The tax credit Quinn signed into law is $2,500 for new
hires at businesses with 50 or fewer people.Brady voted for the
legislation, although he also has called for a $2,100 tax credit for
all businesses that create jobs in the state, not just small
businesses.
"Sen. Brady wants to reduce that from $2,500 to $2,100. That's
the wrong direction," Quinn said at a news conference where he spent
a significant amount of time attacking Brady.
Brady's campaign cried foul.
"Once again Pat Quinn is distorting and manipulating Bill Brady's
record," said Patty Schuh, a spokeswoman for Brady. The senator last
week won the endorsement of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
Schuh said Brady's tax credit plan would apply to all businesses
"because a job is a job."
Quinn said the state has programs to help big businesses.
"We don't have to take some of the largest corporations on planet
Earth and hand out tax incentives to ... British Petroleum or
somebody like that. We want to target our tax credits in a very
focused way to our small businesses that are right here in Illinois,
not multinational corporations," Quinn said.
Quinn and Brady are battling it out in a close race that has
grown increasingly contentious. The Green Party's Rich Whitney also
is running.
[to top of second column]