News Local/State

Quinn: Other States In The Mix For Fertilizer Plant

by The Associated Press, with additional reporting from Illinois Public Radio
 

Gov. Pat Quinn says other states are being considered as the possible home of a $1.2 billion fertilizer plant that state officials hope to locate in Douglas County.

Officials with Cronus Chemical LLC have been debating between locations in Iowa  and Illinois, but have said they were delaying their decision on a final site because of engineering issues. 

Lee Enterprises Newspapers reports Tuesday that other locations are in the mix.

Illinois lawmakers this spring approved a roughly $30-million tax incentive package in an effort to bring executives of Chicago’s Cronus Chemicals LC to build its plant in Tuscola. 

Iowa is offering its own tax incentives, and it’s unclear what other states are offering.  Cronus spokesman Dave Lundy said the company is still evaluating cost estimates.

"When you have a big, billion dollar plus project there are an awful lot of moving parts," he said.  "And when you identify one aspect of the site, it often leads to 19 different things that you have to look at in terms of its cost."

Governor Quinn says there's “still a ways to go'' on the project because other states are also competing.

He didn't say what states were being considered, but a company consultant says the firm has looked at other locations.