Illinois offers a number of innovative programs to augment
conventional sources of financing and help with plant locations,
relocations and expansions.
Please us the convenient links to find out more about
each program.
Business
Incentives and Resource Assistance
Small Business Development
Centers
Statewide delivery network that
can help new and existing businesses with preparing business
plans, marketing, licensing, and financial assistance.
Procurement Technical Assistance
Centers
Assist existing business owners
in doing business with the federal, state, and local governments.
International Trade
Centers
Assist existing small business owners
in receiving professional advice on exporting their goods.
Environmental
Assistance Program
Provides free, confidential, professional
advice to business owners on meeting environmental regulation
compliance.
Workforce
Assistance
Industrial
Training Program
Assists Illinois companies in training
new workers or upgrading skills of existing workers.
Job Training
& Economic Development Grant Program (JTED)
Creates partnerships between community-based
providers and employers for the provision of customized training
to low-skilled, low-wage employees, and unemployed disadvantaged
persons.
Workforce Investment Act
(WIA)
Provides federal funds to the state
for the provision of employment and training services to disadvantaged
youth, adults and dislocated workers. Administered by the
Illinois Department of Employment Security through a network
of one-stop centers known as Illinois Employment and Training
Centers.
Financing
Programs
Enterprise Zone Financing
Program
Below-market financing designed to
encourage economic development and revitalization in Illinois
Enterprise Zones.
Community Services
Block Grant Loan Program (CSBG)
Long-term, fixed-rate financing to
new or expanding businesses that create jobs and employment
opportunities for low-income individuals.
Industrial Revenue Bonds
Tax-exempt Industrial Revenue Bonds
on behalf of manufacturing companies to finance the acquisition
of fixed assets such as land, buildings, and equipment in
new construction or renovation.
Participation Loan Program
Works with banks and other conventional
leaders to provide financial assistance to small businesses
that will employ Illinois workers.
State Treasurer's Economic
Program (STEP)
Provides Illinois companies with access
to affordable capital to expand their operations and retain
or create jobs in the state.
Rural Development Business and Industrial
Loan and Guarantee Programs
Loan and loan guarantee program for
businesses with projects in rural areas or cities with populations
less than 50,000.
Export
Import Bank of the U.S.
Provides financing for qualified exporters
in terms of export loans, insurance, and working capital guarantees.
Large
Business Development Programs (LBDP)
Provides incentive financing to encourage
large out-of-state companies (500 or more employees) to locate
in Illinois, and also encourages existing Illinois companies
to undertake major job expansion or retention projects.
Tax
Credits and Incentives
Economic Development
for a Growing Economy (EDGE)
Provides tax credits to qualifying
businesses that make a capital investment of at least $5 million
and create a minimum of 25 new jobs.
Investment
Tax Credit
Tax credit for businesses involved
in mining, manufacturing and retailing
that make qualified investments.
High Impact Business
Program
Provides tax credits and exemptions
to businesses that make a minimum eligible investment of $12
million which cause the creation of 500 full-time jobs, or
make a $30 million investment that retains at least 1,500
full-time jobs.
Enterprise Zone
Program
Provides various state and local tax
incentives to businesses that make qualifying investments
in designated Enterprise Zones, to stimulate economic activity
and neighborhood revitalization.
Training
Expense Credit
Elective state income tax credit, which
is calculated as 1.6% of the costs (amounts paid and accrued)
which private employers incur in training their employees.
Manufacturer's
Purchase Credit
Tax credit for businesses that purchase
manufacturing machinery and equipment.
Research
and Development Tax Credit
A 6.5% credit for increasing research
activities in Illinois.
Infrastructure
Programs
Illinois FIRST
A five-year, $12 billion program designed
to revitalize, rebuild, develop, and maintain critical support
systems to assure a better life for everyone in Illinois.
Economic Development Program (EDP)
Provides state assistance for highway
improvements that are needed to provide access to new or expanding
industrial, distribution, or tourism developments.
Truck Access Route Program (TARP)
Helps local government agencies upgrade
roads to accommodate 80,000 pound trucks.
Rail Freight Program (RFP)
Provides capital assistance to communities,
railroads and shippers to preserve and improve rail freight
service in Illinois.
Business Development Public Infrastructure
Program
Provides low-interest and grant
financing to units of local government for public improvements
on behalf of businesses undertaking expansion or relocation
projects.
Community Development Assistance
Programs (CDAP)
Federal grants are made to units
of local government and may be loaned to businesses for projects
that will create or retain jobs within the community, or used
for improvement to public infrastructure that directly support
economic development.
Tax Increment
Financing (TIF)
Municipal financing tool that can
be used to renovate declining areas or redevelop blighted
areas while improving the tax base of the areas.
Technology-Focused
Programs
Illinois Technology Enterprise
Development Centers (ITECs)
Provide investments to or on behalf
of young or growing companies in cooperation with private
sector investments.
Manufacturing Extension Programs
(MECs)
MECs assist small and mid-sized companies
with technological advancement, stressing continuous improvement
of business practices to help firms be more competitive in
a global economy.
Technology Challenge
Grant Program (TCGP)
Grant funds which can be used to
help secure federal research and development projects for
Illinois, to identify and develop technology programs capable
of commercialization, or to establish programs to serve as
a catalyst and assure a strong base to develop, transfer,
or commercialize new technologies.
Please access the following website for the most current
program
information:
www.illinoisbiz.biz/bus/incentives_alt.html
Illinois Taxes and
Tax Incentives
The moderate tax rates and broad tax incentives of
Illinois' tax structure are designed to encourage
business growth. Recognizing the importance of our
existing employers to the stateÕs overall economic
well-being, Illinois' tax incentives are specifically
designed to apply equally to new businesses and
existing businesses.
Please access the following website for the most current
information:
www.illinoisbiz.biz/bus/taxes.html
For more information regarding any of these programs, please
feel free to contact either:
Department of Commerce
Benton-West City EDC
and Economic Opportunity
P.O. Box 575
620 East Adams St.
Benton, IL
Springfield, IL 62701
618-435-3427
217-785-7500
www.commerce.state.il.us
www.bentonwestcity.com
or
www.illinoisbiz.biz
