Tax Incentives for College Towns

State level legislation is in the works that could benefit University town economies like ours with the support of the University of Illinois System. From the News-Gazette Friday:

UI pushing tax-incentive program to attract businesses to college towns
A tax-incentive program to attract more businesses to campus communities in Illinois, and spur jobs for students, is being pushed by the University of Illinois.

The "Grow Illinois" bill, as it's called for now, will be part of the legislative package from the University of Illinois this fall for consideration next spring, officials said Wednesday.

The draft bill would provide "significant" tax advantages for companies that come to the state and are associated with a public university, UI President Tim Killeen said during an interview with The News-Gazette's editorial board Wednesday...

As of now, Grow Illinois would include all public universities and possibly community colleges, Creasey said.

It would also fit the economic development component of the UI's proposed "Investment, Performance and Accountability Commitment" to create a new state funding model for Illinois universities, she said. IPAC would guarantee universities a certain level of funding for five years in exchange for meeting specific targets in terms of student achievement, financial aid and other areas.

The bill will likely be rolled out in October or November, to be considered in the next legislative session, Creasey said.

Full article here, including the interview with Tim Killeen mentioned above.