Quinn Signs Incentive Package for Fertilzer Plant

Governor Pat Quinn has signed off on a package of incentives that includes tax breaks for a fertilizer plant in Tuscola.

Illinois has been in a bidding war with Iowa over Cronus Chemicals. 

Champaign Republican State Representative Adam Brown said Illinois had a head start in planning for the $1.2 billion dollar facility.

“You’ve got the FutureGen site which was left over from just a couple years ago, which we expected to be the site for that coal gasification plant," he said. "That fell through unfortunately, and we were able to reconfigure and offer the same type of infrastructure deal for this cronus package.”

The plan offers up to $35-million in tax incentives.  The plant would create around 1,500 construction jobs, and 150 permanent ones.

Tuscola Economic Development Executive Director Brian Moody said Cronus plans to announce its chosen site within a month.

Moody said the Governor’s signing of the bill comes as a big relief, but adds there’s no telling what kind of incentive plan is offered to Cronus from officials in Mitchell County, Iowa.

"We have some kind of general ideas of the types of incentives they might have offered, and what they have offered previously with other types of projects," he said.  "We're not expecting them to be as large as some previous projects have been."

Moody said says officials in Tuscola are still working on option agreements to tie up some of the properties that would be involved as part of the final offer to Cronus.

The bill Gov. Quinn signed Thursday also authorized the Illinois Department of Transportation to spend about $70 million to continue land acquisition for a third Chicago area airport by Peotone. The construction will be a public-private partnership and Quinn's office estimates it'll create 14,000 jobs when operational.

The bill also allows Chicago to set up financing for a new DePaul University sports arena on Lake Michigan.