GRANITE CITY, IL (March 26, 2015) – In the wake of Wednesday’s announcement that U.S. Steel Corp. is temporarily closing operations in Granite City and laying off 2,080 steelworkers, state and local officials should explore what policy changes could make the border town more attractive to business. In an article published today, an expert in economic competitiveness from the Illinois Policy Institute has several suggestions.

Granite City – and all towns facing hurdles to economic growth – should consider enacting local Right-to-Work laws to bolster economic development and attract jobs. State officials should use the announcement from U.S. Steel as an opportunity to reform workers’ compensation costs.

“In the past three years, both Indiana and Michigan have enacted Right-to-Work laws and added more than 35,000 manufacturing jobs to their economies respectively. In that same time, Illinois has lost more than 2,000 manufacturing jobs, not including the Granite City layoffs,” said Michael Lucci, the director of jobs and growth at the Illinois Policy Institute. “However, there are significant positive changes that can be made to stop the economic decline of the state. Enacting local Right-to-Work laws in areas such as Granite City, and reforming and reducing workers’ compensation costs on a statewide basis are positive changes that will produce growth on the local and statewide level.”

The announcement from U.S. Steel will cost 2,000 jobs. In Granite City, fewer than 13,000 people are employed. It has been reported that U.S. Steel is maintaining its plant operations in Michigan, Indiana, Alabama and Pennsylvania – a telling sign that the suggested policy solutions could be effective. Each of those states have much lower workers’ compensation costs. Furthermore, Michigan, Indiana and Alabama all have Right-to-Work laws. Both are significant factors in these states’ economic growth relative to Illinois.

Illinois has the seventh-highest workers’ compensation costs in the nation. Illinois also has suffered major jobs losses to neighboring Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Indiana, all of which have Right-to-Work laws. Enacting local Right-to-Work laws, which Granite City is able to do immediately, has been shown to dramatically improve local economies and spur job growth significantly.

The article published by Michael Lucci is available online here: illinoispolicy.org/state-and-local-policy-solutions-can-help-granite-city-keep-steel-in-town/

For interviews: Nathaniel Hamilton 312-346-5700 x202