Illinois legislators were busy last week meeting with officials from Cronus Chemicals LLC, which hopes to build a $1.2 billion nitrogen plant in Tuscola, some 20 miles south of Champaign. While top leaders met with Cronus officials, bills that would grant incentives to Cronus advanced in both the House and Senate.
In the House, State Representative Adam Brown (R-Champaign) is sponsoring legislation to level the playing field and 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.
“Project Cronus would be a huge boost to the local economy in terms of construction jobs and overall investment,” Brown said. “Tuscola is the ideal site for the plant, given its multiple natural gas lines and railroad connections. But Illinois needs to step up its incentive package to bring this project to the state.”
House Bill 2496 would qualify the Tuscola development for High Impact Business Incentives in the Enterprise Zone Act providing: sales tax exemptions; investment tax credits; exemption from state gas and electric taxes; and a state sales tax exemption on personal property. The legislation would also provide up to $12 million in property tax abatement for the plant. HB 2496 was passed unanimously by the House Revenue and Finance Committee Thursday afternoon, April 11.
Brown said the legislation is necessary because many Illinois project incentives require the creation of 500 permanent jobs, while only $12 million of investment. The Tuscola development is currently unqualified for many of these incentives because Project Cronus would create about 150 permanent jobs, although the project would attract at least $500 million in investments.
“We’ve put together a coalition of labor and business leaders in a bipartisan effort to pass this incentive package for Project Cronus,” Brown said. “Today was the first step forward in landing this vitally important economic development project for east-central Illinois.”
If built in Illinois, Project Cronus is expected to use union labor.
Meanwhile, Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) is moving companion Senate Bill 1147 through the Senate. “I am optimistic that we will be able to move this legislation through both chambers and to the Governor’s desk in a timely-manner.” Rose said he contacted Governor Pat Quinn about the matter and Quinn personally called Cronus executives. “I genuinely appreciate the Governor’s personal involvement in this matter,” said Rose.
SB 1147 unanimously passed the Senate State Government and Veterans’ Affairs Committee on April 10 and now awaits a full Senate vote.
Not much is known about Cronus Chemicals, which incorporated in Delaware late last year. A company consultant was quoted in the local press last week as indicating that it had European investors.