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[kharris]

Jobs are the central issue of the 2011 Mayoral election. It is an issue that transcends party and candidate. Over the past two generations jobs have disappeared at an alarming rate from Michigan City. Today the conditions exist that should be turning the tide in the pursuit of bringing jobs to our City. Recently the state of Indiana dropped their corporate income tax rates, while nearly simultaneously the state of Illinois raised theirs. Indiana was even ranked 6th in a recent survey which ranked the best states for business, while Illinois ranked 46th.

Some of the biggest named companies in Illinois have made very loud noises about leaving. Companies like Caterpillar, Sears, and even the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have begun to entertain offers from other states. This should be the opportunity of a lifetime for a community like Michigan City.

Instead we have one of our most famous employers moving jobs from Michigan City to Chicago. What is wrong with this picture? Michigan City has incredible advantages to offer. We have interstates, railroads, and ports. We have a ready workforce, plenty of facilities for companies to occupy, a low cost of living, and yet we are losing jobs to Chicago? That is unacceptable to me.

When some of the largest companies in the world are publicly shopping themselves worldwide, it can only mean that many small to medium firms are thinking the exact same thing in private right now. We as a community should be out finding and aggressively recruiting these companies. We should be selling ourselves, just like a person out of work would be shopping themselves while looking for a job.

Right now Michigan City is much like that out of work person. We as a community have seen our jobs disappear. We have the opportunity to restore these jobs again, but we can’t wait and hope that someone comes to us. This hasn’t worked for the last 40 years, and it isn’t going to work now. My administration will recognize the changes of the economic situation and will do everything to bring jobs back to Michigan City and restore our rightful place as one of the best places to live, not only in the Midwest, but in the entire country as well.