ADM moves Global HQ from Decatur to Chicago.
Out for now.....
Matt
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BEFORE THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Paul Osborne
Editor, Decatur Tribune
It goes without saying that Decatur needs more jobs -- period.
We have an extremely high unemployment rate and it is not getting any better. We’re hurting.
A golden opportunity to add 500 more jobs to our ADM presence, via an incentive package put together by our State Senator Andy Manar, through working with Mayor Mike McElroy, ADM officials and others, passed the senate in a bipartisan vote but doesn’t have the same support in the Illinois House.
If the House rejects the package, or if it is never called to a vote, kiss those 600 new jobs goodbye due to “politics” and, when that game is played, Decatur usually ends up being told to get lost!
Last week Speaker of the House Mike Madigan put the clamps down on giving ADM any “incentive” breaks, stating: “We must resist the temptation to cave to corporate officials’ demands every time they impose a deadline for payment in exchange for remaining in Illinois, and end the case-by-case system of introducing and debating legislation whenever a corporation is looking for free money from Illinois taxpayers. This practice creates an unsettling and worrisome appearance of some new kind of corporate pay-to-play, which should be troubling to other business leaders and their shareholders, public officials and Illinois taxpayers.
“We should instead take a more long-term approach to helping all job-creating businesses in Illinois thrive and succeed, including thoroughly reviewing how we currently provide incentives to big corporations.....
“...The companies requesting these taxpayer-funded breaks currently pay little to no corporate income tax to the state, contributing little or nothing to help fund the very services from which they benefit significantly. Meanwhile, middle-class families continue struggling through a recession and job loss. So I find it very difficult to support tax giveaways for corporate CEOs and millionaire shareholders whose companies pay little in state taxes. I question our priorities when corporate handouts are demanded by companies that don’t pay their fair share while middle-class families and taxpayers face an increasing number of burdens...”
Translation: No to ADM incentive package already passed by the senate.
Last week, in this column, I complimented Sen. AndyManar for getting the incentive package through the senate.
Manar was in my office last week to discuss the issues facing Decatur and his district.
Of course, the subject of the ADM incentive package came up and its dubious future in the House.
Manar said, and I totally agree with him, is that people seem to forget that the package means 600 new jobs in Decatur.
“When is the last time 600 jobs were created for Decatur?he asked.
Actually, it’s been a long time -- about a decade since Caterpillar hired over a thousand new employees in a very short amount of time.
The ADM package means some really good news and hundreds more jobs in a job-needy city -- Decatur.
Now, in the middle of this process, Speaker Madigan wants to start being a little more circumspect in tax “giveaways” to big corporations.
I have no problem with that, and it’s probably a good idea, but you don’t start that process, and try to change the rules, when the senate has already approved an incentive package for a particular company.
You vote up or down on what’s on the table and let it be known that any future requests will not be heard until more stringent guidelines are discussed.
It’s always popular for a politician to “stick it to” major corporations, by claiming it is wrong to give tax credits to keep a prosperous company in the state -- unless, of course, it is a company he or she favors.
As far as taxpayers paying for this incentive package, we’ve been paying for years for all of those other incentive packages and contracts that don’t benefit us. This one will benefit Decatur and it seems extremely fair to the taxpayers because of the creation of hundreds of jobs.
The simple fact is that, if the ADM incentive package is not approved in the House, or even called for a vote -- it will be because of politics and a strong dislike some have of major corporations and their policies.
If the ADM package goes nowhere, the loser will not be ADM but Decatur and you can spout all kinds of “taxpayer burden” rhetoric you want, but it doesn’t erase the fact that incentives which create hundreds of jobs are beneficial to the taxpayers and the communities where those jobs are created.
Call the measure for a vote in the Illinois House and let legislators be held accountable if they decide to vote against Decatur job creation.
AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Gary Sawyer
Editor, Decatur Herald & Review
GOV. PAT Quinn, House Speaker Michael Madigan and others will undoubtedly claim victory now that Archer Daniels Midland Co. has announced it will move its world headquarters to Chicago without benefit of tax incentives.
It’s questionable whether the state won as a result of the deal. But it’s clear that an opportunity was missed for Central Illinois, especially Decatur.
ADM announced Wednesday that it will relocate its world headquarters in Chicago. But the headquarters will be smaller – about 60 to 75 people – than first anticipated. In addition, the company is no longer promising to establish a technology center along with the world headquarters.
On a state level, Illinois will still be the corporate home to ADM, which is good. But the world headquarters will be smaller and a technology center – featuring 100 technology jobs – may go elsewhere.
The company had sought about $30 million in tax incentives, but had also pledged to replace the jobs moved from Decatur to the world headquarters and had agreed to add 100 jobs a year to the Decatur operation for five years.
The plan, orchestrated by state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, would have added 600 jobs in the state over five years, 500 of those in the community with the highest unemployment rate in the state. The plan passed the Senate and a House subcommittee, but the House adjourned before taking up the issue.
Last week House Speaker Madigan criticized companies seeking tax incentives, saying the state needed to end “corporate pay to play,’’ and adopt a more comprehensive approach.
We’re not surprised, but still disappointed, that local legislators other than Manar were not vocal about the proposal and Madigan’s change of position. With the exception of Manar, our local legislators seem more than willing to attend news conferences when the news is good, but appear to have little impact when the decisions get made.
Central Illinois should not, however, be upset with ADM. Moving the world headquarters is an understandable business decision and no one should forget that 4,400 jobs will remain in Decatur and that Decatur will remain as the North American headquarters.
But Central Illinois has every reason to feel slighted by its state government. After handing out tax incentives for years, Madigan and others suddenly decided it was time to change course. That decision came as the center of the state was finally going to benefit from a tax incentive package. It’s hard to believe that was a coincidence.
It’s good that ADM is keeping its world headquarters in Chicago. But it seems the state missed a chance for a bigger world headquarters, a technology center, and most importantly to add jobs in Central Illinois.
That doesn’t seem like a win.