In a survey of more than 500 CEOs, Chief Executive.net found that Illinois ranked 48 out of 50 on a list of the Best/Worst States for Business.
The CEOs ranked the states by taxes, regulation, workforce quality and living environment.
Illinois was third from the bottom, dropping 40 places in the last five years. The state was criticized for being in a “death spiral” and was said to be one of the states with “punitive” taxes and regulations.
See the full list below. Click on each state for more information:
| 2011 RANK |
STATE | 2010 RANK |
CHANGE |
| 1 | Texas | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | North Carolina | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Florida | 6 | 3 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | Georgia | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | Indiana | 16 | 10 |
| 7 | Virginia | 4 | -3 |
| 8 | South Carolina | 10 | 2 |
| 9 | Utah | 9 | 0 |
| 10 | Nevada | 5 | -5 |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 19 | 8 |
| 12 | Colorado | 8 | -4 |
| 13 | Arizona | 11 | -2 |
| 14 | Wyoming | 15 | 1 |
| 15 | South Dakota | 14 | -1 |
| 16 | Delaware | 12 | -4 |
| 17 | Kentucky | 23 | 6 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | 18 | 0 |
| 19 | Idaho | 13 | -6 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 22 | 2 |
| 21 | North Dakota | 24 | 3 |
| 22 | Iowa | 17 | -5 |
| 23 | Missouri | 26 | 3 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 41 | 17 |
| 25 | Kansas | 25 | 0 |
| 26 | Alabama | 20 | -6 |
| 27 | Louisiana | 40 | 13 |
| 28 | Montana | 28 | 0 |
| 29 | Minnesota | 31 | 2 |
| 30 | Arkansas | 27 | -3 |
| 31 | Alaska | 21 | -10 |
| 32 | New Mexico | 29 | -3 |
| 33 | Oregon | 38 | 5 |
| 34 | Washington | 30 | -4 |
| 35 | Rhode Island | 39 | 4 |
| 36 | Maine | 37 | 1 |
| 37 | Maryland | 33 | -4 |
| 38 | Mississippi | 35 | -3 |
| 39 | Pennsylvania | 32 | -7 |
| 40 | Vermont | 36 | -4 |
| 41 | Ohio | 43 | 2 |
| 42 | West Virginia | 34 | -8 |
| 43 | Hawaii | 42 | -1 |
| 44 | Connecticut | 44 | 0 |
| 45 | Massachusetts | 46 | 1 |
| 46 | Michigan | 48 | 2 |
| 47 | New Jersey | 47 | 0 |
| 48 | Illinois | 45 | -3 |
| 49 | New York | 49 | 0 |
| 50 | California | 50 | 0 |
Source: ChiefExecutive.net
Funny how the last three states on the list (California, New York, and Illinois) rank #1, #3, and #4 in terms of headquarters for Fortune 500 companies, and have 29% of the entire Fortune 500 list. Think there might be a political motivation in the rankings?
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/states/CA.html