* Subscribers knew about this development yesterday…

A big Downstate manufacturer is now seeking the same Illinois income tax incentives sought by Sears Holdings, according to several sources close to the legislative negotiations. The development came as Speaker Mike Madigan summoned the Illinois House to a special session next Monday.

Sources identified the Downstate company as Edwards County-based Champion Laboratories, one of the world’s largest makers of filters for industry and vehicles. Two key legislators said they believed Champion would hire additional workers in Illinois, if the tax incentives were approved. Voice mail messages left for a Champion Lab’s spokeswoman were not returned Tuesday evening.

Madigan’s summons to House members said the Revenue Committee would convene at the State Capitol Monday at 10 a.m. Sources said no final deal had yet been reached. But they hoped one would be ready for an up or down vote by the time legislators returned to Springfield.

Intense negotiations continued behind the scenes Tuesday on a series of proposed tax law changes. After discussing a possible move to Indianapolis with that city’s mayor last Friday, executives of CME Group were still hopeful that Illinois would grant them the same tax treatment it accords virtually every other corporation. Other companies are taxed only on what they sell in Illinois, not on their sales in other states or countries. If applied to CME Group, those rules would cut about $85 million annually from its Illinois income tax. CME Group is the corporate parent of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade.

Champion just bought another company and will likely be moving jobs to southern Illinois if this tax deal is approved.

…Adding… New York Times…

As states have struggled to balance their budgets by cutting services, laying off workers and raising taxes, a study to be released on Wednesday suggests that many profitable Fortune 500 companies have not been paying as much in state corporate income taxes as the average levied on American companies, with some big firms paying none at all in recent years.

A few companies, including DuPont, reported paying no state corporate income taxes from 2008 to 2010 even as they reported profits, according to the study, which was conducted by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, nonprofit research organizations in Washington that advocate a more progressive tax code. (A spokeswoman for DuPont said that she had not seen the study, but that “DuPont complies with all tax laws and regulations” wherever it operates.) […]

To gauge how much Fortune 500 companies are paying in corporate income taxes, the study looked at the 265 of them that are both profitable and disclose their state tax payments. It found that 68 reported paying no state corporate taxes in at least one year between 2008 and 2010. All together, the study found that the companies reported $1.33 trillion in domestic profits from 2008 to 2010, but paid states only about half of what they would have if they had paid at the average corporate income tax rate of all states — reducing their state taxes by some $42.7 billion.

Matthew Gardner, the executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economy Policy, said that state corporate-tax collections have dwindled for several reasons. Many states calculate their taxes based on federal corporate taxes, so some recent federal corporate tax breaks have lowered their collections. Other states have granted their own tax breaks to try to promote economic development, or to lure companies from other states. Companies, meanwhile, have grown adept at reducing taxes and finding tax shelters.

* Meanwhile, if true, this is totally disheartening…

A Milwaukee-based temporary staffing company has laid off nearly 500 employees in Illinois, blaming the high cost of the state’s workers’ compensation system.

An executive of Parallel Employment Group said Tuesday that the company cut jobs in Illinois because it wanted to lower its workers’ compensation costs.

Kirk La Du, executive vice president of operations, said the company, which also operates in Wisconsin and New York, incurred 87 percent of its total workers’ compensation costs in Illinois. The state accounts for about 35 percent of its revenues, he said.

“The only reason we are downsizing is competitive issues related to workers’ compensation,” La Du said. “It seems foolish to us to continue operating in a state where workers’ comp made it difficult to make money.”

Oy.

* However, there’s a happy ending for employees…

The “vast majority” of Parallel’s temporary roster will be reassigned to Andrews & Staff Force Inc., a staffing firm with multiple Chicago-area locations, Mr. La Due said.

* Other Illinois layoff announcements…

• The Chicago Transit Authority reported to the state it might eliminate 93 jobs as a result of a leaner 2012 budget

• Ameren Energy Generating Co., a St. Louis-based electric power distributor, will shed 53 jobs at its power plant in Meredosia, the Central Illinois town near the Illinois River. The plant was selected as the site of FutureGen 2.0, a project in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy’s clean-coal power program that the company claimed would bring 900 jobs to the area. But Ameren said it’s pulling out of the project.

• Syms Corp., the Secaucus, N.J.-based parent company of Filene’s Basement LLC, will shed 107 jobs when it closes Filene’s Basement stores on State Street and Michigan Avenue. The company declared bankruptcy in early November, after putting itself up for sale in May but finding no buyers.

• Tinley Park Mental Health Center in the south suburbs reported that it will close and eliminate 180 jobs, according to the state. But a budget deal last week would allow the facility to remain open through next June, according to the Department of Human Services.

• Roscor Corp., an audio and multimedia wholesaler in northwest suburban Mount Prospect, will lay off 102 employees, according to the report. Mitch Roston, the company’s co-owner, said the number of eliminated jobs was closer to 85 and that the company maintains between 35 and 40 employees. He said Roscor is suffering in the poor economy and will undergo a restructuring.

• General Automation Inc., a north suburban Skokie-based manufacturer, will shed 65 jobs in a company consolidation. A company human resources employee declined to comment.

• USA 3000 Airlines, a small Newtown Square, Pa.-based carrier that operates at O’Hare International Airport and flies mainly to Mexico, warned of a possible layoff of 86 employees in the event of a company sale. A representative did not return a call for comment.

• Computer Sciences Corp., a computer programming company in west suburban Oakbrook Terrace, will eliminate 79 jobs due to poor business conditions.