As stated repeatedly during his successful campaign for governor, then-candidate Glenn Youngkin (R) pledged to make Virginia a great place to “live, work, and raise a family.” In that spirit, the Youngkin administration cheerfully greeted the May 5 news that Boeing is moving its company headquarters from Chicago to Northern Virginia.
Since Boeing is a major defense contractor, its new location will be convenient being in close proximity to the Pentagon and just across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. And although Boeing did not mention this in its statement, many observers suspect Chicago’s rising tide of crime was a factor in the move.
As reported by Yahoo!finance, crime in the Windy City is up 35% so far this year compared to the same period in 2021. Though murders and shooting incidents are down, all other major categories of crime are up, including a 67% jump in thefts.
Illinois’ U.S. Senator Dick Durban (D) had this to say on May 5 about the news: “Boeing’s decision to leave Illinois is incredibly disappointing — every level of government in our state has worked to make Chicago and Illinois the perfect home for Boeing’s headquarters for the past 20 years. We are working together to ensure Boeing leadership both understands how harmful this move will be and does everything possible to protect Illinois’s workers and jobs.”
In contrast to Sen. Durban’s glum assessment, Governor Glenn Youngkin made the following upbeat statement on Boeing’s announcement that the company will headquarter in Arlington, Virginia:
“Boeing is one of America’s great pioneering businesses and we are thrilled the company has decided to headquarter in Virginia. The decision to call Virginia home shows that the Commonwealth is the premier location for aerospace companies. I look forward to working with Boeing to attract even more talent to Virginia especially given its reputation for engineering excellence. From day one, our goal has been to make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I want to thank Boeing, its CEO Dave Calhoun, and its leadership for choosing Virginia.”
–Scott Dreyer
