involved in operations in Illinois, California, Minnesota, Colorado, Canada, and South Carolina, let me provide a business perspective of why they are leaving.

If any of my executives came to me and said that they recommended opening a new plant in Illinois, I would have either immediately fired them or sent them out for a psychological evaluation.

Illinois is the most corrupt (per FBI) and bankrupt (lowest municipal bond rating) state in the union. After my extremely positive experience in “right to work state” South Carolina, I can’t imagine why anybody would open a plant in Illinois, which is the most business hostile state in the USA (California runs a close second).

Gov. Walker has turned Wisconsin into a business friendly state with a bright future. He took Wisconsin from a billion dollar-plus deficit to a surplus and created such a positive and rational work environment that the Kenosha Teachers Union was just decertified by the teachers by a two-to-one vote.

Compared to corrupt Illinois government and its parasitic loop with unions, Wisconsin is becoming a business magnet creating new jobs.

If Sen. Melinda Bush would like to retain Illinois jobs, she needs to help stop the corruption and grossly irresponsible deficit spending in Illinois despite a 66 percent tax increase. And reduce the insane real-estate taxes in Lake County.

Until then, prepare to wave goodbye to many more Illinois and Lake County jobs.

Randy Rossi

Grayslake