MOLINE, Illinois -- Illinois General Assembly passed a bill to create a task force to study business in the Quad Cities. They're looking for solutions to keep jobs from moving across the river and out of Illinois.
The Quad Cities Outsourcing Prevention Task Force will measure the amount of jobs leaving Moline, East Moline and Rock Island for Davenport and Bettendorf. This is part of implementing pro-business reforms across the state to prevent business migration.
"We just know what the trend has been over the past several decades and it's time to try -- it's long past time, frankly, to try and address that," State Representative Mike Halpin of Rock Island says.
The task force will present a report to the Illinois General Assembly early next year, with suggestions for legislature based on their findings.
State Rep. Mike Halpin created the bill and State Rep. Tony McCombie co-sponsored it. They both agree that high property taxes and insurance costs take jobs across the river. Losing jobs to other countries also contribute to business migration, along with a shortage of qualified employees.
"Its about how to stop the out-migration, and one of the ways to stop that is to have a good job for them to have," says State Rep Tony McCombie of Savanna says. "So how are we going to keep business, and then also, how are we going to grow business?"
Lewis Machine and Tool is one of the businesses who made the move out of Illinois this year.