It’s been a decade since the financial crisis. Since then, Illinois has garnered a name for itself as one of the worst locations to do business in the country among American CEOs.
Development Counsellors International asks hundreds of corporate executives every three years what they think of each of the 50 states. The three surveys since 2008 have seen Illinois’ standing fall to nearly the bottom of their rankings in places they would choose to expand their business.
DCI President Andy Levine says the state was once much better regarded but no more. Illinois had only shown up once among the worst states before the recession. In the three reports since – 2011, 2014, and 2017 – the state placed firmly in third.
At most, 34 percent of the executives asked said Illinois was worse than California and New York. The two coastal states have traded first and second place for two decades, largely due to their high costs of living and tax burdens. In 2011, nearly a quarter of those asked thought Illinois was the worst state in the country to do business. The next two surveys saw 34 and 20 percent of CEOs of the same opinion.
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