Metro East Sun

Last week, Tyson Foods announced it would be relocating its corporate employees in Chicago and Downers Grove- as well as Dakota Dunes South Dakota - to Springdale, Arkansas. Tyson, the largest meat packing company by sales, did not give specific reasoning for their move, but potential factors could be crime, taxes, and a trend of moving away from large cities.

According to Reuters, Tyson Foods’ decision will relocate about 1,000 corporate employees from its Illinois and South Dakota offices to Arkansas. The corporate giant employs 120,000 nationwide with 114,000 working in production plants.

Reuters reported that Tyson will begin a “phased relocation” of the employees starting early next year. The company believes the move will promote better collaboration and decision-making, as the Tyson family, who founded Tyson Foods, and several top executives have been based in Arkansas for a long time.

Tyson Foods’ decision to move marks the third Fortune 500 company to leave Illinois this year following Boeing, who moved its headquarters to Virginia from Chicago, and Caterpillar moving its headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois to Texas

“Insider politicians like Katie Stuart and her allies in Springfield are doing everything they can to make living, working, and running a business in Illinois unaffordable,” Jennifer Korte. candidate for the Illinois House to represent District 112, told Metro East Sun. “The Democrat supermajority has raised taxes and imposed burdensome regulations that have skyrocketed everyday people’s cost of living and drastically increased the cost of doing business. That’s why it’s not surprising that yet another large employer is leaving our state. In the Metro East, we’re all too familiar with this trend of businesses relocating or closing. Companies such as US Steel in Granite City will see job losses within the next two years and have a negative impact for our entire region. This has to stop. If elected to represent the 112th House District in the General Assembly, I’ll propose legislation that creates opportunities for Metro East workers and fight to keep our jobs here at home.”

Jennifer Korte is the Republican candidate for State Representative in the 112th district who describes herself as someone who believes that “our government should be run by the people” and that “political office should not be a self-serving position”. Korte’s primary goals in Springfield would be to lower taxes, be a leader in budget reform, and fight for parental rights. She has also adamantly opposed the SAFE-T Act throughout her campaign.

In 2022, Fortune 500 has all three companies rank within the top 100, Tyson Foods at 81, Caterpillar at 73, and Boeing at 60.

Also leaving Illinois this year was Citadel, the $51 billion hedge fund founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, as previously reported by Reuters. Back in June, Griffin announced the headquarters would be moving to Miami, relocating around 1,000 employees. It was made clear that Florida offered a better business climate and tax incentives. However, it was expressed by executives that crime was a also factor, noting that a Citadel employee was stabbed a block from the office, someone attempted to carjack Griffin’s vehicle, and protests occurred outside the Citadel headquarters.

Reuters reported that a spokesperson for Governor J.B. Pritzker said Tyson is ‘making decisions based on its unique corporate needs and has planned growth in other parts of the state, such as a plant in Caseyville that will create 250 jobs.