Chicago City Wire

The Technology & Manufacturing Association has issued the following press release:

The Technology & Manufacturing Association (TMA) released the results today from the 6 participating Chicago mayoral candidates who completed TMA’s 2023 municipal election questionnaire. The candidates publicly acknowledged their positions relating to issues of taxation and regulations, and how their governing would impact Chicago manufacturers.

As manufacturers in Chicago must carefully maneuver burdensome regulations and taxes within Chicago and Illinois, on top of enduring record inflation and a struggling economy, TMA informed their nearly 100 Chicago-based manufacturing members on the positions of each of the mayoral candidates or if a candidate chose not to participate.

Of those who completed TMA’s survey, the four “manufacturing-aligned” candidates who scored higher than 80% on the responses were: Ja’Mal Green, Willie L. Wilson, Paul Vallas, and Roderick Sawyer. Two others, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Alderman Sophia King, participated in the survey but fell just short of recognition. Candidates U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Brandon Johnson, and State Rep. Kam Buckner did not participate.

TMA President Patrick Osborne said, “Chicago used to be the center of American manufacturing, but now, parts of the south and west sides of Chicago have rows of abandoned manufacturing plants. Small and medium-sized manufacturers are motivated to bring manufacturing back to the 312 and revive that status to make Chicago America’s manufacturing hub once again, and it’s encouraging to see many of Chicago’s mayoral candidates standing on the side of our manufacturers.

“We thank all the candidates who completed our 2023 candidate survey—manufacturers deserve to know how their future mayor will prioritize this crucial sector—and we hope that voters carefully consider candidates’ support for manufacturing when they vote in the upcoming election.”

See the full results and responses at TMANews.com/Vote.

About TMA: Founded in 1925, the Technology and Manufacturing Association is an independent trade organization exclusively focused on assisting small and midsize manufacturers by providing a diverse portfolio of benefits and services, including: community, information, training, resources, and advocacy. TMA has nearly 1,000 members representing over 35,000 manufacturing employees and more than 25 million square feet of manufacturing plant.