Vella Works to Bring Jobs to the Rockford Area, Introduces Legislation Incentivizing Electric Vehicle Manufacturing

ROCKFORD, Ill. – As part of his efforts to support the economic growth of his district, state Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford, introduced legislation earlier this week that provides tax incentives for auto producers that make electric vehicles.

“With electric vehicles becoming more and more popular, we have an opportunity to bring thousands of jobs to the Rockford area and Illinois as a whole by making our state more attractive to auto manufacturers,” said Vella. “This legislation rewards manufacturers that invest in their Illinois-based plants and employees. With an auto plant in our community, this bill would create a major investment in our local economy.”

To ensure that Illinois is able to capitalize on the growth of electric vehicle manufacturing, Vella introduced House Bill 4155. The legislation provides tax credits to auto producers who add or retain at least 1,000 jobs in an electric vehicle-producing plant. The tax credits can be used for various costs that support the plant, such as job training and construction costs.  

Fighting to bring additional manufacturing jobs to his district is just one way that Vella has worked to support the development of the local economy. Last month, he helped pass a comprehensive energy package that provides funding to the Byron Nuclear Power Plant, saving thousands of jobs in the Rockford area and securing millions of dollars in continued economic activity that the plant provides.

“Ensuring that residents have access to high-quality local jobs is vital for the health of our community,” said Vella. “Especially with the economic issues that many of my constituents have faced over the past year, it is more important than ever that we are working with the business community to help keep and create jobs. While we have made significant progress towards that goal, there is still more work that needs to be done, and I look forward to fighting for this legislation and more to ensure we are adequately investing in our community’s economic development.”​