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Governor Pat Quinn and Motorola Mobility Chairman and CEO Dr. Sanjay Jha today announced that the Motorola Mobility Inc. (MMI) corporate headquarters will be located in Libertyville, Illinois. The state is providing a business investment package to leverage the private investment and help keep approximately 3,000 jobs in Illinois.
Motorola Mobility is committing to spend more than $500 million in research and development related to these jobs over the next three years. In addition, Governor Quinn signed Senate Bill 4 today expanding the Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit, which was a determining factor in MMI’s decision to locate in Illinois.
“Thanks to this partnership, Motorola will be designing state-of-the-art communication devices right here in Illinois,” said Governor Quinn. “My administration is committed to encouraging innovation – like that taking place at Motorola – and creating the high-tech, high-paying jobs that are moving our state’s economy forward.”
Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Sen. Gary Forby (D-Benton) and Rep. John E. Bradley (D-Marion), adds language to legislation signed by Governor Quinn in December 2009 that allows qualifying companies to apply their EDGE tax credit against either the company's annual withholding tax liability or their annual corporate income tax liability.
“The decision to locate Motorola Mobility’s corporate headquarters in Libertyville highlights our long-standing commitment to the State of Illinois. I would like to thank Governor Quinn for his leadership and I appreciate our partnership with the state of Illinois,” said Dr. Jha.
MMI, a spinoff of Motorola Inc., has been responsible for the development of revolutionary devices such as the StarTAC, RAZR, DROID by Motorola, Motorola XOOM™ and Motorola ATRIX™. In addition to its Libertyville headquarters, Motorola will also maintain a design center in downtown Chicago.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is administering the state’s business investment package. In addition to the EDGE tax credits, estimated at more than $10 million annually over the next 10 years, the package consists of Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) job training funds that will help enhance the skills of the company’s workforce and a Large Business Development Grant to assist Motorola with capital expenses associated with this project. The company is also eligible for benefits from being designated a High Impact Business.
Illinois continues to see strong signs of economic growth and recovery. Since January 2010 when Illinois employment resumed after the national recession, the state has added 89,500 new net jobs, including nearly 10,000 manufacturing jobs, which leads the Midwest. March marked the 14th straight month of declining unemployment. Illinois ranks first in the Midwest for exports and foreign direct investment.
