Chambana Sun

Illinois State Rep. Chris Miller recently pointed out that another company is leaving Illinois.

"In January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back at assertions that businesses are leaving the state due to violent crime. But the number of residents and businesses that are moving out is hard to ignore," Miller wrote in a March 6 Facebook post. "More proof of how JB Pritzker and the Democrats are failing to effectively help our state."

In his Facebook post, Miller shared a link to a My Stateline news article about Stellantis leaving Illinois. According to the article, Stellantis is the parent company of automakers: Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, and Ram, along with European manufacturers Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Vauxhall and others. The last vehicle rolled off the manufacturing lines of the Belvidere plant on Feb. 28.

Carlos Taveres, CEO of the company formed by combining Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Peugeot, said Stellantis is “looking for solutions” for Belvidere, which now has no new vehicle to build, according to the Associated Press, which also noted the Belvidere plant had a staff of 1,300 employees at the time of the closure.

Stellantis is only the latest company to leave Illinois for greener pastures. According to My Stateline, Construction manufacturer Caterpillar has left Illinois for Texas, and aerospace company Boeing has also decided to shutter operations in the state. Immediately following the Belvidere plant closure, Stellantis announced the development of three plants in Kokomo, Indiana to produce electric drive modules for future electric vehicles.

As for J.B. Pritzker, his trip to Davos was a time to tout his accomplishments - the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, and Rebuild Illinois in particular, according to ABC 7 News.

Born June 15, 1954, Chris Miller is an Illinois state representative first elected to the House in 2018, according to the Illinois House. A Republican, his legislative experience includes serving on the International Trade & Commerce and International Trade & Commerce.