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 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is
encouraging Amazon to come to Chicago after news surfaced that the retail giant
is looking to establish a second headquarters. Dubbed “HQ2,” the new location
will bring with it up to 50,000 jobs; Amazon plans to spend up to $5 billion on
its new facilities, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Crain’s reported that Emanuel has spoken with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos about the
possibility of HQ2 coming to Chicago.
 The Seattle-based company is no stranger to Illinois or Chicago. Amazon has at
least eight fulfillment centers in various stages of planning and building, and
has inked at least three separate tax credit deals with Illinois under the
Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE, program. Amazon also has an
office in downtown Chicago that has around 200 employees.
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Amazon has also struck local property tax deals, such as the $400,000 property
tax abatement agreement it entered with Aurora in 2016.
While EDGE expired in April 2017, a bill to bring back the controversial program
has passed the General Assembly. However, lawmakers have yet to send the bill to
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk.
Since 2001, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has
issued more than $1.4 billion in tax credit certificates in EDGE deals with
hundreds of companies, though Illinois’ rate of jobs growth is still slower than
the national average as well as every one of its neighboring states.
It’s too early to tell whether Emanuel will be able to lure HQ2 to the Windy
City, or if Chicago is even a serious contender, but it is clear an effort is
underway.
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