Springfield cuts lifeline of Big Beautiful Bill
After reading a recent column in the Daily Herald blaming federal policy for potential job losses in Illinois, my first reaction was the commentary completely missed the mark. The real threat to Illinois manufacturers and job creators comes not from Washington, but from Springfield.
The federal "One Big Beautiful Bill" was designed to provide significant tax relief to small and midsize manufacturers, encouraging investment and growth by adding bonus tax breaks for equipment and building investments.
As manufacturers face enormous headwinds, Washington threw us a lifeline with tax reforms to lower costs and help our members compete globally. Encouraging Illinois businesses to build and take advantage of the construction investment tax break would have created more, not less, construction jobs the column’s author bemoaned disappearing due to federal action.
However, before Illinois businesses could benefit, Gov. Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers decided to "decouple" our state from these crucial tax provisions. This move rips away the badly needed relief and actively harms our local businesses who have suffered from our back-breaking, misguided tax burden for so many years.
Illinois manufacturers already face among the highest taxes and costs in the nation. By decoupling from the federal tax system, Springfield has chosen to place Illinois at an even greater competitive disadvantage.
When will our lawmakers pay attention, understand and care what’s happening to small and midsize manufacturers in Illinois? More and more are throwing up their hands and leaving Illinois to promised lands surrounding our once-productive state.
Instead of pointing fingers at federal changes, we ask the author to truly examine how the governor’s decision undermines the very businesses he is said to represent as a columnist, which are the backbone of our state's economy. It is misguided state-level action, not federal policy, that jeopardizes Illinois jobs.
Dennis LaComb, Executive Vice President
Technology & Manufacturing Association
Schaumburg