Quinn Still Considering Tax Break Bill

Before they left Springfield last week, Illinois lawmakers sent Governor Pat Quinn a bill that would require the state to publicly reveal details of corporate tax breaks. 

The bill requires information be made public as soon as any tax break deal is complete. State Representative Jack Franks says he cut a provision that would have created a committee to review so-called EDGE tax credits. The state provides EDGE credits to companies threatening to leave the state. A spokesperson for the Governor’s office says he hasn't decided whether to sign the bill. Franks says Quinn opposes more oversight of the tax breaks that he often trumpets as economic tools. Illinois has more than quadrupled its corporate tax breaks since 2006 to more than $270 million in 2010. The state often gets poor marks for its oversight of those tax breaks.