Fresh off major legislative wins, including a new multibillion-dollar capital bill that will pour tens of millions of dollars into the south and southwest suburbs, Gov. J.B. Pritzker told area business leaders Tuesday that the state is a “good partner for you.”
The Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce event, held at the Tinley Park Convention Center, was attended by some 200 people, including several state legislators, mayors and other local elected officials.
The governor said that new initiatives such as tax incentives are aimed at creating opportunities “to make it easier for you to do business in the state.”
“If we help (your businesses) grow, it will help us grow the entire economy,” he said.
Glenwood Mayor Ron Gardiner, chairman of the business organization, said in introducing Pritzker that it was refreshing having a governor who recognizes the Southland, a reference to former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s opposition to plans for a third regional airport that would be located in the far south suburbs.
Taking the stage, Pritzker said, “I recognized the Southland existed long before I became governor,” noting stops he made in the region during his campaign to unseat Rauner.
Touting what he called “one of the most consequential, bipartisan legislative sessions” in recent state history, Pritzker said that “Illinois has all the ingredients for stability and economic success.”
“We’re transforming our state,” he said. “We’re changing this state for the better.”
Touching on the $45 billion capital program, Rebuild Illinois, Pritzker said it’s intended to correct “decades of disinvestment and passing the buck” on infrastructure repairs and improvements.
The program will focus on “repairing what’s broken and building what’s needed,” he said.
Pritzker said the Rebuild Illinois plan will create about 500,000 jobs over its six years.
“This is a jobs plan as much as anything else,” he said.
The appropriation includes funding for big-ticket items, such as $848 million to expand I-80 in Will County and rebuild bridges over the Des Plaines River.
Suburbs such as Blue Island, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Markham and Richton Park are in line for hundreds of thousands of dollars for infrastructure work such as streets and sewers.
Along with the capital bill, the General Assembly approved a massive gambling expansion that will give the south suburbs an opportunity for a casino as well as a racino, combining harness racing and gambling.
It will keep in the Southland tourism and hospitality dollars that for “far too long have gone to Indiana” casinos, Pritzker said.
The racino is being proposed for the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center property while several south suburbs are courting potential casino operators.
Despite the legislative accomplishments, Illinois still faces challenges, with high property taxes, particularly in the south suburbs, at or near the top of the list, the governor acknowledged.
A legislative task force has been created to study ways of easing the tax burden, with proposals being presented during the fall legislative session.
During his campaign, Pritzker said that if Illinois voters approve a constitutional amendment that would overhaul the state income tax, revenue generated from the change could help in reducing the property tax burden. The graduated-rate income tax amendment question will be on the ballot in November 2020.
The governor has said that a revamp of the income tax system could increase funding for education, with the hope that schools would, in turn, freeze or reduce what they seek annually in property taxes.
Schools generally make up the largest portion of a property owner’s tax bill.
Speaking after the governor’s remarks, Gardiner said he expected the capital bill, which will provide money for infrastructure work in his community, to be a boost for the Southland on many levels.
“In the south suburbs, the infrastructure is aging,” he said. “There has been a lot of deferred maintenance.”
Rebuild Illinois also allocates $162 million for road improvements and utility extensions to connect the site of the long-proposed South Suburban Airport to Interstate 57 near Monee.
Having that infrastructure in place, Gardiner said, will be a “precursor to be able to move forward with the airport.”
