The other day I admitted that I was
not quote convinced of the wisdom of the State of Illinois offering tax credits
so that Con-Agra, a billion-bucks
makers of processed foods, could move their corporate headquarters close to the
home of its new CEO. (See “Home
is where the boss is,” Oct. 8, 2015.) I noted that big companies indulge
their bosses in such ways all the time, and offered some examples.
Here’s another one. Remember when Boeing
announced its desire to leave greater Seattle? Industry observers were betting
that the airline would move to Dallas. It opted instead for the Windy City.
Skeptics noted that then-CEO Philip Condit and President and COO Harry Stonecipher were opera buffs, and Chicago of course is home to the Lyric Opera Company, which is a sort of Boening of its industry, and they picked out an office building only a block from the Lyric Opera’s theater. (Stonecipher soon joined the Lyric’s board of directors.
Condit said the company liked Chicago’s
“strong pro-business environment,” I should think he would; Illinois
and Chicago ponied up a $63 million incentive package. If a beggar found
himself in a town where a rattle of a cup caused twenty-dollar bills to rain
upon his head, he’d move too.
This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2015.
