* Flashback to April 11, 2013…

A proposal to build a $1.2 billion fertilizer plant near Tuscola advanced out of an Illinois House committee on Thursday.

Officials with Project Cronus met with House leaders on Wednesday to discuss the positive economic impact the proposed large-scale fertilizer plant would provide for east-central Illinois. Construction of the facility would create approximately 2,000 construction jobs and attract at least $500 million in investment. Upon completion, the plant would create 150 full-time, permanent jobs.

* July 25, 2013…

Legislation containing an incentive package for the proposed Project Cronus fertilizer plant was signed into law Thursday. […]

State Representative Adam Brown (R-Champaign) is chief co-sponsor of SB 20 which will give Illinois a competitive advantage in the siting process for Project Cronus. Illinois is competing with Iowa for the plant, with Iowa offering up to $35 million in tax incentives.

* October 29, 2014…

Governor Pat Quinn today was joined by company officials to announce that Cronus Fertilizers, a much-anticipated $1.4 billion fertilizer plant, will be built in Tuscola. Following a search process that included 76 sites in nine states, Cronus has chosen Illinois to expand their business with a new facility that will create approximately 2,000 construction jobs and 175 permanent jobs.

The Cronus fertilizer plant is one of the largest private investments in central Illinois since 1988, when Mitsubishi Motors North America opened its auto factory in Normal. Governor Quinn aggressively worked to secure this investment, personally meeting with the company and mobilizing his cabinet to bring the project to Illinois. Today’s announcement is part of his agenda to create jobs and drive Illinois’ economy forward.

* July 20, 2020…

In 2014, in the midst of a gubernatorial election, the construction of a $1.4 billion fertilizer plant in Tuscola, Illinois was announced with much fanfare and the promise of state subsidies.

Six years later, no piece of dirt has been overturned since former Gov. Quinn poked a shovel into an open field in a symbolic groundbreaking.

The company behind the proposal, Cronus Chemicals Inc. has periodically announced new construction dates, new business partners, new leadership and new cost estimates that still leaves the 250-acres of open field farmland undeveloped.

Now Tuscola officials say the outbreak of coronavirus will add to the long delays.

* December 2, 2021…

It’s been more than seven years since it was announced that Cronus Chemicals would develop a $1.4 billion fertilizer plant west of Tuscola.

Exactly when this project is going to be built is a question Brian Moody, Tuscola’s Chamber and Economic Development director, said he still gets asked — frequently.

And it’s a question he can’t answer, Moody said, though Tuscola continues to have a relationship with th company and is in support of the development.

“I guess I would tell you economic development is a long road,” he said.

And a longer road, still, in the midst of a pandemic that has brought, along with a public health crisis, labor and supply shortages and higher construction costs.

* Today…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced a $2 billion investment from Cronus Chemicals LLC (Cronus) to construct a new fertilizer production facility in Tuscola, Illinois. Supported by DCEO with an Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) agreement, the new investment will create 130 new jobs in Central Illinois, bolster the state’s manufacturing and agricultural industries, and reduce the state’s reliance on imported nitrogen products. ​ ​

“Illinois is building the infrastructure to power an entirely new bioeconomy by attracting major industry players to innovate right here in our state,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Cronus Chemicals is a shining example of that vision. Their new $2 billion, state-of-the-art facility in Tuscola will create more than 130 full-time jobs, serve as an anchor for the agricultural industry of tomorrow, and spur investment that will extend out across not just agriculture, but the entire Illinois economy.”

“We are delighted to reach this new milestone in the development of the Cronus Ammonia Plant Project,” said Melih Keyman, Chairman of Cronus Chemicals’ Board of Directors. “Our state-of-the-art facility in Tuscola represents a significant leap forward for the agriculture sector in Illinois and beyond. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Governor Pritzker and Team Illinois for their invaluable and continued support of our project.”

* Cronus Chairman Keyman did not attend the event, but sent a video message. Keyman said a project labor agreement had been reached with unions, and the company had made an agreement to use recycled water from a local sanitary district.

The company also signed an EDGE tax agreement with the state.

* Reporters had questions…

Q: Are we close to shovels in the ground? Is this actually going to happen?

Pritzker: That’s why we’re making this announcement. There’s not been an announcement like this one before, but but in terms of how close we are. […]

Brian Moody, Executive Director, Douglas County Economic Development Corporation: Yes, I think the project is further along than it has been before they there have been a few challenges in recent years. The projects lived through a pandemic and few global crises, but yes, I think the project developers feel like the project is on track. We feel good about where they’re at. We’ve secured all the necessary agreements, and think it’s ready to move forward. […]

Q: When do you expect fertilizer production to actually occur?

Moody: So it is estimated to be about a 40 month build. So about 40 months. So I would think, since he wants groundbreaking occurs about a three, about a three and a half year period before ammonia would actually be produced at the facility.

Q: Douglas County residents have been waiting on Cronus for 12, 13 years. What would you say to a citizen that still has their doubts that Cronus is even happening?

Pritzker: Well, one thing I would say is that if you look at the economic development efforts that have come to fruition just over the last six, seven years, they should have some real faith that we’re really delivering. And I appreciate [IMA CEO Mark Denzler’s] comments earlier, but I want to give credit to Mark and to the economic development professionals, because we have really put more shoulder to the wheel and delivered for the state of Illinois than has happened in an awful long time.