Washington, D.C. — Ban Secret Deals, a bipartisan coalition working to eliminate nondisclosure agreements in economic development deals, released the following statement in response to the introduction of the Honesty in Economic Development Act (SB1947) in Illinois.

“Illinois has been on the losing end of corporate subsidies deals for years now, with everyone from Sears to Amazon. By eliminating corrupt nondisclosure agreements, the Honesty in Economic Development Act will ensure that, from now on, Illinois communities, workers, and local businesses can provide input into these deals and hold local leaders accountable,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at The American Economic Liberties Project. “We applaud Sen. Robert Peters and Rep. Will Guzzardi for introducing this important legislation, and hope to see it swiftly passed by the General Assembly.”

“The Honesty in Economic Development Act will help raise the curtain on secretive dealings between elected officials and big corporations. This bill is a vital step in increasing government transparency and protecting local businesses and workers,” said Helen Brosnan, Executive Director at Fight Corporate Monopolies. “Sen. Robert Peters and Rep. Will Guzzardi have it exactly right. This legislation is a no-brainer and a massive win for Illinois communities.”

“With its Corporate Accountability portal launched in 2005, Illinois has been a state we have rated highly for disclosing deal-specific incentive data – after the awards. The next step in promoting better public engagement in economic development is to enable people to review deals before they are legally approved,” said Greg LeRoy, Executive Director of Good Jobs First. “That’s why public officials must be free to discuss pending deals, as this bill proposes. Pre-approval secrecy only benefits corporations trying to bully the public for needless tax breaks.”

“Keeping economic incentive deals secret until they are approved also enables states and localities to be played against one another in an often fake competition,” said C.J. Girod, Founder and Managing Principal of Responsible Incentives. “NDAs aid and abet the siphoning of public funds by big business for investments that would occur with or without the incentives. These subsidies largely have zero impact on corporate decision-making, and it’s time to start reining in the abusive tactics that support this wasteful spending.”

“Taxpayers deserve as much access to information about potential ‘investments’ being made with their tax dollars as any bank loan officer, hedge fund manager or Wall Street investor would have on a private investment they were considering,” said John C. Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability. “The Honesty in Economic Development Act advances the critical principle that the public’s right to know outweighs companies’ desire for secrecy when public money is changing hands.”

Learn more about the Ban Secret Deals Coalition here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.