Ryan pledged during his gubernatorial campaign to create a new tax incentive program that would help Illinois better compete with neighboring states and capture a larger number of businesses looking to expand or relocate. By leveling the economic development playing field, we are sending a strong message to the business community that Illinois is a great place to do business. The EDGE program is a new targeted tax incentive program that would provide tax credits for businesses that create new jobs and make capital investments in Illinois. The EDGE program is designed to help areas of Illinois that are in direct competition with other states for jobs and development. Businesses creating new jobs would be able to claim a state income tax credit equal to a portion of the incremental income tax generated from new jobs created in Illinois.
Similar programs are currently available in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio.
Senate Bill 40 also contains provisions to bolster Illinois' high-tech business community. To help implement that plan, Ryan will chair the reconstituted Illinois Economic Development Board. This CEO-level advisory board will help the Administration devise and implement the State's economic development strategic plan. It will bring good jobs to Illinois that probably would have gone to other states, and it will ensure that Illinois enters the 21st century on sound economic footing.