CHICAGO -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced today that the state of Illinois will cut all ties with Bank of America until it reinstates credit to the Republic Windows & Doors company.
The Chicago factory notified 250 workers last week that it was shuttering its Goose Island facility. Since then, the workers have staged a sit-in in protest of the layoffs.
"We in the state of Illinois will suspend doing any business with the Bank of America," Gov. Blagojevich said Monday morning, "and we hope this kind of leverage and pressure will encourage the Bank of America to do the right thing for this business, take some of that federal tax money they received, and invest it by providing the necessary credit to this company so these workers can keep their jobs."
Blagojevich said his plans to cut ties with the bank are effective immediately. The state of Illinois currently does hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business with Bank of America.
Representatives from Bank of America have been unavailable for direct comment, but they did issue a written statement over the weekend. The bank stated it cannot be held responsible for the financial situation of Republic Windows & Doors.
President-elect Barack Obama also weighed in on the situation over the weekend, saying that the company should follow through on its commitments to the workers.
