United Airlines to bring 1,300 new jobs to Chicago
By Jennifer BrandelUnited Airlines to bring 1,300 new jobs to Chicago
By Jennifer BrandelUnited Airlines announced Friday that the company is bringing 1,300 new jobs to Chicago. That caps off a topsy turvy week for Chicago business.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says this United Airlines news is just the beginning. “There will be more companies that are investing in their operations here and important in investing in the city of Chicago because of their confidence in the decisions we’re making,” he said.
But the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange are threatening to leave the state. They say high taxes in Illinois could force them to move. In January the corporate tax rate went from 4.8% to 7%.
But Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said yesterday he won’t tolerate corporate shakedowns for tax incentives. Quinn drove the point home saying, “I don’t think anybody likes paying taxes, but that’s the price of having a democracy. We have to have good schools, we need our men and women out there in the streets protecting us from any roaming bands of thugs.”
In Illinois, the CBOE and CME have more than 2,500 employees.