Tony Sambo

“I can’t get out. I keep paying the property taxes and the workman’s compensation. They’re out of control. I’m stuck. I can’t get out.

“I have commercial real estate people calling me all the time and they’re like, ‘We’ve got this building in Illinois.’ And I say, ‘No, I’m trying to get to Indiana.’ And they say, ‘Yeah, yeah, we hear ya.’ They agree.

“I can’t find a building yet. I could move right across the border and still do everything here. We could still see my family, we could go see [my wife’s] family. It’s just 10 miles more.

“If we go to Indiana, right across the border, we’re going to get basically a pay increase of $4,000 to $6,000 a year because I don’t have to pay that in property taxes. So now, I can buy that car. We can go on vacation. If you’re right on the edge of making ends meet and all of a sudden you get a $7,000 pay increase, I would go.

“I get [workers’ compensation] quotes. I pay about $100,000 [per year]. In Indiana, I would pay about a third. So I would save about $66,000 for moving 15 miles. I would like to pay my employees more with that extra money. Or buy more equipment to create more jobs … it would be another 60 to 65 jobs.”

Tony Sambo
President, Sawing & Shearing Services Inc.
Blue Island, Illinois