Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Other Losses

Illinois isn't just bleeding millionaires. It's bleeding factories:
  • When Marty Flaska moved his forklift-manufacturing business to Illinois 18 years ago, he didn’t think to look at the cost of operating in other states. In 2014, out of curiosity, his son ran the numbers.

    “I didn’t believe him,” said the elder Flaska. His son told him that a short drive east would save the business $2 million a year.

    Thus began the journey of Hoist Liftruck to greener pastures in Indiana; a move that resulted from policy mistakes that have made the Land of Lincoln a laggard state when it comes to forging well-paying manufacturing jobs.

    On March 31, Flaska cut the ribbon on a massive facility in East Chicago, Ind., the new home of Hoist. The Indiana factory will house nearly 300 manufacturing jobs transplanted from Bedford Park, as well as 200 new jobs Flaska plans to create. The average salary for one of those positions is $55,000.
The entire article is an eyeopener....if you've had your eyes shut for the past few years we mean. Those of us who pay attention and work(ed) the blighted areas of Chicago, have seen manufacturing fleeing for years now. Anyone traveling south has seen abandoned suburban properties as light industry (and heavier industry) left Cook County, then northeastern Illinois and finally the state itself. And until Illinois becomes more business-friendly, expect this trend to continue.

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57 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The Indiana factory will house nearly 300 manufacturing jobs transplanted from Bedford Park..."

Bedford Park used to run a massive radio advertising blitz trying to attract new businesses there. As industrially-suited as anyplace you could find.

I haven't heard those ads for a long time now...it's a tragedy.

4/20/2016 12:50:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not just manufacturing, SCC.

I owned a high-tech, Class C Corporation for 26 years in Illinois. I dissolved it and shrunk it to a sole-proprietorship. Tired of paying all those "corporate fees" and the annual Illinois Corporate Franchise tax that just kept going up - what did I get from those fees?

If I decide to re-incorporate, it WON'T be in Illinois.

Maybe I will just "coast" to retirement and never re-incorporate.

4/20/2016 12:51:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://capitolfax.com/2016/04/12/seeing-what-they-want-to-see-2/

You'll note the BIG incentive money Indiana threw at them....which is not mentioned

"* The story is confirmed, but the Institute left out a detail…

Indiana is giving the company up to $8.25 million in tax credits as a reward for the hiring, and $200,000 for employee training. East Chicago, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority and NIPSCO also are offering additional incentives."

4/20/2016 01:05:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As long as Darth Madigan
and his minions are in charge,
Illinois will NEVER prosper again.

People are leaving and they're making
a conscious decision to avoid other
democrat controlled states and urban areas.

Go to these horrible places if you hate freedom,
hate progress and are ok with your dreams and aspirations
being murdered before your eyes.

This is what THEY wrought.

4/20/2016 01:08:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's OK. To make up for the loss, democrats will just raise taxes.

There, you see? Problem solved.

4/20/2016 01:25:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I truly can't wait to leave this degenerate, communist state behind.

4/20/2016 01:26:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How many manufacturing jobs did we get when Boeing Aircraft moved here.

Does anyone think that Boeing's founder Bill Boeing would have separated the executive and planning departments from the production plants in Washington State. Hell no, he couldn't visit the floor and hear the machinery and smell the oil.

But Shortshanks got the millionaires here, but not the blue collar workers.
Richie killed the economic engine of Meigs Field when it could have been made into the crown jewel of urban aviation.

Richie chased the factories out so his campaign contributors could develop the land for "Luxury Condos" and storage facilities. Then made this a Sanctuary City to fill up those places.

4/20/2016 01:50:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

lol... the city is about to hire

4/20/2016 02:06:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

in about 10 to 15 years, you will see the Chinese get their shit together and be able to manufacture better iron works... 20 years from now, this guys company will be belly up. I am not talking shit, just reality... since 1989 to today, china has stole its way to catch up with the west, it is amazing. 1989, china was full of bikes... today, they have 5 lane mega highways.

In the mean time, Chicago is having a problem just finding someone to take a cop job.

4/20/2016 02:12:00 AM  
Anonymous Big Tinley said...

To those who are feeling any hopelessness about your future. If you're reading this blog you are probably a resident of Chicago, or the surrounding area. I travel a lot and I see other parts of the country. It seems the world has gone insane and that is confirmed by everything we see around us. But this is not the case everywhere. Chicago, and also Illinois, are the result of decades long awful government. The world seems especially crazy to many of us because we are in the absolute worst of it. Try thinking "outside the box." (state lines)

4/20/2016 02:21:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Americans should be glad he stopped in Indiana, and didn't keep going to Mexico, China, or some other place with low wages, less regulation, and even less graft than Crook County.

4/20/2016 02:38:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Want to bet that many of his best workers followed him to Indiana?

The kind that have good kids that do well in schools, and want their children to do better than they have.

4/20/2016 02:43:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do not worry, the owners and the workers will be replaced in Illinois by illegal immigrants and refugees from Africa and the Mid-East. Because Diversity is more valuable than high paying jobs.

4/20/2016 02:50:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a concept! Move to Indiana and still be less than 30 minutes from downtown Chicago and save 2 million dollars a year for the company and create 200 more high paying jobs! I think the casino buses running back and forth from all points in Chicago is doing the same thing. No wonder this city will never get a casino either! Stupid Politicians! Trump is right about politicians being STUPID in Illinois!

4/20/2016 04:41:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Illinois is a shining example of what the Democrats can do for the Country. We have overspent tax payers money and got nothing. We coddle the criminal. Our leaders are corrupt. That what a Democrat can do . They have run this state into the ground. Why do the voters keep putting them in?

The Nation needs to take a good look at Illinois. This is where the Democrats can and will take them. If you want to believe that whole 1% nonsense they keep pushing, ask yourself how the politicians have all become millionaires while at the public trough. Now ask yourself if your position in life is better or worse in the last 7 years, please include you 401K.

4/20/2016 05:32:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good for Flask, he is not the only one who is outta here.....but it will be on my terms when I am ready. People are going to vote with their feet and there is no way Pols are going to stop it.

4/20/2016 06:32:00 AM  
Blogger SpankDaddy said...

East Chicago is a shithole.

4/20/2016 06:50:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep voting Democrat.
Wisconsin and Indiana are counting on it....

4/20/2016 06:57:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And Madigan gave a 10 minute speech on how Rauner was the problem.

4/20/2016 07:08:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whens Barracco Pizza opening?

4/20/2016 07:43:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I moved from Chicago to PA and I was surprised how many Chicago expats were here. PA has a well educated workforce and lower taxes than IL. Lots of outdoor recreation here. The state is actually gaining people. There are barely any illegal immigrants here too which is good for the state budget.

It's sad Illinois is run so poorly.

4/20/2016 07:54:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why would anyone want to move away from liberal utopia Chicago or Illinois?

4/20/2016 07:54:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Look around and see all of the new factorys going up. They are only warehouse facilities . Not a manufacturing job in any of them. Keep voting democrats dummies, and then cry about losing employment.

4/20/2016 08:00:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

45 minutes from Chicago right across the border is the town of Pleasant Prarie, Wisconsin, outlet malls, 5 1/2 % sales tax no extra tax on beer or liquor, no tolls, gas 30 to 40 cents a gallon cheaper. RDO take a ride with the family, fill up, buy your groceries and beer and screw Illinois out of the tax money. You'll feel better. ♠️

4/20/2016 08:03:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

23 million over payments to CPS.
Feds asking for funds to be returned from CPS.

CPS almost bankrupt and borrowing money to just pay bills.
Bet this pushes them into bankruptcy.

4/20/2016 08:04:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Detroit has set a shining example for Chicago to follow. But of course Chicago Democrats have to do things bigger and better. Not only are they destroying the largest cities in the state, they are taking down the entire state.

4/20/2016 08:07:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

SCC how do you explain the fact that in Chicago a lot of rich folks are moving in? Lots of new luxury apartment rental buildings are being built. Lots of new single family houses, condos and townhouses are being built. They ain't cheap other. Don't believe me? Open your eyes and look around.

4/20/2016 08:34:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A family member owes his own business. He was approached (unsolicited) by Indiana and Wisconsin the incentives would have at 1 million a year. They went to the governor's business liaison. They were told in short order "GFY and leave, we don't care". But hey at least Illinois has their finances in order........ Oh wait.

4/20/2016 08:53:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bought a used car for my kid,250.00 bullshit tax just for cook county.....Around 500.00 total for plates and city sticker..

4/20/2016 08:54:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Indiana is giving the company up to $8.25 million in tax credits as a reward for the hiring, and $200,000 for employee training. East Chicago, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority and NIPSCO also are offering additional incentives.

What? The bus boys and waitresses in Indiana had to give the Flaska family some of their wages ? The captains of industry are lying thieves.

4/20/2016 08:57:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's place the blame squarely where it belongs: Michael Madigan.

Call the next case. Not a cop.

4/20/2016 09:02:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fa get about it, Business Friendly is not a democrat concept.

4/20/2016 09:05:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In twenty years you are going to see a revolution against the Communist regime. China can only flirt with being a capitalistic country for so long. People are getting the taste of money and freedom. Everyone on Earth eventually aspires to be a big fat wealthy American!

4/20/2016 09:44:00 AM  
Anonymous scooter46 said...

And don't forget....if you are lucky enough to create a business that manages to survive in spite of the Illinois politicians, "You didn't build that"!

4/20/2016 10:20:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So Indiana is offering tax incentives to bring in jobs? Big deal. They will more than make up for it.

4/20/2016 10:37:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The solution is so simple yet the idiots running this state have no clue.

4/20/2016 10:39:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not even just the blighted areas, look at all the manufacturing that used to happen on Northwest highway. Or along the river between Belmont Montrose.

4/20/2016 10:42:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am happy they decided not to go to mexico like so many others. Clintons NAFTA deal is taking the good paying mfg jobs away all the time. Why do you think he got rich on all those speaking fees. payback! The other states are trying to take jobs from the high tax, high regulation states by offering incentives and a lower tax rate. This country has energy reserves now due to fracking that the US could be a mfg powerhouse again if we had politicians that were in it for the people rather than what they could get. It might be too late for Illinois as the lefties have got the state at the brink. Chicago is pretty much toast.

4/20/2016 10:55:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Too little, too late.The bus is leaving ladies and gentlemen.I grew up in Chicago,then the Great Society came along and ate everything.Pity.

4/20/2016 11:02:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
http://capitolfax.com/2016/04/12/seeing-what-they-want-to-see-2/

You'll note the BIG incentive money Indiana threw at them....which is not mentioned

"* The story is confirmed, but the Institute left out a detail…

Indiana is giving the company up to $8.25 million in tax credits as a reward for the hiring, and $200,000 for employee training. East Chicago, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority and NIPSCO also are offering additional incentives."

4/20/2016 01:05:00 AM


Nothing sinister...
If we recall correctly, Indiana has a balanced budget
Amendment in their state constitution AND they've
been running a surplus for the last several years.

It seems they at least, do not have elected thieves
with the keys to the state treasury.

Illinois on the other hand...

Well... To put it delicately,
the Illinois enema bag needs a
good, hard stomp to flush out
the deeply embedded arch-criminals
like Madigan and Cullerton.

Once they're finally sealed in specimen jars,
Illinois can divest itself of a goodly portion of
those 7000+ governing bodies.

Can there ever be a scaffold built
large enough to stretch all the necks
that richly deserve stretching?

The whole of Illinois north of I-70
would be turned into howling desert
If enough of the mature trees were to
be used to mill the boards to accomplish this.

4/20/2016 11:52:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe Illinois could save a ton of money if it outsourced it's prisons to Indiana.

4/20/2016 11:56:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep voting democratic and this is what you get. The politicians are just a reflexion of the stupid voters they represent. Oh yes stay fetal.

4/20/2016 12:55:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So speaking of jobs, can somebody FOIA to see who supplies the city with Tazer International's proprietary parts (cartreges, batteries) to see which bosses owns that. I got a line on "subject matter experts" steering department that way for stock options to be exercised post retirement, retirement jobs awaiting them, and selling parts to local law enforcement. The cameras are supposedly tazer made also. That's a lot of paper trails signed off on this stuff. Is tazer vending this stuff to the city directly or through a 3rd party.

4/20/2016 01:22:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What is most important is clean-green energy and the fight against global warming. All these manufacturing jobs do is increase greenhouse gases and raise global temperatures.

4/20/2016 01:29:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Word to the clueless: Millionaires own factories. When the millionaires leave, why would they want to spend $$$ commuting to a factory in a State they haven't deemed worthy of staying in?

4/20/2016 03:02:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Illinois is deader than disco. As long as theiving politicians keep bleeding people dry, Indiana and Wisconsin will be prime spots. I hate this shit hole state and can't hardly wait to retire. Even my kids know not to come back when college is over.

4/20/2016 03:10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Rust Belt is making a comeback.
Was passing through the Clybourn Corridor (how trndy) last week and boy what a change.
Factories and warehouses all converted into bars,restaurants and designer anything.
I remember as a kid riding around the Finkle foundry and watching these huge trucks carrying red hot slabs of steel along North Ave. or the Turtle Wax factory, hey what happened to Solly's?!
Every big industry and small assembly factory is long gone and chased away with the high tax rates and a Daley chasing out the businesses for condo apartment complexes.
it might be 20 years before Illinois can start to be industrially viable. But it's not going to happen if the Dems keep borrowing and building roads to nowhere.

4/20/2016 06:12:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...


You'll note the BIG incentive money Indiana threw at them....which is not mentioned

4/20/2016 01:05:00 AM

----------------

And what you don’t mention is that Illinois has been giving big corporations even bigger incentives to stay in the state:

http://watchdog.org/114216/adm-chicago/

http://www.advfn.com/nyse/StockNews.asp?stocknews=CAT&article=50426516

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120222/BLOGS06/120229968

…..and it’s still not enough.

And forgive me for saying this, but you really should stop reading Mike Madigan’s Personal Apologia Bl…….I mean Capitolfax.

That silly pinko trash will rot your mind.

4/20/2016 06:21:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...


45 minutes from Chicago right across the border is the town of Pleasant Prarie, Wisconsin, outlet malls, 5 1/2 % sales tax no extra tax on beer or liquor, no tolls, gas 30 to 40 cents a gallon cheaper. RDO take a ride with the family, fill up, buy your groceries and beer and screw Illinois out of the tax money. You'll feel better. ♠️

4/20/2016 08:03:00 AM

You forgot Mars Cheese Castle, just up the road.

4/20/2016 06:24:00 PM  
Anonymous Spotted Cow Fan said...

45 minutes from Chicago right across the border is the town of Pleasant Prarie, Wisconsin, outlet malls, 5 1/2 % sales tax no extra tax on beer or liquor, no tolls, gas 30 to 40 cents a gallon cheaper. RDO take a ride with the family, fill up, buy your groceries and beer and screw Illinois out of the tax money. You'll feel better. ♠️

4/20/2016 08:03:00 AM


Does this poster know, or anyone know, can you get Spotted Cow here? Or do I need to go further north?

Thank you.

����

4/20/2016 06:29:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So speaking of jobs, can somebody FOIA to see who supplies the city with Tazer International's proprietary parts (cartreges, batteries) to see which bosses owns that. I got a line on "subject matter experts" steering department that way for stock options to be exercised post retirement, retirement jobs awaiting them, and selling parts to local law enforcement. The cameras are supposedly tazer made also. That's a lot of paper trails signed off on this stuff. Is tazer vending this stuff to the city directly or through a 3rd party.
4/20/2016 01:22:00 PM
==============================
Sure! Anyone can FOIA the city - letters are sent to our district all the time from shitheads in prison trying to FOIA their arrest; get on it and let us know...
And yes, the cameras are the Taser Axon models. Charging racks for 300+ cameras are being installed in 015 as we speak. Funny we have nowhere near 300 assigned...

4/20/2016 09:35:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All those luxury high rise apartments being built aren't for all the rich people moving to Illinois fool!..they're being built for all
of the welfare slugs waiting in line for a section 8 "super voucher "

Thanks Obama.

4/20/2016 10:54:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Not even just the blighted areas, look at all the manufacturing that used to happen on Northwest Highway."

4/20/2016 10:42:00 AM

The ones I can remember easily are -- concrete burial vault maker, large printing operation, surgical instruments, electronic plating, heat-sealing equipment, wood products, machine embroidery (like shoulder patches & emblems), automotive electronic equipment, Wen power tools plant...and that was just around 2000. All gone, and I know that there are many more departed businesses listed in my 1959 directory.

You stopped seeing guys in oily work pants and boots, and started seeing trendy young couples with kerchiefs and sunglasses on the dog and a fancy quick-release-everything baby carriage. Kiss of death. There went the factories -- and the neighborhood drugstore, the bank branch, the hot dog place, everything those workers supported. Away went the apartments where the workers could afford to live, and in came the condos.

Away went the workers. So much upheaval, so much expense, so much worry, so much of the quiet suffering you never hear about...

4/20/2016 11:07:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Someone mentioned Wisconsin and Indiana. Uline Corporation has to have the largest warehouse in the country in Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin. It has to be at least 4 city blocks long. They are finishing building a second twin warehouse right next door to the first one. It will open soon and emply who knows how many people.

Amazon Corporation recently built a distribution facility in Kenosha Wisconsin. It too is huge. You can see it when you drive on I94 as it goes through Kenosha. But what you cannot see is that there is another building on the east side of the one visible on I94. It too is huge and as big as the one visible from I94.

I've talked to some government planners in Wisconsin. The goal is to create a metropolitian area that extends south from Milwaukee all the way to the Illinois/Wisconsin border and west out to US 45. Those planners said that things are going very well and that they are happy to see businesses reloctaing from Illinois to Wisconsin. They entice them of course through various means but one of the things they do not do is increase the tax rate or income rate on the people that own businesses. From where I sit it looks as though their plan is succeeding.

4/21/2016 07:32:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Have to go to Woodman's Grocery Store off of Highway 50 and 94. Gigantic and great prices.

4/21/2016 09:09:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just drove around the Bedford Park industrial corridor, from 65-74 street,many empty buildings huge amounts of "for sale/lease" signs everywhere! look at Chicago go to the east side, say east 83rd street drive around (If you are armed) so many things gone, drive under the viaducts falling concrete in the roadway (be careful), why doesn't crazy Lucas build his ugly white elephant star wars fiasco on the southeast side, plenty of cheap development space would help to revitalize a blighted area, the lake front near soldier field don't need any of this, it would cause more traffic nightmares and ruin any views of the lakefront all you would see is this big ugly blob! Think George you and melody could help the poor people build it over there, no one cares about your "legacy" we know rahms hollywood brother is pushing rahm lets hope the taxpayers finally win, if you don't like that area George take it to Ari Emanuel hometown California the land of fruits and nuts would like that building over there!

4/21/2016 03:11:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ask US Rep. Dan Lipinski {IL-3}how he feels, since he helped Hoist Lift Truck, {Marty Flaska}get a $925 million dollar contract from the federal govt.to build fork lifts for the military back in 2013, {5 year contract}. Hoist Lift Truck employees went from 75 to 300 , all local citizens I'm sure, now he just has a skeleton crew on hand in Bedford Park to handle parts, politics.... go figure

4/22/2016 10:21:00 AM  

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