Poisonous Illinois; Caterpillar CEO Threatens to Leave Illinois over Taxes; Illinois Attorney General Wins Dubious Honor "Prevailing Wage Award"

To prove how totally fooked the state of Illinois is, simply read Madigan honored with "prevailing wage" award

So allied are the unions with Madigan, they honored her in Bloomington on Wednesday. As WJBC reported:

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan accepted an award from the state’s Building Trades Council in Bloomington for her previous pro-union legislation. The Reuben G. Soderstrom Prevailing Wage Award is given annually. Madigan says she’s honored and will continue with the same work. She says she’s now working on a bill to enhance penalties for criminal violations of the prevailing wage act. Madigan says under the law, violations would be a class four felony.

Madigan says it would penalize people evading the law, and create a level playing field for those following the law. The bill also allows state, local and federal law enforcement agencies to get relevant documents from contractors and reduces the notice time contractors have before government inspection of documents.

Prevailing Wages Laws are Criminal

If there is anything criminal here it is prevailing wage laws. They force cities, municipalities, counties to pay a "prevailing wage" which means a union wage. It does no good to send out bids when all the bids will be based on the same wage. It's no use going to a non-union shop because you have to pay a union wage regardless of what you do.

Pat Quinn wants businesses to move to Illinois. No business in their right mind could possibly think Illinois is a good place to do business. Some are stuck here because moving costs are too high, and I suppose some might want to come here specifically to take part in Illinois graft, undoubtedly the highest in the nation.

The fact remains Illinois is owned lock-stock-and-barrel by unions. Everything here costs more because of it.

Caterpillar CEO Threatens to Leave Illinois

Please consider Caterpillar CEO's letter talks of leaving Illinois

The chairman and CEO of Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. is raising the specter of moving the heavy equipment maker out of Illinois.

In a letter sent March 21 to Gov. Pat Quinn, Caterpillar chief executive officer Doug Oberhelman said officials in at least four other states have approached the company about relocating since Illinois raised its income tax in January.

"I want to stay here. But as the leader of this business, I have to do what's right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest," Oberhelman wrote in the letter obtained Friday by the Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau. "The direction that this state is headed in is not favorable to business and I'd like to work with you to change that."

Oberhelman said he's being actively courted to move.

"I have been called, 'cornered' in meetings and 'wined and dined' -- the heat is on," Oberhelman wrote. "Before, I never really considered living anywhere else and certainly never considered the possibility of Caterpillar relocating. But I have to admit, the policymakers in Springfield seem to make it harder by the day."

Oberhelman also sent along correspondence Cat has received from other states.

"I stand ready to help convince you to relocate or expand in the fiscally conservative, low-tax Lone Star State," wrote Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a Jan. 24 letter.

"I encourage you to consider South Dakota as a place for your business to grow and prosper," noted J. Pat Costello, secretary of the South Dakota governor's economic development office.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman wrote in February to say, "In Nebraska, we balance our budget by controlling spending, not by raising taxes."

Republican leaders, who unsuccessfully fought Quinn on the tax hike, say the letter confirms why they were opposed to the increase.

"These are the kinds of letters we fear," said Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont. "Even more worrisome are the hundreds of businesses being wooed that we don't know about."

Schuh said the tax hike and the state's worker compensation costs on businesses "make Illinois a hostile environment, prime for the picking."

Poisonous Illinois

Illinois is not "hostile" to business, Illinois is downright "poisonous" because of high corporate taxes, absurd prevailing wage laws, forced collective bargaining, a massive pension mess, and copious amounts of taxpayer unfriendly legislation.

It is time for national right-to-work laws to end the forced slavery of collective bargaining and it's also time to kill Davis-Bacon and all poisonous prevailing wage laws at the state level as well.

Unions like to point out studies that show union work is no more expensive than non-union work. It's true because of poisonous prevailing wage laws force it to be true.

For details please see Thoughts on the Davis Bacon Act

For details regarding the slavery aspect of collective bargaining, please see

• Paul Krugman, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, others, Ignore Extortion, Bribery, Coercion, and Slavery; No One Should Own You!


• Collective Bargaining neither a Privilege nor a Right

Illinois desperately needs right-to-work legislation. Lisa Madigan is hell-bent on taking things the opposite direction.

One might think that Illinois would get the the message given changes that are happening in Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York, and to some extent even California. However, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Attorney General Lisa Madigan (daughter of Michael Madigan), are bound and determined to suck every drop of taxpayer blood in Illinois and give it to the unions.

Why Caterpillar would think of staying in this corrupt union hellhole if they have any reasonable choice is beyond me.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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