SZALINSKI’S SUMMARY: Jimmy Clayton has been named new CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce following a decade of managing government relationships for the Illinois REALTORS. He told Capitol News Illinois he is focused on building relationships between the chamber and legislators while pushing lawmakers to take a balanced approach toward new regulations that will allow Illinois to attract new businesses.
Clayton took over the role in April, replacing Lou Sandoval, who abruptly resigned in November. It gives one of the state’s largest business organization an opportunity to reset its Statehouse priorities and political relationships.
GOVERNOR’S EAR: Clayton said he recently spoke with Gov. JB Pritzker and said he and the governor share goals on attracting more businesses to Illinois.
“I said to the governor the other day, and I think it’s understood, is, you know, we’re not always going to be aligned,” Clayton said. “I can’t promise to always be aligned 100% on every single policy issue, but I promise to work together.”
WHY IT MATTERS: Other business organizations such as the Retail Merchants Association and Manufacturers’ Association have enjoyed strong relationships with Pritzker, including close collaboration on legislation and overseas trade missions. The chamber, after playing an outsized role opposing a graduated income tax amendment in 2020, has somewhat fallen out of favor in Springfield.
Voters soundly rejected the graduated tax — a top priority for Pritzker — at the ballot box after the Chamber took part in an expensive campaign against it.
LEGISLATIVE RELATIONSHIPS: Clayton said he already has a strong relationship with House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, from his time as the REALTORS’ lobbyist. Welch gave him a public vote of confidence at the organization’s annual Chamber Day meeting in mid-April.
“I’ve worked with Jim a long time … we had a great relationship; you guys got yourself a catch there,” Welch told the assembled members of the Illinois Chamber.
AI REGULATION: Clayton takes over as the General Assembly considers regulations on key topics such as artificial intelligence. He said lawmakers need to take a balanced approach that allows room for innovation and the state should not rush to pass regulation, though he stressed the chamber opposes AI replacing people’s jobs.
“When you have something like the IQMP (Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics) park coming in, you know, with quantum computing, when you have one of the nation’s leading infrastructure in that … I think that hopping too far ahead of ourselves in regulation is something that we wouldn’t want to do when we have this, you know, this opportunity, this advantage right now,” Clayton said.
DATA CENTERS: Lawmakers should also take the same approach when regulating data centers, Clayton said. He argued they remain a valuable piece of the economy despite concerns about water and energy use. He said lawmakers shouldn’t abandon tax credits that have attracted the projects to the state, as Pritzker has proposed.
“We are a huge center now for these centers, and if you look at the why, I think you go back to those incentives,” Clayton said. “So stripping those away I would say would limit the growth and the possibility and opportunity for these companies.”
HOUSING: Clayton’s former employer, the REALTORS, is one of the main groups supporting of Pritzker’s housing plan. But as Chamber of Commerce CEO, he said he will stay focused on the parts of the plan that specifically impact businesses. The chamber supports changes to impact fees and streamlining permitting processes but is taking no position on other parts of the proposal.
DA BEARS: The Chicago Bears have been a member of the Illinois Chamber for 80 years, Clayton said, and the chamber is generally supportive of the megaprojects bill the team favors and that Pritzker is pushing lawmakers to quickly approve.
“It’s kind of a wait-and-see in a lot of ways,” Clayton said. “Whatever is the final product that comes out, as long as it’s still a very strong economic development tool and it’s something that works for not only our members, but the Bears as well, you know, obviously we’re going to be in support of that.”
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