South Dakota Message Hits Chicago Where It Hurts

Apparently South Dakota has pointed out an ugly wart that Chicago would rather not be discussed. The South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development ran a full-page in Sunday, December 7 edition of the Chicago Tribune pointing out the advantages of doing business in CNBC's 2013 top state for business, South Dakota, over Chicago.

But you have to love the ads South Dakota placed in O'Hare airport in conjunction with the recruiting campaign. "No Government Pat Downs," "Keep Your Change in Your Pockets" and "We're Hands Off When it Comes to Business" were just a bit too close to the truth for both Chicago and the Transportation Security Administration regulations.

Your silence is deafening Mayor Emanuel! In typical fashion, Chicago responds by kicking freedom of speech to the curb. "Chicago officials decided against allowing other states' tourism or economic development agencies to advertise in the airport," South Dakota Economic Development Commissioner Pat Costello said.

That will fix the problem Mr. Mayor! That will fix it!

South Dakota's "newly approved" banners which read "Our Economy is First Class," "Prepare Your Business For Take Off" and "Build Your Business in South Dakota" — will go up at O'Hare next month.

Meanwhile, South Dakota's campaign has received significant free publicity nationwide as various other newspapers and other media have picked this story up.

As we say in South Dakota, "Our Sunsets Will Take Your Breath Away; Our Top-ranked Tax Climate Will Give It Back!"