Brady calls on governor, House to pass ADM incentive

[December 11, 2013]  SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, is calling on Gov. Pat Quinn to bring the House back to Springfield to pass an incentive package to keep multinational agricultural product processor Archer Daniels Midland in Illinois after it was announced on Tuesday that the newly merged OfficeMax and Office Depot had chosen Boca Raton, Fla., as their new corporate headquarters instead of Downers Grove.

"We have to do what we can to keep job creators in the state of Illinois," said Brady. "The Senate did its job and passed incentives for Office Depot Inc. and ADM. The House adjourned without taking up either measure, and now we've lost out on the jobs that would be created by having a major corporate headquarters in our state. But this goes far beyond one lost opportunity. The leisurely, passive attitude of the governor and House sends a powerful message to all businesses in Illinois that they don't really feel any urgency to protect jobs and assist employers. Instead, we have to actively foster a business climate that creates jobs for the people of this state."

The newly formed Office Depot Inc. had sought an EDGE tax credit from Illinois during the spring legislative session as an incentive to locate their headquarters in Illinois. While the incentive passed in the Senate in early December during a one-day special session, the House adjourned without taking up that measure. After the tax incentive failed to pass in the Illinois House, Office Depot chose to relocate its headquarters to Boca Raton.

The House also failed to take up a similar measure aimed at keeping ADM in Decatur. ADM announced earlier this year that it was considering relocating its global headquarters after more than 40 years in Decatur. While Chicago was among the cities under consideration, it was revealed that major cities in other states were also trying to woo the agricultural giant.

The incentive package for ADM requires the company to maintain 200 full-time employees at its new corporate headquarters, relocate 100 employees into Decatur from somewhere outside of Illinois within five years, and further stipulates that ADM must hire at least 100 new employees every year for five years at the Decatur location to continue to qualify for the EDGE credit. Additionally, the bill requires ADM to establish an internal committee for five years that promotes jobs in Decatur.

"I urge Gov. Quinn to bring the House back to Springfield so we can keep jobs in Illinois," said Brady. "The House needs to act soon if we want to ensure that ADM does not to follow Office Depot's lead and leave Illinois. But, more importantly, the governor and the House speaker need to wake up to the need to keep jobs and employers in Illinois."

[Text from news release sent on behalf of Sen. Bill Brady by Illinois Senate Republican staff]