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March 2017
There’s an urgent need that exists in Springfield to improve Illinois’ manufacturing climate and to revitalize the middle class. The numbers are striking: Illinois lost 304,900 manufacturing jobs since 2000. Since the recession ended in 2009, only 4,600 manufacturing jobs have been created in Illinois, compared to neighboring Michigan with 171,300, Indiana with 83,700, Ohio with 75,900 and Wisconsin with 44,100. Even Idaho, a state more known for potatoes, created 9,100 manufacturing jobs during this time frame. Even so, this past August the Illinois manufacturing industry lost 4,400 additional jobs according to an Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) report. Drawing attention to this dilemma is Greg Baise, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA), who is addressing this topic statewide. When the state’s industry that
IMA releases its Middle Class Manufacturing Agenda contributes the single largest share to Illinois’ GDP – 12.4 percent – loses nearly a quarter of well-paying, middle class positions, it becomes apparent that an Illinois manufacturing and middle class jobs revival is long overdue. On average, an Illinois manufacturing job, including benefits, pays $74,000 annually, adding to the importance of why manufacturing jobs, and not lower-wage service sector positions, need to be created. In Baise’s statewide remarks, he unveils the IMA’s “Middle Class Manufacturing Agenda.”
Five Key Points Get the state’s fiscal house in order. We need to restrain spending, balance the budget and adopt pension reform. Enact permanent workers’ comp
Join IMA event on April 20 at NIU-Rockford Learn more about the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association’s Middle-Class Manufacturing Agenda to improve Illinois’ manufacturing climate and revitalize the middle class. Greg Baise, president and CEO, IMA, keynotes the event on Thursday, April 20, Greg Baise, IMA 7:30 to 9 a.m., at NIU-Rockford, 8500 E. State St., Rockford. Baise will address the urgent need that exists in Springfield to improve Illinois’ business climate, particularly within the manufacturing sector. The immediate and long-term solutions put forward in the Middle Class Manufacturing Agenda aim to challenge Illinois’ existing state of affairs and bring industry back to the state. According to Baise, the numbers are striking. Since 2000, Illinois has lost more than 304,000 manufacturing jobs, impacting all corners of the state.
reform. It’s time to push back union leaders, trial attorneys and special interests to say no more feeding off this system. Reform the state’s tax code. Start broadening the tax base and reinstating vital tax credits. Overhaul property taxes. Stop shifting the tax burden onto commercial and industrial taxpayers. Strengthen the education and workforce development system to ensure a pipeline of qualified workers for our economy. “Since 2000, politicians have added 4,709 pages of laws and thousands of additional pages of rules and regulations for businesses to comply with in order to trade in Illinois, and the result – a state that cannot run itself has become the expert on how to run a business, and it’s closing the manufacturing industry,” said Baise. “Dictating wages, an unnecessarily high cost workers’ compensation program, high taxes and irresponsible spending puts manufacturers in a challenging position and many of them won’t take it anymore.” The immediate and long-term solutions put forward in the Middle Class Manufacturing Agenda aim to challenge Illinois’ existing state of affairs and bring industry back to the state. The IMA urges lawmakers to prioritize a manufacturing rebirth in Illinois in order to revitalize the middle-class and help jumpstart the state’s economy. Source: Illinois Manufacturer’s Association, ima-net.org
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IMA’S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA – ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY The IMA is focused on a five-point plan for manufacturing growth that includes (1) fiscal stability and pension reform, (2) workers’ compensation reform, (3) education and workforce development, (4) tax reform, and (5) property tax relief. In addition, the IMA has introduced a number of bills this year that include: HB 209 (Ford) / SB 956 (Barickman): Allow companies to pay unemployment taxes quarterly rather than all at once in the first quarter of the year. HB 2745 (Zalewski): Comprehensive tax bill that modernizes and makes permanent the R & D credit, merges the Manufacturers Purchase Credit and Graphic Arts exemption into the Manufacturing Machinery & Equipment exemption, and makes the coal, mining and off-highway credit permanent. SB 1286 (Mulroe): Rewrites the Captive Insurance law making it easier for self-insured employers to domicile their insurance risk in Illinois. SB 1455 (Manar): Reinstates a credit for combined heat and power systems in Illinois that was deleted in the energy bill in 2016. HB 3109 (Stewart): Creates an income tax credit for expenses paid by employers for qualified apprenticeship programs.