TAX INCENTIVES

• Illinois Edge Program provides tax credits for creation/retention of jobs and capital investment in Illinois.
• Tax Increment Financing (TIF) allows the use of increased property tax revenue for construction of infrastructure; interest expense; panning, architectural, engineering, legal and other services related to the project; employee training; and business relocation costs. The governing municipality in which the property is located must define TIF areas.
• Illinois Replacement Tax Investment Credit Program provides for investment tax credits against Illinois personal property replacement income tax for the purchase of qualified property, including buildings and equipment used in manufacturing, mining or retail business.
• Illinois Property Tax Abatement Program provides for industrial and commercial firms to receive up to $3 million per project through full or partial abatement of property taxes to any Illinois taxing district for up to ten years. This benefit applies to firms locating to Illinois from other states or countries; newly created firms locating in Illinois; and firms expanding an existing facility within the taxing district.
• Training Expense and Research & Development Tax Credits are available to Illinois businesses. Illinois allows a credit of 1.6% for training expenses, including educational or vocational training, of employees within the state or for training Illinois residents working outside the state. Corporate taxpayers may also take a 6.5% credit against corporate income taxes for qualified expenditures that are used for increasing research activities in Illinois.

BUSINESS FINANCING

• Southwestern Illinois Development Authority (SWIDA) offers tax-exempt revenue bonds, limited by federal law, to not-for-profit organization objectives, pollution control, solid waste facilities, transportation and small issue manufacturing companies. SWIDA can also issue taxable revenue bonds for commercial, industrial, and recreational projects that are not eligible for tax-exempt financing. Proceeds can be used to purchase land, buildings and equipment and to construct new or renovated existing facilities. Taxable bonds provide the ability to borrow money for a longer term and at a lower rate of interest than alternative forms of taxable financing. All SWIDA bonds are exempt from state taxation.
• The Southwestern Illinois Community Development Corporation (SWICDC) is administered by SWIDA and was created to provide "gap" financing at market rates to small to medium sized businesses when conventional lenders are unwilling to assume 100 percent of the risk or when the business does not meet the criteria of Madison or St. Clair Counties' Job Creation Loan Programs. SWICDC makes loans up to $500,000, but will not be the primary lender.
• Madison County's Economic Development - Job Creation Program provides direct financing to businesses at a below market interest rate in cooperation with private sector lenders. The purpose of the program is to provide "gap" financing to expanding or new firms whose projects create permanent jobs for existing qualified low or moderate-income individuals within Madison County. The Jobs Creation Program's highest priority is to create jobs.
• The Illinois Development Finance Authority's Loan Program (IDFA) is a self-supporting state agency created to stimulate economic development and project jobs for Illinois residents. Their loan programs include taxable and tax-exempt revenue bond financing and participation lending programs.
• The Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) Small Business Development Loan Programs are designed to encourage lenders to make loans, which they would not normally make, to small businesses whose projects have the potential to create or retain substantial employment opportunities or modernize or improve the competitiveness of the borrower. Funds can be used for a variety of business activities including purchase and installation of machinery and equipment; working capital; purchase of land; construction or renovation of buildings, etc. Funds cannot be used for debt refinancing or contingency funding.
• SBA 7 (a) and SBA 504 Loan Programs are federally sponsored programs available to small businesses, in some cases guaranteeing a portion of a bank's loan or providing loans at fixed, below market rates.

EMPLOYMENT RECRUITMENT PROGRAMS

• Illinois Industrial Training Program provides training assistance to companies expanding or locating in Illinois, adding new product lines, or otherwise retooling or modernizing their facilities, which results in the need to provide job training to new workers or upgrade skills of existing employees. Qualified firms can receive direct reimbursement for up to 50 percent of the total full-time employee training costs.
• Prairie State 2000 Authority provides loans to Illinois-based companies for employer training programs. This program finances employee skill upgrading tied to technological changes in the workplace with the focus on the retention of existing jobs. Loans can be made for up to 100 percent of the training costs, with 25 percent forgiven after trainees remain employed with the company for one year following completion of training.
• Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) is a federal program administered by DCCA. Training programs are provided to economically disadvantaged youths and adults, and to eligible workers who are dislocated due to plant closings, layoffs, or technological changes in their occupations. These comprehensive programs provide employees who are prescreened, responsible, motivated to succeed, and ready and willing to work and eliminates the need for costly advertising and time spent searching for qualified candidates.
• Illinois Employment and Training One Stop Centers are innovative, customer driven systems designed to provide employment and training services to employers of all sizes, job seekers, and students. These one stop centers provide employers information on worker availability, current wage rates, and projected labor demand. They also offer specialized employer services such as staff recruitment for mass hiring, customized training and outplacement assistance for businesses. The One Stop Centers are supported by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Illinois Department of Employment Security and the JTPA program.