CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he will try to poach businesses and conventions from North Carolina because of a law eliminating anti-discrimination protections for lesbians, gays and bisexuals.
Emanuel also says he will he ban the use of city funds for nonessential travel to the state.
The law also prohibits transgender people from using washrooms that do not match the gender they had at birth.
Emanuel pointed to his ability to lure a Whole Foods warehouse and 200 jobs from Indiana to Chicago because of that state’s passage of a bill that raised concerns about discrimination against gays and lesbians. The mayor also threw in a $7.4 million subsidy.
Emanuel said he has asked his staff to draw up a list of North Carolina companies they think “we can talk into considering a move to Chicago.”