20 ILCS 715/ Corporate Accountability for Tax Expenditures Act.

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH
(20 ILCS 715/) Corporate Accountability for Tax Expenditures Act.

20 ILCS 715/1

(20 ILCS 715/1)

Sec. 1.

Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Corporate
Accountability for Tax Expenditures Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-552, eff. 8-20-03.)

20 ILCS 715/5

(20 ILCS 715/5)

Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Base years" means the first 2 complete calendar years following the
effective date of a
recipient receiving development assistance.

"Date of assistance" means the commencement date of the assistance
agreement, which
date triggers the period during which the recipient is obligated to create or
retain jobs and
continue operations at the specific project site.

"Default" means that a recipient has not achieved its job creation, job
retention, or wage
or benefit goals, as applicable, during the prescribed period therefor.

"Department" means, unless otherwise noted, the Department of Commerce
and
Economic Opportunity or any successor agency.

"Development assistance" means (1) tax credits and tax exemptions (other
than given
under tax increment financing) given as an incentive to a recipient business
organization
pursuant to an initial certification or an initial designation made by the
Department under the
Economic
Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act, River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act, and the Illinois Enterprise
Zone Act,
including the High Impact Business program, (2) grants or loans given to a
recipient as an
incentive to a business organization pursuant to the River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act, Large Business Development
Program, the
Business Development Public Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training
Program, (3) the
State Treasurer's Economic Program Loans, (4) the Illinois Department of
Transportation
Economic Development Program, and (5) all successor and subsequent programs and
tax credits
designed to promote large business relocations and expansions. "Development
assistance" does
not include tax increment financing, assistance provided under the Illinois
Enterprise Zone Act and River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act
pursuant to local ordinance, participation loans, or
financial
transactions through
statutorily authorized financial intermediaries in support of small business
loans and investments
or given in connection with the development of affordable housing. "Development assistance" includes assistance under the Illinois Emergency Employment Program pursuant to the Illinois Emergency Development Act.

"Development assistance agreement" means any agreement executed by the
State
granting body and the recipient setting forth the terms and conditions of
development
assistance to be provided to the recipient consistent with the final
application for
development assistance, including but not limited to the date of assistance,
submitted to
and approved by the State granting body.

"Full-time, permanent job" means either: (1) the definition therefor in
the legislation
authorizing the programs described in the definition of development assistance
in the Act or (2)
if there is no such definition, then as defined in administrative rules
implementing such
legislation, provided the administrative rules were in place prior to the
effective date of this Act.
On and after the effective date of this Act, if there is no definition of
"full-time,
permanent job" in either
the legislation authorizing a program that constitutes economic development
assistance under
this Act or in any administrative rule implementing such legislation that was
in
place prior to the
effective date of this Act, then "full-time, permanent job" means a job in
which
the new
employee works for the recipient at a rate of at least 35 hours per week.

"New employee" means either: (1) the definition therefor in the
legislation authorizing
the programs described in the definition of development assistance in the Act
or (2) if there is no
such definition, then as defined in administrative rules implementing such
legislation, provided
the administrative rules were in place prior to the effective date of this Act.
On and after the effective
date of this Act, if there is no definition of "new employee" in either the
legislation authorizing a
program that constitutes economic development assistance under this Act nor in
any
administrative rule implementing such legislation that was in place prior to
the
effective date of
this Act, then "new employee" means a full-time, permanent employee who
represents a net
increase in the number of the recipient's employees statewide. "New employee"
includes an
employee who previously filled a new employee position with the recipient who
was rehired or
called back from a layoff that occurs during or following the base years.

The term "New Employee" does not include any of the following:

(1) An employee of the recipient who performs a job

that was previously performed by another employee in this State, if that job existed in this State for at least 6 months before hiring the employee.

(2) A child, grandchild, parent, or spouse, other

than a spouse who is legally separated from the individual, of any individual who has a direct or indirect ownership interest of at least 5% in the profits, capital, or value of any member of the recipient.

"Part-time job" means either: (1) the definition therefor in the
legislation authorizing the
programs described in the definition of development assistance in the Act or
(2) if there is no
such definition, then as defined in administrative rules implementing such
legislation, provided
the administrative rules were in place prior to the effective date of this Act.
On and after the effective
date of this Act, if there is no definition of "part-time job" in either the
legislation authorizing a
program that constitutes economic development assistance under this Act or in
any
administrative rule implementing such legislation that was in place prior to
the
effective date of
this Act, then "part-time job" means a job in which the new employee works for
the recipient at a
rate of less than 35 hours per week.

"Recipient" means any business that receives economic development
assistance. A
business is any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint
venture, association,
sole proprietorship, or other legally recognized entity.

"Retained employee" means either: (1) the definition therefor in the
legislation
authorizing the programs described in the definition of development assistance
in the Act or (2)
if there is no such definition, then as defined in administrative rules
implementing such
legislation, provided the administrative rules were in place prior to the
effective date of this Act.
On and after the effective date of this Act, if there is no definition of
"retained
employee" in either the
legislation authorizing a program that constitutes economic development
assistance under this
Act or in any administrative rule implementing such legislation that was in
place prior to the
effective date of this Act, then "retained employee" means any employee defined
as having a
full-time or full-time equivalent job preserved at a specific facility or site,
the continuance of
which is threatened by a specific and demonstrable threat, which shall be
specified in the
application for development assistance.

"Specific project site" means that distinct operational unit to which
any development
assistance is applied.

"State granting body" means the Department, any State department or State
agency
that provides
development assistance that has reporting requirements under this Act, and any
successor
agencies to any of the preceding.

"Temporary job" means either: (1) the definition therefor in the
legislation authorizing
the programs described in the definition of development assistance in the Act
or (2) if there is no
such definition, then as defined in administrative rules implementing such
legislation, provided
the administrative rules were in place prior to the effective date of this Act.
On and after the effective
date of this Act, if there is no definition of "temporary job" in either the
legislation authorizing a
program that constitutes economic development assistance under this Act or in
any
administrative rule implementing such legislation that was in place prior to
the
effective date of
this Act, then "temporary job" means a job in which the new employee is hired
for a specific
duration of time or season.

"Value of assistance" means the face value of any form of development
assistance.

(Source: P.A. 97-581, eff. 8-26-11.)

20 ILCS 715/10

(20 ILCS 715/10)

Sec. 10. Unified Economic Development Budget.

(a) For each State fiscal year ending on or after June 30, 2005, the
Department of Revenue shall
submit an annual Unified Economic Development Budget to the General Assembly.
The
Unified Economic Development Budget shall be due within 3 months after the end
of the fiscal
year, and shall present all types of development assistance granted,
including:

(1) The aggregate amount of uncollected or diverted

State tax revenues resulting from each type of development assistance provided in the tax statutes, as reported to the Department of Revenue for tax years beginning during the third preceding calendar year.

(2) All State development assistance granted during

the prior fiscal year.

(b) All data contained in the Unified Economic Development Budget presented
to the
General Assembly shall be fully subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

(c) The Department of Revenue shall submit a report of the amounts in
subdivision (a)(1)
of this Section to the Department, which may append such report to the Unified
Economic
Development Budget rather than separately reporting such amounts.

(Source: P.A. 100-721, eff. 8-3-18.)

20 ILCS 715/15

(20 ILCS 715/15)

Sec. 15.

Standardized applications for State development
assistance.

(a) All final applications submitted to the Department or any other State
granting body requesting development assistance shall contain, at a minimum:

(1) An application tracking number that is specific

to both the State granting agency and to each application.

(2) The office mailing addresses, office telephone

number, and chief officer of the granting body.

(3) The office mailing address, telephone number,

4-digit SIC number or successor number, and the name of the chief officer of the applicant or authorized designee for the specific project site for which development assistance is requested.

(4) The applicant's total number of employees at the

specific project site on the date that the application is submitted to the State granting body, including the number of full-time, permanent jobs, the number of part-time jobs, and the number of temporary jobs.

(5) The type of development assistance and value of

assistance being requested.

(6) The number of jobs to be created and retained or

both created and retained by the applicant as a result of the development assistance, including the number of full-time, permanent jobs, the number of part-time jobs, and the number of temporary jobs.

(7) A detailed list of the occupation or job

classifications and number of new employees or retained employees to be hired in full-time, permanent jobs, a schedule of anticipated starting dates of the new hires and the anticipated average wage by occupation or job classification and total payroll to be created as a result of the development assistance.

(8) A list of all other forms of development

assistance that the applicant is requesting for the specific project site and the name of each State granting body from which that development assistance is being requested.

(9) A narrative, if necessary, describing why the

development assistance is needed and how the applicant's use of the development assistance may reduce employment at any site in Illinois.

(10) A certification by the chief officer of the

applicant or his or her authorized designee that the information contained in the application submitted to the granting body contains no knowing misrepresentation of material facts upon which eligibility for development assistance is based.

(b) Every State granting body either shall complete, or shall require
the applicant to
complete, an application form that meets the minimum requirements as prescribed
in this Section
each time an applicant applies for development assistance covered by this Act.

(c) The Department shall have the discretion to modify any standardized
application for State development assistance required under subsection (a) for
any grants
under the Industrial Training Program that are not given as an incentive to a
recipient
business organization.

(Source: P.A. 93-552, eff. 8-20-03.)

20 ILCS 715/20

(20 ILCS 715/20)

Sec. 20. State development assistance disclosure.

(a) Beginning February 1, 2005 and each year thereafter, every State
granting body shall submit to the Department copies of all development
assistance agreements that it approved in the prior calendar year.

(b) For each development assistance agreement for which the date of
assistance has occurred in the prior calendar year, each recipient shall
submit to the Department a progress report. A recipient of multiple development assistance agreements in the same award year and for a single project site may file a consolidated progress report if the applicant's base number of employees and number of jobs to be created and retained as stated in the multiple development assistance agreements or applications are the same. A progress report shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:

(1) Each application tracking number.

(2) The office mailing address, telephone number, and

the name of the chief officer of the granting body.

(3) The office mailing address, telephone number,

4-digit SIC number or successor number, and the name of the chief officer of the applicant or authorized designee for the specific project site for which the development assistance was approved by the State granting body.

(4) The type of development assistance program and

value of assistance that was approved by the State granting body.

(5) The applicant's total number of employees at the

specific project site on the date that the application was submitted to the State granting body and the applicant's total number of employees at the specific project site on the date of the report, including the number of full-time, permanent jobs, the number of part-time jobs, and the number of temporary jobs, and a computation of the gain or loss of jobs in each category.

(6) The number of new employees and retained

employees the applicant stated in its development assistance agreement, if any, if not, then in its application, would be created by the development assistance broken down by full-time, permanent, part-time, and temporary.

(7) A declaration of whether the recipient is in

compliance with each development assistance agreement.

(8) A detailed list of the occupation or job

classifications and number of new employees or retained employees to be hired in full-time, permanent jobs, a schedule of anticipated starting dates of the new hires and the actual average wage by occupation or job classification and total payroll to be created as a result of the development assistance.

(9) A narrative, if necessary, describing how the

recipient's use of the development assistance during the reporting year has reduced employment at any site in Illinois.

(10) A certification by the chief officer of the

applicant or his or her authorized designee that the information in the progress report contains no knowing misrepresentation of material facts upon which eligibility for development assistance is based.

(11) Any other information the Department shall deem

necessary to ensure compliance with a development assistance program.

(c) The State granting body, or a successor agency,
shall have full
authority to verify information contained in the recipient's progress report,
including the authority to
inspect the specific project site and
inspect the records of the recipient that are subject to the development
assistance agreement.

(d) By June 1, 2005 and by June 1 of each year thereafter, the
Department shall compile
and publish all data in all of the progress reports in
both written and electronic form.

(e) If a recipient of development assistance fails to comply with
subsection (b) of this Section, the Department shall, within 20 working days
after the
reporting submittal
deadlines set forth in (i) the legislation authorizing, (ii) the
administrative rules implementing, or
(iii) specific provisions in development assistance agreements pertaining to
the development assistance programs, suspend within 33 working days any current
development
assistance to the
recipient under its control, and shall be prohibited from completing any
current or providing any
future development assistance until it receives proof that the recipient has
come into compliance
with the requirements of subsection (b) of this Section.

(f) The Department shall have the discretion to modify the information
required
in the progress report required under subsection (b) consistent with the
disclosure purpose
of this Section for any grants under the Industrial Training Program that are
not given as
an incentive to a recipient business organization.

(Source: P.A. 96-1429, eff. 1-1-11.)

20 ILCS 715/25

(20 ILCS 715/25)

Sec. 25. Recapture.

(a) All development assistance agreements
shall contain, at a
minimum, the following recapture provisions:

(1) The recipient must (i) make the level of capital

investment in the economic development project specified in the development assistance agreement; (ii) create or retain, or both, the requisite number of jobs, paying not less than specified wages for the created and retained jobs, within and for the duration of the time period specified in the legislation authorizing, or the administrative rules implementing, the development assistance programs and the development assistance agreement.

(2) If the recipient fails to create or retain the

requisite number of jobs within and for the time period specified, in the legislation authorizing, or the administrative rules implementing, the development assistance programs and the development assistance agreement, the recipient shall be deemed to no longer qualify for the State economic assistance and the applicable recapture provisions shall take effect.

(3) If the recipient receives State economic

assistance in the form of a High Impact Business designation pursuant to Section 5.5 of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act and the business receives the benefit of the exemption authorized under Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act (for the sale of building materials incorporated into a High Impact Business location) or the utility tax exemption authorized under Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act and the recipient fails to create or retain the requisite number of jobs, as determined by the legislation authorizing the development assistance programs or the administrative rules implementing such legislation, or both, within the requisite period of time, the recipient shall be required to pay to the State the full amount of both the State tax exemption and the utility tax exemption that it received as a result of the High Impact Business designation.

(4) If the recipient receives a grant or loan

pursuant to the Large Business Development Program, the Business Development Public Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training Program and the recipient fails to create or retain the requisite number of jobs for the requisite time period, as provided in the legislation authorizing the development assistance programs or the administrative rules implementing such legislation, or both, or in the development assistance agreement, the recipient shall be required to repay to the State a pro rata amount of the grant; that amount shall reflect the percentage of the deficiency between the requisite number of jobs to be created or retained by the recipient and the actual number of such jobs in existence as of the date the Department determines the recipient is in breach of the job creation or retention covenants contained in the development assistance agreement. If the recipient of development assistance under the Large Business Development Program, the Business Development Public Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training Program ceases operations at the specific project site, during the 5-year period commencing on the date of assistance, the recipient shall be required to repay the entire amount of the grant or to accelerate repayment of the loan back to the State.

(5) If the recipient receives a tax credit under the

Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credit program, the development assistance agreement must provide that (i) if the number of new or retained employees falls below the requisite number set forth in the development assistance agreement, the allowance of the credit shall be automatically suspended until the number of new and retained employees equals or exceeds the requisite number in the development assistance agreement; (ii) if the recipient discontinues operations at the specific project site during the 5-year period after the beginning of the first tax year for which the Department issues a tax credit certificate, the recipient shall forfeit all credits taken by the recipient during such 5-year period; and (iii) in the event of a revocation or suspension of the credit, the Department shall contact the Director of Revenue to initiate proceedings against the recipient to recover wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes and the recipient shall promptly repay to the Department of Revenue any wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes. The forfeited amount of credits shall be deemed assessed on the date the Department contacts the Department of Revenue and the recipient shall promptly repay to the Department of Revenue any wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes.

(b) The Director may elect to waive enforcement of any contractual provision
arising out of
the development assistance agreement required by this Act based on a finding
that the waiver is
necessary to avert an imminent and demonstrable hardship to the
recipient that may
result in such recipient's insolvency or discharge of workers.
If a waiver is
granted, the recipient must agree to a contractual modification, including
recapture provisions,
to the
development assistance
agreement.
The existence of
any waiver
granted pursuant to this subsection (b), the date of the granting of such
waiver, and a brief
summary of the reasons supporting the granting of such waiver shall be
disclosed
consistent with
the provisions of Section 25 of this Act.

(b-5)  The Department shall post, on its website, (i)  the identity of each recipient from whom amounts were recaptured under this Section on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, (ii)  the date of the recapture,  (iii) a summary of the reasons supporting the recapture, and (iv) the amount recaptured from those recipients.

(c) Beginning June 1, 2004, the Department shall annually compile a report
on the
outcomes and effectiveness of recapture provisions by program, including but
not limited
to: (i) the total number of companies that receive development assistance as
defined in
this Act; (ii) the total number of recipients in violation of development
agreements with
the Department; (iii) the total number of completed recapture efforts; (iv) the
total
number of recapture efforts initiated; and (v) the number of waivers granted.
This report
shall be disclosed consistent with the provisions of Section 20 of this Act.

(d) For the purposes of this Act, recapture provisions do not include the
Illinois
Department of Transportation Economic Development Program, any grants under the
Industrial Training Program that are not given as an incentive to a
recipient business organization,
or any successor programs as described in the term "development assistance" in
Section 5
of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 97-2, eff. 5-6-11; 97-721, eff. 6-29-12; 98-109, eff. 7-25-13; 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)

20 ILCS 715/99

(20 ILCS 715/99)

Sec. 99.

Effective date.

This Act takes effect upon becoming law.

(Source: P.A. 93-552, eff. 8-20-03.)