*** UPDATE 1 *** The governor’s office points to this bill which was introduced in February, but never made it out of committee as proof that it supported reinstating the tax credit program.

*** UPDATE 2 *** From the IMA…

The bill (HB2948) cited by Quinn was an IMA initiative. We drafted it and worked with Rep. Mussman who sponsored the bill.

[ *** End Of Updates *** ]

* Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan continued to talk to reporters yesterday about Illinois’ screwed-up business climate…

Dugan said the state hasn’t done enough recently to encourage investment in research facilities. The R&D tax credit has been a political football in the state General Assembly as lawmakers swing back and forth between curtailing and expanding tax incentives for businesses. The R&D credit has expired three times in past eight years.

“What message does that send?” Dugan said. “There’s a lack a of stability and predictability” in the state’s business policies, he added.

Under the credit program that expired at the end of 2010, companies were able to earn credits on their state income taxes based on spending increases on research and development. Quinn’s spokeswoman predicted the program will eventually be reinstated.

“The governor believes strongly in the R&D credits,” Anderson said. “He knows it’s important and he’s in support of it.”

OK, just wait a second here. If Gov. Pat Quinn “believes strongly in the R&D credits,” and “knows it’s important,” and is “in support of it.” then why the heck did he allow the tax credit program to expire in the first place?

I don’t go in for Illinois bashing, but this sort of thing is exactly why Illinois has such a horrible reputation.

* I’m sure this company used the R&D credit, but while the credit’s expiration doesn’t appear to have played a role in the board room decision to leave, it certainly didn’t help…

Consumer products giant Unilever plans to close the Alberto Culver plant in Melrose Park in 2013 and will begin laying off at least 600 employees in a few months, employees and a union representative said Thursday.

“Most of the employees are very long-term and a lot of them are either in shock or denial,” said Steven Kramer, vice president of the United Steelworkers union Local 9777. He said the union represents about 250 people at the plant, which has operated since 1961.

Kramer and employees estimated the shutdown will eliminate 800 jobs at the factory and at adjacent offices that used to be Alberto Culver’s headquarters. However, Unilever spokeswoman Anita Larsen said there are 600 jobs at the location. She said the entire office staff will be cut or transferred.

One worker said Unilever is giving up on Melrose Park because it has a largely older work force. She said that despite the plant’s age, it consistently surpassed benchmarks for productivity.

“They told us they didn’t want us even if we worked for free,” said the worker, who asked not to be named.

The governor talks a lot about creating 21st Century jobs. But doing so means fostering companies that create those jobs. Killing off a tax credit for research and development is simply foolhardy. Cat, by the way, spends most of its $1 billion on R&D right here in Illinois.

* Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn yesterday said he would not support a tax cut bill that didn’t include the full Earned Income Tax Credit increase he wants…

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says lawmakers who question expanding a tax credit for low-income workers should read Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

Quinn says increasing the earned-income tax credit is about helping all those “Bob Cratchits” who work hard raising kids and deserve some tax relief too if Illinois is going to give breaks to big companies.

After lighting the state Christmas tree Thursday in Chicago, Quinn said he supports a major tax breaks package that increases the state version of the EITC to 10 percent of the federal credit, up from 5 percent.

Some lawmakers don’t even want the EITC mixed into a tax package deal that’s aimed at keeping major companies like the CME Group Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. in Illinois.

The governor’s full remarks…

Click to download

* And CME Group’s CFO Jamie Parisi sounded a bit conciliatory…

Parisi also said the CME would not give up on negotiations with Illinois lawmakers on a package of tax breaks from the state after a proposed deal was voted down by the Illinois House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The exchange has threatened to leave Illinois because of a heavy tax burden.

“Unfortunately we were not able to get something passed in this recent session that would have been a benefit for CME going forward,” he said. “We’ll continue to work there and we will continue to look at our other options.”

* Related…

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* Tenaska bill passes Illinois Senate

* CME: Will Continue To Work With Illinois Lawmakers On Taxes

* VIDEO: John Bradley on CME impasse

* VIDEO: Roger Eddy on CME impasse

* Quinn: No ‘bidding war’ over Sears

* Quinn: Sears help ‘more than adequate’

* When are jobs worth the big cost?: “We’re so desperate for jobs that we’re vulnerable to this,” said Patton, a senior associate at Policy Matters Ohio, a Columbus-based think tank. “It’s a sad thing that our leadership has decided this is what they want to do.”

* Illinois Sports Facilities Authority finds shortfall not as big as originally thought