Federal Court Vacates Shakman Decree
In a decision released earlier this morning, the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Shakman decrees that placed court oversight of state employment in Illinois. Beginning in 1972, the original Shakman decree was put into place to prevent the State of Illinois and units of local government from making employment decisions based on political support.
In a 17-page decision, the Court wrote that the Governor's office has implemented several remedies to prevent patronage concerns in the State's hiring process. The Court also cited the lack of a significant violation of the decree over the past decade. Finally, the Court said that the "principles of federalism" do not allow for a federal court to monitor a governor's hiring practices for decades in a situation like this.
It is still too early to determine how this decision will impact the hiring and retention of major executive branch officials. The Shakman process, which often takes as long as a year to make a hire, has been cited as a major hindrance to the attraction of top talent for high level state jobs.
Read the full decision here.
Illinois Chamber Joins US Chamber in Opposition to the "Inflation Reduction Act."
Today, the Illinois Chamber Joined the US Chamber along with business organizations across the country in opposing the so-called "inflation reduction act" that is being negotiated in Congress. Provided below is the letter that the Chamber signed onto.
To the Members of the United States Congress:
The undersigned chambers of commerce and business organizations from across the United States urge you to oppose the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This legislation includes taxes that would discourage investment and undermine economic growth and price controls that would limit American innovation. Despite the name of the bill, independent analysis confirms that it would have little to no impact on inflation and may in fact increase inflationary pressure in the near-term.
While we understand that various elements of the legislation are being updated, we continue to believe that the following provisions make this legislation unworkable:
- Enacting the proposed Corporate Book Minimum Tax would be the antithesis of sound tax policy and administration. Its introduction would be neither simple nor administrable and would pose a competitive disadvantage to U.S.-headquartered businesses while increasing the incidence of unrelieved double taxation. It would also have a detrimental effect on the quality of financial reporting.
- The excise tax on stock buybacks would only distort the efficient movement of capital to where it can be put to best use and diminish the value of Americans’ retirement savings.
- New price controls on pharmaceuticals would significantly reduce private sector investment in new research. Not only would this provision reduce jobs and hurt the economy, but the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that it will stifle the introduction of 15 new drugs over the next 30 years.
This is the absolute wrong time to increase taxes on American job creators or implement price controls on American innovators. We urge Congress to reject this misguided legislative package.
We will keep you updated on this important legislative matter as the process in DC continues to unfold.
President & CEO Maisch Talks the Economy on the Illinoize Podcast
On Wednesday, Illinois Chamber President and CEO Todd Maisch joined Patrick Pfingsten on the Illinoize livestream/podcast to discuss numerous topics over the lunch hour. Todd spoke on the current status of the Illinois economy, big business leaving and coming to Illinois, and how rural downstate communities can be revitalized. The conversation also touched on energy policy and the upcoming "workers rights amendment" that will appear on the November ballot.
View the entire episode here.
