SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, supported legislation to bring more than a billion dollars and countless jobs into the state with the electric car manufacturing industry. Additionally, he sponsored and passed legislation to help continue economic development specifically in Belleville. 

“If we are going to be serious about transitioning to green jobs, we need to take real steps toward incentivizing manufacturers to come to Illinois,” said Hoffman. “By bringing in new and growing industries to the state, we are ensuring long-term investment in Illinois and thousands of high paying jobs.”

During the Fall Veto Session, Hoffman passed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles (REV) in Illinois Act to help attract electric vehicles manufacturing and create high paying manufacturing jobs in Illinois. The REV Act (House Bill 1769) creates incentives for manufacturers to come to Illinois and create new jobs. In addition to bringing more than a billion dollars in investment into Illinois, manufacturers will be incentivized to provide additional job training. Additionally, in order to qualify for tax credits under the REV Act, manufacturing companies will need to enter approved project labor agreements and neutrality in union campaigns to ensure opportunities and power for labor unions. 

Hoffman also sponsored and passed legislation to further the work being done to grow the Belleville economy. The Hoffman sponsored Senate Bill 1139 will work to invest in Belleville to develop vacant areas around town and to attract new businesses. 

“Growing the Belleville economy will help communities throughout the Metro East,” said Hoffman. “We need to make sure jobs and businesses stay in the Metro East, and that we continue working to bring new ones to the area.”

RED BUD, Ill. – State Rep. Nathan Reitz, D-Steeleville, is helping provide tax relief for job creators with his backing of a new law expanding a current tax credit to include manufacturing and production machinery and equipment.

“Hard-working business owners deserve relief from taxes and the constant government red tape placed on them and that remains one of my top priorities,” Reitz said. “We need to build a stronger Illinois, and we have to start by giving more support to our businesses and job creators. This tax relief will do that while also help lowering the cost of goods manufactured in Illinois.”

Reitz is backing Senate Bill 689, which expands the Manufacturer’s Purchase Credit, a tax credit to pay for production-related property and machinery that manufacturers need to run their businesses. This bill builds up numerous other tax credits and jobs programs to bring a thriving economy back to underserved areas of Illinois. The law passed with strong bipartisan support and is now law.

“When manufacturers can afford the tools they need to sell their goods at reasonable prices, the entire community benefits,” Reitz said. “This bill will help create sustainable jobs, make local goods more affordable and keep foreign corporations from hurting our businesses. Illinoisans deserve an economy that works for them, and I will continue to work to make sure they get it.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Nathan Reitz, D-Steelville, sponsored legislation which will bring economic development to Illinois by investing in businesses that invest in local jobs and apprenticeships that lead to good-paying practical employment opportunities.

“We need to secure economic opportunities for growing Illinois communities,” Reitz said. “Creating sustainable jobs with fair wages is central to my commitment to building a stronger Illinois. Expanding apprenticeship programs will bring us closer to that goal.”

Reitz helped pass Senate Bill 1591, which creates a new tax credit for taxpayers who employ apprentices in their businesses. There is a $3,500 limit on the credit that is raised to $5,000 in situations where the business or apprentice is in an area with high poverty or unemployment. The bill also extends a tax credit for a wide range of research and development projects including software programs, manufacturing materials and an array of consumer products.

“Our state is facing a shortage of skilled workers,” Reitz said. “We can fix that problem while generating good jobs; the foundation of stable families, steady businesses and a better economy. This bill will support our efforts to build a stronger Illinois and provide hands-on education for a new generation of workers.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, passed legislation out of the house today, which will benefit keystone properties throughout Park Forest.

“This legislation will provide great opportunities for vacant buildings throughout the Village of Park Forest,” DeLuca said. “It will allow for such properties to receive tax incentives to develop in the community, which will provide opportunities for business and economic growth.”

Recently, a developer has been looking at properties throughout the United States to invest in, ultimately settling on a vacant property in Park Forest. DeLuca’s House Bill 159 provides the necessary incentives for developers to invest in the community. The investor will be investing $8 million into the property as well. This will create 40 jobs initially, and up to 100 jobs long term.

“In order to make this investment feasible to the developer, tax incentives were a necessity,” DeLuca said. “With this legislation, the community will now have the opportunity to turn a once vacant building into a business that will manufacture nutritional supplements and food. This is a great opportunity for Park Forest that will create a new business, jobs and economic growth.

ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. – Continuing his efforts to work with local business owners to improve the state’s business climate and create new jobs in the community, state Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, recently met with two local small businesses to discuss initiatives to help small businesses.

“Our local small businesses are the foundation for a healthy economy,” Yingling said. “It is important that we support them by shopping locally and by implementing effective state policies that help them grow. By reforming our abusive tax code and enlisting our small business owners’ voices into the legislative process, we can help shape policies that turn our state around and support businesses here in our communities.”

Yingling met with La Luz Bakery in Round Lake last week and visited with Signarama franchise owners in Grayslake on Wednesday to discuss his policies to freeze or reduce taxes and to enlist their ideas and opinions about how to make Illinois more business friendly.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, D-Chicago, issued the following statement Wednesday after Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Budget Address:

“Throughout my time in state government, legislators and governors from both parties have agreed that the state budget must be a priority. While the House has passed a number of budget bills to fund critical services for seniors, children and public safety, it appears that for the third straight year Governor Rauner has failed to introduce a balanced budget.

“As the governor told a newspaper recently, his plan is to ‘stay the course.’ That means continuing to use the disabled, the elderly, school children, victims of abuse, and many others as negotiating tools in his effort to increase profits of big corporations at the expense of middle class and struggling families. ‘Staying the course’, as the Governor wishes, means billions of dollars in new debt, and lost services for tens of thousands of Illinois’ most vulnerable children, seniors and families.

“Unlike the governor’s ‘stay the course’ plan, Democrats are proposing a new way forward. We want to work cooperatively with the governor to pass a full-year balanced budget and improve our economy, but we don’t accept that the only way to create jobs is by cutting wages and stripping away protections for workers in an effort to increase profits for businesses – all at the expense of middle-class families. We will pass reforms that lift up the middle class and provide good jobs for working families while also helping businesses grow and expanding our economy.

“We want solutions that address the challenges Illinois is facing right now. We continue to urge the governor to join us and pass a full-year budget that provides for the needs of middle class and struggling families, cares for the elderly, invests in our schools, and keeps our communities safe.”