(20 ILCS 655/5.5) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 609.1)
    Sec. 5.5. High Impact Business.
    (a) In order to respond to unique opportunities to assist in the encouragement, development, growth and expansion of the private sector through large scale investment and development projects, the Department is authorized to receive and approve applications for the designation of "High Impact Businesses" in Illinois subject to the following conditions:
        (1) such applications may be submitted at any time
    
during the year;
        (2) such business is not located, at the time of
    
designation, in an enterprise zone designated pursuant to this Act;
        (3) the business intends to do one or more of the
    
following:
            (A) the business intends to make a minimum
        
investment of $12,000,000 which will be placed in service in qualified property and intends to create 500 full-time equivalent jobs at a designated location in Illinois or intends to make a minimum investment of $30,000,000 which will be placed in service in qualified property and intends to retain 1,500 full-time retained jobs at a designated location in Illinois. The business must certify in writing that the investments would not be placed in service in qualified property and the job creation or job retention would not occur without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in subsection (b) of this Section. The terms "placed in service" and "qualified property" have the same meanings as described in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or
            (B) the business intends to establish a new
        
electric generating facility at a designated location in Illinois. "New electric generating facility", for purposes of this Section, means a newly-constructed electric generation plant or a newly-constructed generation capacity expansion at an existing electric generation plant, including the transmission lines and associated equipment that transfers electricity from points of supply to points of delivery, and for which such new foundation construction commenced not sooner than July 1, 2001. Such facility shall be designed to provide baseload electric generation and shall operate on a continuous basis throughout the year; and (i) shall have an aggregate rated generating capacity of at least 1,000 megawatts for all new units at one site if it uses natural gas as its primary fuel and foundation construction of the facility is commenced on or before December 31, 2004, or shall have an aggregate rated generating capacity of at least 400 megawatts for all new units at one site if it uses coal or gases derived from coal as its primary fuel and shall support the creation of at least 150 new Illinois coal mining jobs, or (ii) shall be funded through a federal Department of Energy grant before December 31, 2010 and shall support the creation of Illinois coal-mining jobs, or (iii) shall use coal gasification or integrated gasification-combined cycle units that generate electricity or chemicals, or both, and shall support the creation of Illinois coal-mining jobs. The business must certify in writing that the investments necessary to establish a new electric generating facility would not be placed in service and the job creation in the case of a coal-fueled plant would not occur without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term "placed in service" has the same meaning as described in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or
            (B-5) the business intends to establish a new
        
gasification facility at a designated location in Illinois. As used in this Section, "new gasification facility" means a newly constructed coal gasification facility that generates chemical feedstocks or transportation fuels derived from coal (which may include, but are not limited to, methane, methanol, and nitrogen fertilizer), that supports the creation or retention of Illinois coal-mining jobs, and that qualifies for financial assistance from the Department before December 31, 2010. A new gasification facility does not include a pilot project located within Jefferson County or within a county adjacent to Jefferson County for synthetic natural gas from coal; or
            (C) the business intends to establish production
        
operations at a new coal mine, re-establish production operations at a closed coal mine, or expand production at an existing coal mine at a designated location in Illinois not sooner than July 1, 2001; provided that the production operations result in the creation of 150 new Illinois coal mining jobs as described in subdivision (a)(3)(B) of this Section, and further provided that the coal extracted from such mine is utilized as the predominant source for a new electric generating facility. The business must certify in writing that the investments necessary to establish a new, expanded, or reopened coal mine would not be placed in service and the job creation would not occur without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term "placed in service" has the same meaning as described in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or
            (D) the business intends to construct new
        
transmission facilities or upgrade existing transmission facilities at designated locations in Illinois, for which construction commenced not sooner than July 1, 2001. For the purposes of this Section, "transmission facilities" means transmission lines with a voltage rating of 115 kilovolts or above, including associated equipment, that transfer electricity from points of supply to points of delivery and that transmit a majority of the electricity generated by a new electric generating facility designated as a High Impact Business in accordance with this Section. The business must certify in writing that the investments necessary to construct new transmission facilities or upgrade existing transmission facilities would not be placed in service without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term "placed in service" has the same meaning as described in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or
            (E) the business intends to establish a new wind
        
power facility at a designated location in Illinois. For purposes of this Section, "new wind power facility" means a newly constructed electric generation facility, or a newly constructed expansion of an existing electric generation facility, placed in service on or after July 1, 2009, that generates electricity using wind energy devices, and such facility shall be deemed to include all associated transmission lines, substations, and other equipment related to the generation of electricity from wind energy devices. For purposes of this Section, "wind energy device" means any device, with a nameplate capacity of at least 0.5 megawatts, that is used in the process of converting kinetic energy from the wind to generate electricity; and
        (4) no later than 90 days after an application is
    
submitted, the Department shall notify the applicant of the Department's determination of the qualification of the proposed High Impact Business under this Section.
    (b) Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses pursuant to subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section shall qualify for the credits and exemptions described in the following Acts: Section 9-222 and Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act, subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, and Section 1d of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act; provided that these credits and exemptions described in these Acts shall not be authorized until the minimum investments set forth in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section have been placed in service in qualified properties and, in the case of the exemptions described in the Public Utilities Act and Section 1d of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, the minimum full-time equivalent jobs or full-time retained jobs set forth in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section have been created or retained. Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses under this Section shall also qualify for the exemption described in Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. The credit provided in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act shall be applicable to investments in qualified property as set forth in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section.
    (b-5) Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses pursuant to subdivisions (a)(3)(B), (a)(3)(B-5), (a)(3)(C), and (a)(3)(D) of this Section shall qualify for the credits and exemptions described in the following Acts: Section 51 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, Section 9-222 and Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act, and subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; however, the credits and exemptions authorized under Section 9-222 and Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act, and subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act shall not be authorized until the new electric generating facility, the new gasification facility, the new transmission facility, or the new, expanded, or reopened coal mine is operational, except that a new electric generating facility whose primary fuel source is natural gas is eligible only for the exemption under Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.
    (b-6) Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses pursuant to subdivision (a)(3)(E) of this Section shall qualify for the exemptions described in Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act; any business so designated as a High Impact Business being, for purposes of this Section, a "Wind Energy Business".
    (c) High Impact Businesses located in federally designated foreign trade zones or sub-zones are also eligible for additional credits, exemptions and deductions as described in the following Acts: Section 9-221 and Section 9-222.1 of the Public Utilities Act; and subsection (g) of Section 201, and Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.
    (d) Except for businesses contemplated under subdivision (a)(3)(E) of this Section, existing Illinois businesses which apply for designation as a High Impact Business must provide the Department with the prospective plan for which 1,500 full-time retained jobs would be eliminated in the event that the business is not designated.
    (e) Except for new wind power facilities contemplated under subdivision (a)(3)(E) of this Section, new proposed facilities which apply for designation as High Impact Business must provide the Department with proof of alternative non-Illinois sites which would receive the proposed investment and job creation in the event that the business is not designated as a High Impact Business.
    (f) Except for businesses contemplated under subdivision (a)(3)(E) of this Section, in the event that a business is designated a High Impact Business and it is later determined after reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing as provided under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, that the business would have placed in service in qualified property the investments and created or retained the requisite number of jobs without the benefits of the High Impact Business designation, the Department shall be required to immediately revoke the designation and notify the Director of the Department of Revenue who shall begin proceedings to recover all wrongfully exempted State taxes with interest. The business shall also be ineligible for all State funded Department programs for a period of 10 years.
    (g) The Department shall revoke a High Impact Business designation if the participating business fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the designation. However, the penalties for new wind power facilities or Wind Energy Businesses for failure to comply with any of the terms or conditions of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act shall be only those penalties identified in the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, and the Department shall not revoke a High Impact Business designation as a result of the failure to comply with any of the terms or conditions of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act in relation to a new wind power facility or a Wind Energy Business.
    (h) Prior to designating a business, the Department shall provide the members of the General Assembly and Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability with a report setting forth the terms and conditions of the designation and guarantees that have been received by the Department in relation to the proposed business being designated.
(Source: P.A. 96-28, eff. 7-1-09; 97-905, eff. 8-7-12.)