Trump ties Illinois business exodus to high taxes as True Value quits state

Trump the former President shared a Just the News report tracking company departures from Illinois and California toward Texas, Florida and Indiana.

First Published: July 21, 2026, 4:37 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump linked Illinois business departures to high taxes in a Truth Social post.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Across the nation, Trump’s long-predicted high-tax exodus has a Midwest sequel: https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/california-illinois-trumps-predicted-tax-apocalypse-has-midwest-sequel”

Trump shared the report by mentioning the source (see justthenews) at 8:22 AM ET on July 21, 2026. The article argues Illinois now mimics California in driving companies toward Texas, Florida and Indiana. “Job-producing people and companies are being forced to flee at levels never seen before,” Trump posted to his Truth Social account in April, according to justthenews. “Remember, once people and companies leave, they are never coming back.”

True Value Hardware anchors the latest example cited in the report. Founded in Illinois in 1948, the hardware wholesaler is relocating to Fort Wayne, Indiana, following its 2024 bankruptcy and acquisition by rival Do It Best, according to justthenews. The company cited long-term stability and a more business-friendly environment. The report says the move cost hundreds of headquarters jobs and associated state revenue.

Other departures deepen the pattern. True Value joins longtime Illinois firms such as Boeing, Tyson Foods, Morton Salt and Caterpillar, the last of which warned that the state’s failure to balance the budget and lower taxes would push businesses out, according to justthenews. California posted similar losses. Charles Schwab left San Francisco for Westlake, Texas, in 2019, Hewlett-Packard moved to Houston a year later, and Tesla, Chevron, SpaceX and Public Storage followed through 2026, according to justthenews.

The stakes fall hardest on state budgets and the workers left behind. Companies that relocate take payrolls, tax receipts and headquarters spending with them, while receiving states gain jobs and revenue. Residents of high-tax states can face pressure on public services when corporate tax bases shrink, even as elected leaders retain support at the polls.

Even a sports institution figures into the trend. The Chicago Bears, the NFL franchise that called Chicago home for more than 100 years, announced in June a relocation to Hammond, Indiana, according to justthenews. Soldier Field, the smallest stadium in the league by capacity, and an uncertain business climate factored into the decision, the report says. The team had bought 326 acres at Arlington Park in 2021 and weighed a $2 billion private investment.

Has this happened before? This has happened before, and Trump has forecast it repeatedly across his political career. The U-Haul Growth Index, cited in the report, shows entrepreneurs and workers leaving Illinois and California for Texas and Florida, with North Carolina, Tennessee and Arizona also serving as destinations, according to justthenews.

Voters in the affected states show little appetite for reversing course. A March 2025 Pew Research Center survey found 81% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents favor raising taxes on large businesses, while 74% support increases on households earning more than $400,000 a year, according to justthenews. Democrats continue to win statewide races in both California and Illinois, the report notes.

The next decisions rest with state lawmakers and company boards weighing relocation. No date for any statewide tax overhaul in Illinois or California has been announced.

Corporate flight from high-cost states isn’t the first time geography has reshaped American business. In the 1970s, textile and manufacturing firms abandoned the Northeast for the lower-cost, lower-tax South, hollowing out mill towns from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania. Companies chased cheaper land and looser regulation, and by 1980 the Sun Belt had overtaken the Rust Belt in population and payroll growth. Leaders who failed to adapt watched their tax bases erode for a generation.