CME Group Inc. is prepared to leave Chicago if the city and state take steps that are perceived as “ill-conceived,” Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy said in an interview.
Duffy’s remarks, made in an episode of the Odd Lots podcast, come as Mayor Brandon Johnson is being sworn into office after proposing additional taxes, including one on financial transactions, to help boost the city’s revenue. That plan was fiercely opposed by Chicago’s exchanges and investment firms. A higher levy would also require state approval to pass.
“Mr. Johnson has no legal authority to impose a transaction tax on my business,” said Duffy, adding that fighting crime should be a bigger focus for the new mayor. He also shouldn’t “get too bogged down on how he’s going to short-term think he’s going to raise taxes on certain people in order to fit his agenda.”
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“We have sold all of our property in the state of Illinois, in the city of Chicago,” Duffy said. “We don’t own anything any longer.”
Source: CME CEO Terry Duffy Says Firm Prepared to Leave Chicago If Necessary – Bloomberg
