GE Moving Headquarters to Massachusetts. State of Illinois pension crisis hurt Chicago's chances for GE headquarters, sources say

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Chicago was a finalist to score General Electric's corporate headquarters — and 800 jobs — but the state's pension crisis and the condition of Chicago's public schools helped remove it from the running, sources close to the selection process told the Tribune on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, GE announced it would move its headquarters from its longtime home in Fairfield, Conn., to Boston.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel "did a good job" and "worked hard at presenting the case for Chicago" and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner "did a fantastic job," one source said.

Many factors went into the decision, including a strong presence and thousands of employees GE already has in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, the source said.

Nabbing GE would have been a nice win for Chicago, which has made news nationally for months, most of it negative. In Boston, GE will employ 200 corporate staffers and 600 digital industrial product managers, designers and developers. A GE Digital Foundry will be established for co-creation, incubation and product development with customers, startups and partners.

The struggles of Illinois.