OT: Caterpillar threatening to leave Illinois!

[tornado]

Speaking of taxes...

"ILLINOIS HAS HIGHEST OVERALL TAX BURDEN IN THE NATION"
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illin...in-the-nation/

but I guess it's still not enough...they wanna destroy our state even more...

"legislators in the state .. passed the monstrosity of a budget. ..included a 32 percent increase in the income tax rate and other gouges"

https://conservativedailypost.com/illinois-democrats-tell-residents-quit-complaining-taxes-raised-32/

Meanwhile
"Chicago Public Schools??™ Debt Exceeds $17 Billion"

http://www.jeanneives.org/2017/07/chicago-public-schools-debt-exceeds-17_21.html

[tornado]

and


The PJS now has a story about Star...
Even thought the sale of Star is over a year ago - and all those trucks have disappeared...
The PJS just now has this article...
Story titled
"MORTON TRUCKING COMPANY APPEARS CLOSED" (BY Steve Stein)
http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150318/NEWS/150319059

The "infamous" Star Trucking site, after a couple years sitting empty - has now been acquired and will be the new home to Growmark

http://www.pjstar.com/news/20171124/growmark-takes-over-former-trucking-company-in-morton

Funny - tho, the PJS still claims "The former Star Leasing Services trucking company at 240 W. Ashland St., which closed suddenly in March 2015.."
...which is so silly. The only thing sudden was that it suddenly got noticed in March of 2015 by PJS.

But as you can see from the reports on BradleyFans - the process of moving all of Star's trucks out of state was pretty much all done in 2013-2014..
and even before 2015 the place was empty, closed & shuttered....as could readily be seen by anyone driving past it on I-74, but the PJS appears to be the last to find out.

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showpost.php?p=300617&postcount=75

[battlebasset]

Speaking of taxes...

"ILLINOIS HAS HIGHEST OVERALL TAX BURDEN IN THE NATION"
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illin...in-the-nation/

From NJ, I feel your pain. We just elected Phil Murphy as governor, who has stated that he plans to raise taxes by $1.3 billion. My property values were still 20% off of what I paid I paid in 2005. This will put the nail in the coffin. We can fully join the exclusive club of CA, IL, CT, NY, MA, MD.

I often challenge people to pay attention to the age of people as the go about their daily lives in NJ, and notice the lack of anyone that looks to be over 70. As soon as people can, they leave, taking their income, pension and tax paying status with them.

[tornado]

10-20% of taxpayers account for 70-80% of the taxes paid
51% of "taxpayers" do not pay any taxes at all

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/05/51-of-americans-pay-no-federal-income-taxes/238329/

https://www.democraticwhip.gov/content/fact-check-tax-framework-edition

if you raise taxes more, you will just create more loss of jobs, more bankruptcies, and more people leaving the state..

The whole reason the owner of STAR TRUCKING packed up, moved his business to another state then left is because of the high Illinois taxes...
somehow they think that must get them more revenue but as you can see- now they get FAR less from Star Trucking and the other several hundreds of businesses who have left the state

if a family has financial trouble they look to stop waste and cut spending but not a government - they just look to add more taxes
I spent my entire adult life as a small business owner and employer. Taxes are what is killing small businesses and even bigger ones like Star Trucking.
It should be the state's PRIMARY goal to help and foster these businesses, instead of slamming them and treating them like the enemy.
People in business will just stop working, live off savings, and thus stop paying more taxes....that's what I do now... it just isn't productive for me to bust my *** just to have it taken away by the corrupt people in government.

[Chico]

Gotta take care of the freeloaders somehow.

[tornado]

Like most people, I don't mind if my tax dollars take care of the really needy, foster kids, etc...
what I object to is my tax dollars given to un-deserving, the millionaires and the crooked politicians...

[Chico]

Like most people, I don't mind if my tax dollars take care of the really needy, foster kids, etc...
what I object to is my tax dollars given to un-deserving, the millionaires and the crooked politicians...

I don't begrudge the big money people. Most of them have earned what they have. I begrudge the ones who have 9 kids and can't afford 1. Who ends up paying for them? All taxpayers, not just the millionaires.

[tornado]

in another story that is tied to the city using taxpayer money to help private businesses....

now we have two Kroger food stores in Peoria closing (Wisconsin Ave. & Harmon Hwy).
The PJStar interviewed city council people and of course they all decry how sad this is and it hurts low-income people, etc...
Then they talk to Kroger officials who say NEITHER STORE has been profitable for 15 years so how can you expect the company to keep them open?

But what happened 15 years ago the tipped the scale and caused profitable stores to become unprofitable? Interestingly,
it was the city government stepping in and spending taxpayer dollars to help Cub Foods get started then fail.

Hmm...anyone remember this fiasco?

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20090112/NEWS/301129916

Well, 15 years ago the Peoria city council gave $5.5 million of taxpayer dollars to Cub Foods to open their store on Knoxville, which didn't last long, as the store failed and remains empty and an eyesore to this day!!
But that hurt the other Krogers, who then had to cut staff, trim options, discontinue unprofitable brands, etc - all of which cause fewer and fewer people to shop there and thus the slippery slope.

Then in come the megastores -
nobody likes shopping at them but it's easier for them to remain profitable so they stay open

There's a lot of other factors, but over and over I see how every time the city or local government gets involved picking favorites and spending taxpayer dollars to help a private venture - it seems they always end up huge failures and then cost the city even more. But they never learn.
Again- disclaimer: I do not live in Peoria County, but I do love the city and I do shop there. I have listed (in this thread & others) at least a dozen different times the city has spent public funds to help a private business and virtually every time it has been a disaster - with the only excepts being the recent ones that haven't yet had time to become disasters - or we haven't found out yet that they are. I just think the government should NOT give hard working taxpayers' money to private businesses - or at least let the people vote on it or do it by a fair bidding manner.

[Chico]

Blame everybody or thing but don??™t blame one of the main reasons. Crime.

[Da Coach]

From someone who works for Kroger, I have heard the biggest factor that makes those 2 Kroger stores uniquely unprofitable is a severe theft and burglary problem. That is what has doomed many stores in those areas. Remember Aldi on South Western that closed 4 years ago? Same thing.

[tornado]

the Kroger on Wisconsin has an interesting anti-theft concept....
they have a wheel-locking mechanism on their shopping carts that is like those electronic "invisible fences" for dogs...
If anyone takes a cart more than about 20 feet from the front door- the wheels lock and you can't go further - you have to pull your car up and load.

[Chico]

the Kroger on Wisconsin has an interesting anti-theft concept....
they have a wheel-locking mechanism on their shopping carts that is like those electronic "invisible fences" for dogs...
If anyone takes a cart more than about 20 feet from the front door- the wheels lock and you can't go further - you have to pull your car up and load.

Good luck if your groceries are still there when come back to load.

[tornado]

LOL- this is great...
ILLINOIS leads the NATION in the percent of it's population who believe their state is the WORST state to live in!!

https://twitter.com/alecsenna/status/952028207917580288

[tornado]

Caterpillar closing more plants and possibly one in Illinois

http://www.pantagraph.com/business/local/cat-closings-impact-jobs-illinois-plant-could-be-next/article_76032f14-dc78-5691-bc01-1bff7817af0c.html

[Chico]

Big Yellow phony strikes again.