Take what you can get, I guess
Friday, Jan 6, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a New Years Eve Crain’s Chicago Business editorial…
A major business story got overlooked in the holiday hubbub—and it’s a doozy: Illinois’ biggest economic development weapon is being decommissioned.
As Crain’s political columnist Greg Hinz reported Dec. 19, the state’s Edge tax credit program expires Dec. 31, barring a last-minute legislative rescue that, as of this writing, seems unlikely.
Edge tax credits—while controversial and in need of reforms—are the state’s main lure for companies looking to locate and keep jobs here (see the PDF). Illinois has offered $1.3 billion in tax credits to create 34,000 jobs here and retain an additional 46,000 since the program was created in 1999.
And yet Edge is set to expire at year-end. Why? As usual, everyone in Springfield is pointing fingers: Gov. Bruce Rauner’s team suggests that House Speaker Michael Madigan would have demanded too high a price to renew the program. Team Madigan, meanwhile, says the governor dropped the ball and allowed the program to sunset.
* House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie filed an amendment today to keep the program alive… through April 30th of this year.
I suppose that’s progress.
- RNUG - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 1:44 pm:
== through April 30th ==
Hmm. Sounds like reserving leverage for the FY18 budget.
- A guy - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 1:54 pm:
Or someone’s in the pipeline already. We’ll just have to watch.
- Fudo Myoo - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 1:58 pm:
Both sides benefit from corporate welfare going to greedy CEO’s and investors for insanely profitable large corporations in their districts.
There is no accountability for jobs promised
The companies are allowed to self report
No audits
Have we ever seen an independent audit of EDGE?
Chicago Trib did some work and the didn’t like it.
Rauners own DCEO director Schultz called EDGE “very distasteful”
It’s always been corporate welfare
It doesn’t bring jobs. Or if it does they aren’t what was promised in most cases.
Trump supporters. Take note
- blue dog dem - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:16 pm:
We have kicked around the term ‘fiscal’ conservative around here. Well I found one. The next governor of Missouri. Last week he said, “we don’t need corporate welfare at the expense of taxpayers.” As I have repeatedly posted. This gov ainy no conservative.
- blue dog dem - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:16 pm:
Ain’t….
- wordslinger - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:18 pm:
What Fudo said. An independent performance audit is long overdue. Names, tax hit, jobs, the whole schmear.
If you go to the National Association of Manufacturers site, you’ll find that 90% of manufactured goods for overseas export produced in Illinois comes from those classified as “small manufacturers.” Where’s their deal?
The Big Hogs should at least justify their snout-first position at the trough.
- Enviro - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:22 pm:
Extend the EDGE program to state workers and put the money toward state pensions.
- Fudo Myoo - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:27 pm:
Exactly Blue Dog Dem! Greitens has it right! ” I do not support corporate welfare for millionaires” then blasts a politcal shotgun in between the running lights of a 40 million dollar state contribution to an unneeded MLS soccer stadium!
Both parties are DYING to renew EDGE and fatten up enterprise zones! Did you know that companies in an enterprise zone get a utility tax exemption? Wonder why your utility bill keeps going up?
- Cubs in '16 - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:32 pm:
===The next governor of Missouri. Last week he said, “we don’t need corporate welfare at the expense of taxpayers.”===
He said this in reference to building a soccer stadium for MLS. We’ll see if he holds true to this statement when Boeing or some other big corporation comes calling.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:37 pm:
Edge is going to expire?
Boo Hoo…
Want data? Here it is:
http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/sites/default/files/docs/pdf/shellgame.pdf
Lots of good links here:
http://www.goodjobsfirst.org
- Anon221 - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:41 pm:
First off, not a fan or cheerleader of EDGE.
Second- may have nuthin’ to do with nuthin’… but
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/state/2017-01-06/ex-mitsubishi-plant-now-owned-rivian-automotive.html
- Anon221 - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:44 pm:
More on Rivian- “The company also is expected to receive state incentives. The Illinois Attorney General’s office is reviewing a request from Lee Enterprises’ Springfield Bureau for information about the possible incentives after the request was denied by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.”
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/rivian-completes-purchase-of-mitsubishi-plant/article_b5160bd6-6093-5c75-b025-52de87814cfe.html
- Fudo. Myoo - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 2:59 pm:
Of course DCEO denied the request to know the details. People would lose their minds at what we just paid for 1000 crap non Union jobs. If they even materialize!
- walker - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 3:01 pm:
Slinger’s on it.
Any replacement for this program, and almost all DCEO efforts, should be directed at helping companies with 100 employees or less. That’s where most jobs growth potential exists, and where Illinois most falls short. Just because they don’t have the clout/lobbyists/money of the bigs, shouldn’t mean they get short shrift.
- Fudo Myoo - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 3:05 pm:
I bet that we’ll see in July there was a mad rush to get EDGE credits before it ran out. No FOIA is going to get that amount out of DCEO till July 1. Man I bet it’s half a billion at least.
Fiscal conservatives need tone all over this and demand an end to it and accounting for it
- Fudo Myoo - Friday, Jan 6, 17 @ 3:12 pm:
To be all over this. Sorry