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Actually, Illinois is a great place to do business right now. And Gov. Pritzker has helped

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Actually, Illinois is a great place to do business right now. And Gov. Pritzker has helped


In the battle to attract the businesses of tomorrow, states around the country are using creative methods to differentiate themselves from others. And as we continue to build the best economic conditions our state has had in generations, it comes as no surprise that others count Illinois among their toughest competition.

While it’s true that the business community once turned its nose down at our state, the reality is that Illinois’ economic ecosystem today is hardly recognizable from years past. It’s time to reintroduce Illinois and set the record straight on why this is the place businesses want to be.

For one, Illinois is literally at the center of it all. We are the only state where all the Class I railroads meet in two locations. O’Hare airport is one of the most globally connected airports in the world. We have the third largest interstate highway system in the U.S., and inland waterways that connect to the Great Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. Whether a business is shipping products via rail, roads, rivers, or runways, there is a big advantage to being in Illinois. How much of an advantage? PWC estimates that for many companies, logistics makes up around 10% of revenue. You won’t often see factors like these making headlines, but these are the things businesses care about.

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Businesses also understand value, that you get what you pay for. Illinois offers a large, skilled workforce of over six million people, half of which have bachelor’s degrees or higher. Illinois’ astounding 244 higher education institutions are among the best in the world. The University of Illinois alone graduates more engineers each year than MIT, Stanford and Caltech combined. Beyond that, our community college system is the third largest in the nation. That means Illinois is providing customized training to students of all ages to ensure they gain the skills that are most in demand now. Put all of this together, and you have an extremely robust pipeline of talent at-the-ready to support business growth.

To fully understand why a new business relocated to or expanded in Illinois on average every day in 2023, we also have to acknowledge the strength of our state’s leadership. Businesses want to know that states are making intentional, coordinated and strategic efforts at the highest levels to constantly improve their business climate, as we are here in Illinois.

This hasn’t always been the case, but Gov. JB Pritzker is on the phone with CEOs daily to pitch our state and ask how we can better support their business. This active role may seem hard to quantify, but the results speak for themselves. For example, when Stellantis idled its Belvidere facility in the summer of 2022, the governor made it a priority to do whatever needed to be done for them to reopen and bring $4 billion worth of investments along with it.

More: $5B UAW, Stellantis deal could include construction of two more Belvidere plants

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For all of these reasons and more, some states have attempted to discredit Illinois as a great place to do business. Take for example a Wyoming-based survey’s claims about that state versus ours. Wyoming may have the lowest tax rate in the U.S., but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it also has the smallest economy. Not exactly a location where businesses can grow or dip into a skilled workforce or offer the kinds of infrastructure that multiple industries rely on to thrive. In fact, Wyoming can’t lay claim to even one Fortune 1,000 company that calls it home.

More: Study claims Illinois is worst place to start a business. Here’s why

On the other hand, Illinois is home to nearly 60 Fortune 1000 companies, like ADM, State Farm, John Deere, Walgreens, Motorola Solutions and United Airlines. Small businesses thrive here, too, with a recent JPMorgan Chase survey reporting that small and medium-sized businesses in our state are feeling more optimistic about business in the region than the nationwide average. It also has the fifth highest GDP in the U.S. and is ranked second in the nation by Site Selection Magazine for new and expanding companies.

It’s a great time to do business in Illinois − and to have the facts on our side.

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John Atkinson is the chairman of Intersect Illinois, the state’s business attraction organization.



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Illinois

Johnson and Hampton lead Northern Illinois over MAC leader Western Michigan

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Johnson and Hampton lead Northern Illinois over MAC leader Western Michigan



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KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Telly Johnson Jr. ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns and Northern Illinois beat Mid-American Conference leader Western Michigan 42-28 on Wednesday night.

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Western Michigan (5-4, 4-1) ended its three-game home winning streak and hasn’t started 5-0 in conference play since its undefeated 2016 season. The Broncos dropped into a four-way tie atop the league standings.

Northern Illinois (5-4, 2-3) has won three straight in the series.

Johnson scored on a 6-yard run and his 26-yard touchdown stretched the Northern Illinois lead to 42-21 late in the third quarter.

Ethan Hampton completed 13 of 16 passes for 156 yards with two touchdowns for Northern Illinois (5-4, 2-3). Gavin Williams also had a touchdown run and catch for the Huskies. Cam Thompson scored on a 91-yard kickoff return.

Hayden Wolff was 14-of-27 passing for 179 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Broncos. Jaden Nixon ran for 95 yards and two scores.

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Wolff threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mareyohn Hrabowski with 11:49 left to cap the scoring. The Huskies answered with a 12-play, 42-yard drive that ate 7:24 off the clock, but Kanon Woodill missed a 43-yard field goal.

The Western Michigan offense entered averaging a conference-best 44.8 points per game while the Northern Illinois defense leads the league allowing 17 points.



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Early results show Democrats likely to maintain supermajorities in Illinois General Assembly | Capitol News Illinois

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Early results show Democrats likely to maintain supermajorities in Illinois General Assembly | Capitol News Illinois


Preliminary, unofficial election results show no seats in the state House or Senate have changed party hands, although a few races remained too close to call according to the Associated Press.

That means Democrats will maintain supermajorities in each chamber of the General Assembly even as President Donald Trump appears to have vastly outperformed his previous two showings in the state in 2016 and 2020.

The AP called the presidential race for Trump early Wednesday, and with an estimated 93% of votes counted, he trailed Vice President Kamala Harris in Illinois by about eight percentage points. If the total holds, it’s about half of the margin of victory enjoyed by Democrats in the state in each of the past four presidential cycles.

Illinois’ representation in Congress also appears unlikely to change. Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen withstood a challenge in the 17th Congressional District of northwest Illinois, beating Republican challenger Joe McGraw, 54% to 46%, meaning Democrats will keep their 14-3 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.

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“Now, it’s about coming together to do what’s best for all of us and I am proud to be the good neighbor to represent you,” Sorensen said in a statement late Tuesday night. “We have a lot of challenges and hard work ahead of us, but I can tell you the sun will rise tomorrow morning and our forecast is bright.”

And in Cook County, early returns showed Democrats poised to sweep all county-level offices that were up for election, including state’s attorney, while voters in Chicago cast ballots in their first-ever elections for local school board seats.

 

General Assembly

As of early Wednesday, unofficial results showed Democrats were poised to likely keep their 78-40 supermajority in the Illinois House and their 40-19 control of the Senate, although a few races proved to be highly competitive.

That was true in the 52nd House district, where incumbent Republican Rep. Martin McLaughlin, of Barrington Hills, was leading Democratic challenger Maria Peterson, 51% to 49%, a margin of fewer than 1,000 votes.

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And in the 47th House District, incumbent Republican Rep. Amy Grant, of Wheaton, was leading Democrat Jackie Williamson, 50.4% to 49.6%, a margin of just 500 votes.

Another uncalled race is in the 76th District that includes parts of DeKalb, LaSalle and Bureau counties. Democrat Amy Briel led Republican Liz Bishop by less than 700 votes in the race to succeed retiring Democrat Lance Yednock.

The race was also too close to call for a pair of incumbents – 91st District Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, and 104th District Rep. Brandun Schweizer, R-Danville, in two central Illinois races. As of Wednesday morning, the AP hadn’t tallied all the votes in Champaign or McLean counties. A Capitol News Illinois analysis 91st District data showed Chung handily winning that race by about 3,500 votes, while Schweizer had a lead of 771 votes in the 104th District with some mail votes outstanding.

In the 112th District in the Metro East area outside St. Louis, Democratic Rep. Katie Stuart, of Edwardsville, was leading Republican challenger Jay Keeven, also of Edwardsville, 54% to 46%.

That district was at the center of a debate during the spring legislative session when Democrats pushed through a bill to ban the practice of political parties “slating” candidates for a race after a primary election if no candidate from that party ran for the nomination.

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That bill passed the General Assembly in May, even though candidates from both parties, including Keeven, were already actively gathering petition signatures to fill vacant ballot positions.

The Illinois Supreme Court eventually ruled that law couldn’t go into effect in 2024, allowing Keeven to remain on the  ballot.

And in the neighboring 114th District, former Democratic Rep. LaToya Greenwood, of East St. Louis, appeared far behind in her attempt to retake the seat she lost following redistricting in 2022 to Republican Rep. Kevin Schmidt. Unofficial returns from that rematch showed Schmidt holding onto lead of less than 2,000 votes with 78% of votes counted. Although the AP had not called the race as of Wednesday, Schmidt issued a news release claiming victory.

 

Statewide and local referendums

Three statewide “advisory questions” all passed on Tuesday, although they don’t carry any legal weight.

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The first question concerned whether candidates should be subject to civil penalties if they interfere with election workers’ official duties. That passed with 88.9% of respondents voting ‘yes’ with an estimated 89% of votes counted.

The second asked voters whether Illinois should modify its constitution to allow for higher taxes on those with incomes over $1 million to pay for property tax relief programs. With an estimated 89% of votes counted, ‘yes’ had carried about 60.3% of the vote.

The third asked whether the state should require insurers that cover pregnancy benefits to also cover assisted reproductive treatments like in vitro fertilization. ‘Yes’ received 72.4% of the vote with 89% of votes counted.

Downstate, seven counties asked voters to consider whether they should explore separating from Cook County to form a new state, with all seven voting in favor of similarly phrased referendums.

This result means that 33 counties so far have voted in favor of exploring separation, just under one-third of Illinois’ 102 counties. In total, about 10.9% of Illinois’ population has voted on this issue, with every county where the question appeared on the ballot voting in favor of separation.

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Madison County, which held a referendum on Tuesday, was the closest referendum yet – passing with 56.5% of the vote. The other six counties that voted on Tuesday ranged from about 71% to 77% voting in favor.

 

Chicago-area races

Chicagoans voted – for the first time – for elected school board members. Ten seats were up for grabs this election and the fiercely fought races brought out millions of dollars in spending from candidates and political committees.

As of Wednesday morning, three races were still too close to call. Of the seven where a winner is clear, three went to candidates backed by the Chicago Teachers Union. Three seats were won by candidates endorsed by either the charter school group INCS Action, a political action committee associated with the conservative Illinois Policy Institute or both. The final candidate wasn’t endorsed by any of those groups.

Recent decisions from leaders in Chicago Public Schools have raised questions about what actions the state might have to take in response. Some state Democrats began publicly considering looking at the level of state oversight at CPS following the resignation of its entire board last month amid tensions with Mayor Brandon Johnson and the CTU.

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The election itself follows a fight among state-level Democrats earlier this year that saw competing proposals and a monthslong debate surrounding ethics rules for the reformed board and a timeline on when to hold the board’s first elections.

Other Cook County offices that were up for election were swept by Democrats, including county clerk, circuit court clerk and state’s attorney. Retired judge Eileen O’Neill Burke defeated Republican Bob Fioretti, a former Chicago alderperson, in a closely watched race to replace outgoing State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

The outgoing prosecutor drew national attention for her progressive policies and her office’s handling of the 2019 Jussie Smollett case.

 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

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Live Illinois Election Results 2024

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Live Illinois Election Results 2024


Illinois election results are still being tallied Wednesday morning after an eventful night where several winners have already been announced.

Donald Trump won the race against Kamala Harris, clearing 270 electoral votes to be elected the 47th President of the United States.

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Locally, Eileen O’Neill Burke secured a victory over Bob Fioretti to become Cook County State’s Attorney, replacing Kim Foxx.

Chicago also voted for its first-ever School Board. selecting candidates in eight districts, with two final races being still too close to call.

In Indiana, Republican Mike Braun won the Indiana governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Democrat Jennifer McCormick, a former Republican who split with the party after serving as the state’s schools superintendent.

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2024 Illinois Election Results

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To jump to a specific section, click on the links here (FOX Local Mobile users, please scroll down for results):

U.S. President | U.S. House | Illinois Senate | Illinois House | State’s Attorney | Chicago Elected School Board | Illinois Supreme Court | County Clerk | County Commissioner | County Circuit Court Clerk | County Coroner | Chief Executive Officer | County Auditor | County Board | Recorder of Deeds | Water Reclamation District | Ballot Measures

Illinois Election Results by County

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Cook County | DuPage County | Kane County | Kendall County | Lake County | McHenry County | Will County



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