Rock Island Today

State Sen. Darren Bailey is alarmed by the number of jobs lost in the Quad Cities area.

Recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Davenport-Moline-Rock Island registered a loss of over 4,000 from January 2019 to June 2022. 

“The Quad Cities area is down 4,538 jobs since J.B. Pritzker took office," Bailey said. "That number is the equivalent of losing an entire small town. Border communities are especially at risk [of] the bad policies of the Pritzker administration because it is easier for Illinois-based businesses to relocate. We are seeing once vibrant communities like Moline and Rock Island slowly deteriorate as more and more jobs slip away. We need a Governor who is focused on jobs, the economy and taxes. J.B. Pritzker should be calling for a Special Session on inflation and the economy but this will never happen because dealing with these issues won’t help him access the national stage to run for president. People’s lives are being ruined because of his terrible policies and he is off campaigning for president in other states. I will be focused on the issues voters in Illinois care about – growing our economy, helping working families cope with inflation and addressing the rise in crime in our state.”

The employment statistics from the Bureau indicate downturns across Illinois from January 2019 to June 2022. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island's decreased by 2.4% (from 186,409 to 181,871, difference of 4,538). 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, difference of 2,864), Danville's employment lowered by 5.3% (from 31,359 to 29,684, difference of 1,675), Peoria's decreased by 4.5% (from 168,268 to 160,778, difference of 7,490), Carbondale-Marion's decreased by 2.9% (from 57,715 to 56,052, difference of 1,663), Chicago-Naperville-Elgin's dropped by 1.7% (from 4,788,931 to 4,707,375, difference of 81,556), Springfield recorded a 1.5% employment drop (from 102,108 to 100,529, difference of 1,579) and Bloomington's decreased by 1.2% (from 92,184 to 91,105, difference of 1,079). Champaign-Urbana was the only area that had an increase in employment numbers but only by 0.2% (from 118,669 to 118,888, a difference of 219).

Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker has recently come under fire from the Xenia Republican senator for tightening rules governing temporary employees like babysitters and caregivers. Bailey argued that “the last thing we need in Illinois is more red tape, more rules and more regulations." 

He also noted that "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,” according to Prairie State Wire. Bailey who is vying to unseat Pritzker vowed to make things right for Illinois.

In recent months. many companies have moved their corporate headquarters outside of Illinois. Beginning in May, Boeing, the most renowned producer of aircraft, announced its departure from the region, NBC 5 Chicago reported. The enormous aerospace business, which had its beginnings in Washington, moved to Chicago in 2001. The COVID-19 outbreak resulted in the loss of close to 16,000 employees or more than 10% of the whole workforce of the organization.

Nearly two months ago, Caterpillar announced that the company headquarters would be moving to Irving, Texas. Jim Umpleby, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, claims that the choice was taken with the company's "strategic interest" in mind. According to a statement from Caterpillar, just the 230 workers at the corporate headquarters would be affected, Chicago Tribune reported.

Citadel Securities noted its move to Miami from Chicago was based on insecurity. 

“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.” 

The company is owned by Pritzker's vociferous opponent, billionaire Ken Griffin who funded Richard Irvin with $50 million in his campaign.