Chambana Sun

Republican state Senator and gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is not satisfied with the job growth in the Champaign-Urbana region.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from January 2019 until mid-2022, the twin cities added a little over 200 jobs.

“Champaign-Urbana is the only metro region in the state that has seen a positive net gain of jobs under the Pritzker Administration," Bailey said. "In the last four years, the region has gained 219 jobs, which I suppose is better than losing jobs but it is certainly nothing worth celebrating as an accomplishment. Celebrating the 219 jobs added to the Champaign-Urbana region is the equivalent of throwing a parade for the Detroit Lions for going from 3 wins in 2019 to 5 wins in 2020. We can and should be doing better in growing our economy. What our state needs is a governor who is focused on prioritizing Illinois instead of traveling around the country desperately trying to launch a presidential campaign that nobody but J.B. Pritzker seems to care about.”

Champaign-Urbana was the only area in the state that had an increase in employment numbers but only by 0.2% (from 118,669 to 118,888, a difference of 219). The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate employment declines across Illinois from January 2019 to June 2022. Kankakee had the largest decline in employment at 6.4% (from 52,830 to 49,431, a difference of 3,399) and Rockford comes in second with a 6.2% decline in employment numbers (from 158,466 to 148,575, a difference of 9,891). Decatur, like Rockford, dropped by 6.2% (from 46,492 to 43,628, a difference of 2,864), Danville's lowered by 5.3% (from 31,359 to 29,684, a difference of 1,675), Peoria's decreased by 4.5% (from 168,268 to 160,778, a difference of 7,490), Carbondale-Marion's rate decreased by 2.9% (from 57,715 to 56,052, a difference of 1,663), Davenport-Moline-Rock Island's decreased by 2.4% (from 186,409 to 181,871, a difference of 4,538), Chicago-Naperville-Elgin's employment dropped by 1.7% losing 81,556 jobs (from 4,788,931 to 4,707,375). Springfield recorded a 1.5% employment drop (from 102,108 to 100,529, a difference of 1,579), and Bloomington's dropped by 1.2% (from 92,184 to 91,105, a difference of 1,079). 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has recently come under fire from Bailey for tightening rules governing temporary employees like babysitters and caregivers. 

“The last thing we need in Illinois is more red tape, more rules and more regulations," Bailey said according to Prairie State Wire. "If we want to grow our economy and be a leader for jobs and opportunities in the Midwest, we need to prioritize policies that will create jobs, not jeopardize the ones we have. Pritzker’s priorities are misguided. Silly bureaucratic rules won’t grow our economy. Families are wondering how to afford to gas up their cars and purchase basic household necessities and the focus of the Pritzker administration is making sure people fill out time sheets for their nannies? It is no wonder we are losing jobs and opportunities here in Illinois.” 

Corporate offices of many businesses have left Illinois. The most recognized manufacturer of airplanes, Boeing, according to NBC 5 Chicago, would leave the area starting in May. The aerospace giant, which was founded in Washington, relocated to Chicago in 2001. Nearly 16,000 jobs were lost as a result of the epidemic, which is more than 10% of the workforce of the company.

On June 14, Caterpillar announced that Irving, Texas, will become the new location of its corporate headquarters. Caterpillar's chairman and CEO, Jim Umpleby, said that the decision was made with the company's "strategic interest" in mind, the Chicago Tribune reported. Caterpillar claimed that the 230 employees in the headquarters' office would not be impacted.

Chicago City Wire reported that Citadel Securities said its move to Miami from Chicago was based on security concerns. 

“The firms are having difficulty recruiting top talent from across the world to Chicago given the rising and senseless violence in the city,” Zia Ahmed, a Citadel spokesman, told the New York Times. “Talent wants to live in cities where they feel safe.”