Illinois lawmakers have already expressed frustration with Sears about their decision to close 120 stores across the country after the state approved a massive tax break for the company. Now, the CEO of another Illinois company that benefited from the tax breaks is sounding less-than-grateful.
“I’m embarrassed to live here,” CBOE Holdings Inc. CEO Bill Brodsky told reporters at a media lunch Monday, Crain's Chicago Business reports.
Brodsky was reportedly criticizing the state after Moody’s Investors Service gave Illinois the nation's worst credit rating -- A2 -- last week.
"If he was so concerned about Illinois’ budget problems, then perhaps he shouldn’t have threatened to move his company out of state unless he received a big tax cut," Rich Miller of the Capitol Fax blog pointed out Wednesday.
Indeed, CBOE -- along with Sears and CME Group Inc. -- threatened to leave Illinois unless the General Assembly approved millions of dollars in tax breaks. The breaks will save CBOE an estimated $6 million annually, according to Chicagoist.
Brodsky, a major supporter of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, took a shot at state lawmakers while praising Emanuel for being "willing to tackle real problems."
"The city is taking serious steps to deal with its financial problems," Brodsky said, according to Crain's. "I think the county is taking serious steps to deal with its financial problems. The state has yet to take serious steps to deal with its financial problems."