Lake County Gazette

Craig Wilcox reasons the tenor of the people tells you everything you need to know about the condition of the troubled state of Illinois.

“The fact that businesses and families are fleeing Illinois reveals that something is systemically flawed in the way that this state operates,” Wilcox told the Lake County Gazette. “Illinois has already experienced a significant exodus of people, who have taken their talents and their tax dollars to other states that do not foster such an uncertain climate for both families and businesses. If we don't act to resolve this now, then the task of doing so in the future will only become more challenging.”

Wilcox’s fiery words were fueled by a recent Chief Executive’s 2018 “Best and Worst States for Business” report, which for the fourth straight year ranked Illinois No. 48 of 50 states, ahead of only New York and California.

Craig Wilcox, McHenry County Board member running for Illinois State Senate District 32 seat

At the other end of the spectrum, Texas ranked tops, followed by Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. Closer to home, Indiana ranked No. 5 and Michigan, up nine spots over last year, ranked No. 27.

“Every time it seems that this state takes a step forward, the leadership in the General Assembly seems to take two steps back,” Wilcox, a retired Air Force colonel and member of the McHenry County board running to replace retiring state Sen. Pam Althoff (R-McHenry) in District 32, said. “The Illinois Senate took measures to term limit its leadership positions last year; however, the House of Representatives did not. Instead, the House re-elected Mike Madigan as Speaker of the House for his 17th term. The disconnectedness of the leadership is reflective of the dismal state that this state is in.”

Wilcox said all the variables that make doing business in Illinois so much harder than what it should be are common to most business owners.

“Those in business routinely say that it is the uncertainty within the Illinois climate that harms their chances to survive and thrive here,” he said. “The constant influx of regulatory burdens on their businesses deprives them of valuable productive time. They are asked to pay more and more to a government that is offering them less and less. Something must change, and that change must come from the leadership in the General Assembly.”

In the end, Wilcox said lawmakers have to accept a few hard truths to truly have any chance of turning things around.

“We certainly cannot tax ourselves into prosperity,” he said. “We must work to build that prosperity by fostering the kind of climate that attracts investment and entrepreneurship to Illinois. This can be accomplished by repealing statutory and regulatory burdens that are repelling businesses from staying and investing in Illinois.”

Once in Springfield, Wilcox said he plans to make one thing clear.

“We cannot expect to foster the business climate that Illinois needs to rebound without reducing the statutory and regulatory burdens on them and to keep Illinois taxes flat and low,” he said.