Bill Text: IL SR0957 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the Auditor General to conduct a program audit of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to examine the operations and management of the Department as it relates to the administration of the EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing Economy) tax credit program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR0957 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SR0957-Introduced.html

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SR0957 LRB098 19613 GRL 54808 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a strategic interest in
developing the best possible economic development strategy to
create the most jobs for the least amount of taxpayer money,
particularly as the State suffers from a relatively high
unemployment rate; and
WHEREAS, One of the programs that the State of Illinois
currently administers is the EDGE (Economic Development for a
Growing Economy) tax credit program that authorizes the
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to
craft agreements with for-profit companies to reduce or
eliminate State corporate income taxes in exchange for the
companies hiring and retaining Illinois employees; and
WHEREAS, There is no statutory cap on the amount of EDGE
tax credits that can be awarded to companies by the Department
of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; and
WHEREAS, According to the Chicago Tribune, the Department
authorized $161 million of EDGE tax credits in 2011; and
WHEREAS, The Department reported in June of 2013 that 82
separate agreements were reached that include in the aggregate
the creation of 3,581 jobs and the retention of 15,215 jobs;

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and
WHEREAS, The Department does not report the cost per job
for each of those 82 separate agreements; and
WHEREAS, The Department does not report the annual amount
of tax credits that were authorized as part of their annual
report; and
WHEREAS, It is of crucial importance for policymakers to
understand whether the cost of the EDGE tax credit program in
the aggregate and each of these agreements is justified based
on the job creation and retention benefits generated from the
agreements; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is
directed to conduct a program audit of the Illinois Department
of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to examine the operations
and management of the Department as it relates to the
administration of the EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing
Economy) tax credit program and to report the findings to the
Illinois General Assembly; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General answer the question in
his report whether the job creation and job retention benefits

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from the EDGE tax credit program is worth the cost to
taxpayers; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity fully cooperate with the audit and turn over any
materials requested by the Auditor General; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General is further directed to
commence this audit as soon as possible and, upon completion,
distribute a report in accordance with Section 3-14 of the
Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to the Auditor General and to all 4 legislative
leaders of the Illinois General Assembly.