Illinois not being a right-to-work state killed Toyota-Mazda factory here

The trend for many years--and it's accelerating--is against forced-unionization. There are now 28 right-to-work states. Even Michigan, the headquarters of the domestic automobile industry, has seen the light.

Leave it to Illinois do cling to the failed policies of the past. And organized labor is a key fundraising cog for House speaker and Illinois Democratic Party chairman Michael Madigan.

Toyota and Mazda will be building a huge joint-plant in the United States. Illinois has not made the cut.

From the Rockford Register-Star:

Although the companies have not issued a statement, Crain's Chicago Business is reporting that Illinois has been deleted from the list of states under consideration for the $1.3 billion factory that will build both Toyota and Mazda models that use interchangeable parts. The new plant, wherever it is built, is expected to employ 4,000 people.

Illinois wasn't picked because of "a lack of shovel-ready sites and the state’s failure to adopt a right-to-work law," Crain's columnist Greg Hinz said.

The three states said to be in the running for the plant are believed to be in the South, and "all are right-to-work states," he said.

Driving the point home is this clip from SaukValley.com:

Illinois is surrounded by right-to-work states – Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky have enacted legislation that gives workers the right to opt out of union membership. There are 28 right-to-work states, and many Illinois business organizations, including its Chamber of Commerce, have called for the General Assembly to get something on the books.

The lack of right-to-work legislation might seem to put the state at a competitive disadvantage with some companies, but Rochelle's recent history tells a different story.

"Since I came here in 2005, Rochelle has brought in 15 industries, and not a single one of them has had a union workforce," Anderson said.

It appears that forced-unionization drives away business.