Welcome back! Congress is back and so are we with a packed edition, including:
• A big win for the state's EV incentives.
• Another alderman is calling it a day.
• The idea of two NFL teams in Chicago gets another look–and some cold water.
Illinois finally scores an EV win with compressor factory: Today's Juice, by Greg Hinz
Illinois has scored its first win with its new electric-vehicle incentive program.
In an action being announced later today, Decatur-based T/CCI Manufacturing, a compressor maker with facilities around the world, will detail a deal with the state in which the firm will convert a 200,000-square-foot former Borg-Warner factory into a center to make cooling devices needed for electric vehicles.
The company will also set up a climate innovation center in cooperation with Decatur’s Richland Community College. State and company officials say the center will serve more than T/CCI, with Deputy Gov. Andy Manar saying he hopes the facility will be the first step in creating a broader EV campus that will spur manufacturing here.
Related: Is Illinois becoming an also-ran in the race for the EV industry's top prize?
The deal is rather modest, at least compared to multi-billion-dollar EV battery plants that have recently been announced in Ohio and other states. Still, T/CCI will invest more than $20 million and has agreed to keep 103 jobs that now produce compressors for conventional vehicles while adding 50 more.
(Worth noting: execs from T/CCI were on Gov. J.B. Pritzker's guest list when he headed to D.C. last month to celebrate the passing of the CHIPS bill.)
But officials are hopeful the move is the first of bigger additional announcements to come. “We could have chosen to locate this anywhere. We chose Illinois,” said company Vice President Kara Demirjian-Huss in an interview. The company has facilities in China and India and considered the latter, as well as other facilities, for the new plant. But the new incentives–mostly payroll tax credits–made a difference, she said.
Those incentives will be worth up to $2 million, with another $250,000 tax credit awarded under a different program, Manar said. In addition, another $15.3 million in grants will go to Richland over some years with the city of Decatur getting $6 million for infrastructure improvements.
Previously: Is Illinois missing its chance to spark EV investment?
“T/CCI has invested in Illinois over the last two decades by growing their global headquarters in Decatur and creating good jobs in underserved communities,” Gov. Pritzker said in a statement. “We are thrilled they are transitioning operations to pioneer and accelerate electrification, which will create jobs and strengthen our economy.”
There’s still no news on the state’s quest to land a battery plant, one which would serve Rivian’s Bloomington factory. But insiders have reported for a while that some quiet progress is being made to lure a battery maker.
News from around the state, by Greg Hinz
Elsewhere in state government, Comptroller Susana Mendoza is the latest top official to come down with COVID-19.
The state’s chief bill payer tested positive over the weekend after suffering minor symptoms. The symptoms are so minor that she’s already rescheduled a City Club speech on state finances that was to occur today for next week.
Congress heads back to work after their summer recess and one key item to watch: Just how much Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill, will crank up the judicial nomination process.
Durbin is under a lot of pressure to act quickly, given the possibility that Republicans could win control of the Senate in the November midterm election and pretty much put a brick on any Democratic bench nominations.
Meanwhile, here in Chicago, yet another veteran City Council member is calling it quits.
In a statement Monday evening, Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza said she will not seek a third term as alderwoman from the Southeast Side 10th Ward, saying, “It’s time to move on to the next chapter of my life.”
Like several others hanging it up, Garza has been considered a close ally of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, but she’s been increasingly critical of the mayor in recent months.
Finally, don’t forget the official unveiling of Barack and Michelle Obama’s White House portraits on Wednesday. The former President and First Lady will be on-hand for the ceremony.
In other news, by Marcus Gilmer
• Texas sends second bus of undocumented migrants: Mayor Lori Lightfoot again slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after he sent another busload of undocumented migrants to Chicago over the weekend. Said Lightfoot, “He tries to send human beings, not cargo, not freight, but human beings across the country to an uncertain destination. He is manufacturing a human crisis and it makes no sense to me.”
• Amazon scrapping warehouses: Analysts estimate the mega-corporation has shuttered or killed plans to open 42 facilities and delayed opening 21 new locations around the country.
• Chicago and unions: Labor Day may be behind us, but WBEZ has a comprehensive look at the history of unions in Chicago and the rise of new ones within the city.
• McGrath on Ted Phillips, Bears: With Ted Phillips leaving and the team's exit from Chicago looking more certain, the old ways are out at Halas Hall. Dan McGrath weighs in.
• Big bet on elections: U.S. citizens can't legally bet on our own elections but maybe, one day, you could if one company Politico looks at gets its way. Another company's similar efforts were recently rejected.
One more thing: Revisiting the idea of a second NFL team
The idea of two teams in the Chicago area isn't a new one but it's especially intriguing as the Bears continue to swear they're relocating to Arlington Heights. After all, if Mayor Lightfoot is ready to glam-up Soldier Field, someone should use it, right? But there are a lot of obstacles in the way.
From Crain's Corli Jay:
Sports consultant Marc Ganis of Ganis’ SportsCorp said that while Chicago is a strong market for two NFL teams, he doesn't think Chicago will ever get another one.
Ganis said “a successful NFL team does not need a big market. Green Bay, New Orleans, Cincinnati, I could go on, but you don't have to have a huge market to be successful.”
There is also the issue of funding football stadiums. He said any time a team has moved or been added, it had its own facility built.
There's more, though, and it's worth reading to find out what might–and might not–happen if the city were ever to pursue a second franchise for the area.
You can read Coril's story in its entirety here.
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