Why I'm thankful for Illinois' business owners this holiday season

There's no better time than the holidays to reflect on the things for which you're most grateful.

Recently, my 5-year-old daughter, Fiona, said she felt grateful for something that surprised me. When our family came together for bedtime prayers and we got to the part where we each say something we're thankful for, she chimed in with: "I'm thankful for all the people Daddy works with."

I asked her what she meant by that, and she said, "All the people that sacrifice their money and time to help the poor people."

She wasn't talking about my Illinois Policy Institute team members, wonderful as they are. She was thankful for all of you - Illinois' job creators, business leaders and entrepreneurs who lift the state up every day through the lives you touch and the services you provide. Those you employ who find purpose and prosperity through the dignity of work. Those community members who benefit from your commitment and, in many cases, generations of your family's passion and tradition. Those neighborhoods you support and help to thrive with your investment.

It's bigger than just jobs. It lifts people out of poverty. It stops crime. As Catholic priest and leader Greg Boyle said, "Nothing stops a bullet like a job."

I normally use this column to talk about Illinois' potential and how we can harness that potential to make our state and its business community stronger, more successful and more sustainable in the future. Today, I'd like to use it to thank all of you, the members of Illinois' business community, for driving and upholding the state's economy as it is today.

That's been anything but easy during the past few years, but small business owners showed their resilience. New Illinois Policy Institute research found Illinois businesses with fewer than 20 employees were the only companies to see jobs grow since the pandemic hit. In total, small businesses added 53,000 jobs to the Illinois economy since January 2020, while businesses with more than 20 employees are still down 180,000 jobs since before the pandemic. Small businesses also kept more of their workers in the pandemic's early days. Small businesses laid off one-third as many employees as larger businesses.

But Illinois needs businesses of all sizes to contribute to its economic vitality. About 53% of Illinois' private-sector workforce is employed by a large business with 500 or more employees. All businesses, great and small, who stayed and fought led Illinois through two of the most trying years in its history.

Not everyone was like you. Illinois lost many businesses to out-migration this year. Illinois now has five fewer company headquarters than it did last year. We fight to change policy and offset the negative consequences of those transitions, but more importantly, we fight because we want to build on the positive consequences of your continued presence in the state. Your dedication and investment will be the key to reforming and transforming Illinois.

We still have many obstacles to overcome in the new year. Illinois' business tax environment is among the worst in the region and declining relative to other states. Illinois' unemployment taxes and workers' compensation costs remain major hindrances to the state's business climate.

Illinois' business regulations, the nation's third highest, set expensive and complicated barriers for both current business owners and Illinoisans who want to embark on entrepreneurship. And rampant, nationwide inflation remains a threat to business growth on a local and statewide level.

There will be many more business-friendly policy solutions to deliberate, recommend and implement, especially with new Illinois General Assembly members and a new state budget coming early next year. But for now, I'm grateful for all you've done to make our state great, and I'm excited for all we will look to achieve for Illinois in the future.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season and a blessed new year. May the joy and peace of the season live in your hearts and bring you happiness and hope all year round.

• Matt Paprocki is president of the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization.