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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1753
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(As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 1)

 
3    WHEREAS, Good jobs are the foundation of a strong economy
4and a thriving society where the American Dream is within
5reach, the dignity of work is honored, families are nurtured,
6and communities can flourish; and
 
7    WHEREAS, For many decades, the Nabisco plant (now owned by
8Mondelez International) on Chicago's Southwest Side has
9provided hundreds of jobs that have sustained working-class
10families and helped them to buy homes, educate their children,
11and give back to their communities, all while contributing to
12the success of its products and shareholders; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In 1993, in recognition of the plant's importance
14to the Illinois economy, its then-owner, Nabisco Biscuit
15Company, was awarded State and city tax credits in excess of
16$90 million as an incentive to stay in Chicago; as recently as
172013, Mondelez received a State EDGE tax credit conditional on
18the creation of 25 new jobs at its Naperville facility; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Mondelez did not meet the job creation criteria in
20Naperville and was unable to utilize its EDGE tax credit;
21meanwhile, the company prepared to eliminate 600 jobs - half of
22the workforce - at the Southwest Side Oreo plant and relocate

 

 

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1much of its production to Mexico; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Other EDGE beneficiaries were able to create or
3retain jobs at one Illinois location while moving many more
4positions out of the State from another location, thus avoiding
5their job creation and retention obligations and seriously
6undermining the core purpose of using public funds for economic
7development incentives; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Under Governor Bruce Rauner, the Department of
9Commerce and Economic Opportunity has adopted a new policy
10whereby multiple facilities operated by EDGE recipients will no
11longer be considered separate entities, so corporations
12receiving tax credits cannot play a shell game with layoffs at
13taxpayer expense; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
15ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend the Rauner
16administration for closing the EDGE credit loophole and urge
17the Governor and the Department of Commerce and Economic
18Opportunity to continue working with the General Assembly to
19tighten accountability in all corporate incentive programs,
20ensuring taxpayers dollars are used to create good-paying jobs
21that sustain families and communities for the long term; and be
22it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That we urge Mondelez International to
2reconsider its decision to move production lines out of Chicago
3and out of the United States, and instead to work fairly and in
4good faith with its loyal employees, the unions that represent
5those employees, and the State of Illinois in order to keep
6Oreos American-made and continue to invest in its human capital
7in a city that has supported the success of its products for
8many decades; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10delivered to Governor Rauner, DCEO Acting Director Sean
11McCarthy, and Mondelez International Chief Executive Officer
12Irene Rosenfeld.