Chicago Mercantile Exchange Considering Moving After Tax Increase

Chicago - The head of the company that owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Board of Trade is threatening to leave Chicago.

Terry Duffy is the CEO of the CME Group, which has approximately 2,000 direct employees here in the area. Duffy said the company's economic impact also extends to another 150,000 jobs, including traders, lawyers and accountants.

Now, Duffy said all the jobs are at stake.

He said he was never consulted about the plan to raise taxes in the state and is willing to hear offers from other states.

"I think the last we want to do is move out of Illinois. We don't want to do that, but at the same time, were a publicly held company, and we have to do what’s in the best interest of our shareholders," Duffy said.

He also said because so many commodity transactions are done electronically, the company is not as bound by geography as it once was.