Sears Looks at Moving When Tax Incentives Expire

This makes me rethink my appreciation of Craftsman tools:

 Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) is looking at whether to move its corporate headquarters after the state and local incentives that brought it to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest Chicago suburb, expire in 2012. The company, which says it is in the early stages of the process, has had some preliminary discussions with the village of Hoffman Estates, a Chicago suburb northwest of the city, and commissioned a study to assess the economic impact of its departure on the village and the state, spokesman Chris Brathwaite told Reuters.
"We owe it to our associates and shareholders to consider options and alternatives and intend to be very thoughtful and thorough in our deliberations," he said.
In the wake of a huge income tax increase enacted by Illinois in January to address a budget deficit that was heading toward $15 billion, states like New Jersey and Wisconsin launched plans to sway Illinois-based businesses to relocate.
And while Illinois continues to struggle with unpaid bills, it granted a tax break worth about $100 million over 10 years to Motorola Mobility Inc (MMI.N) last week to ensure that the company remains in the state.
Sears is struggling and trying to shake things up with a new chief executive officer, Lou D'Ambrosio.
Its sales have fallen every year since it was formed by the 2005 merger of Sears and Kmart, but the first quarter results it reported last week were its worst sales showing since the merger.

State and local governments are engaged in a downward spiral when it comes to competition for business relocations.  This looks to me like Sears taking advantage of Illinois and Hoffman Estates in order to get some new incentives.  If the headquarters is moved to Wisconsin or New Jersey or some other state run by an asshole Republican governor, I don't think I'll be buying anything from Sears.  I think their only real options in leaving Illinois would be to sneak over the border to Wisconsin or Indiana to avoid the state income tax increase, as there are too many workers who would have to relocate to go to Texas or New Jersey.  This looks to me to be out of the Bob Evans playbook, where they discussed moving to Texas prior to getting a sweetheart deal to move from Columbus to New Albany.  This is a game which only benefits corporations while screwing all taxpayers.  It needs to end.