Galesburg Reporter

In a May 19 Facebook post, Sen. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) applauded the reinstatement of the Blue Collar Jobs Act of 2019.

“Jobs creators within our state have faced struggling and uneasy times over the past few years,” he wrote on Facebook. “Hopefully, the release of funding for the Blue Collar Jobs Act will provide them and our state’s economy with a desperately-needed boost.”

The Blue Collar Jobs Act was filed by Rep. Keith Wheeler in April 2019. It created several different tax credit classifications. These include the “High Impact Business construction jobs credit,” as well as the “Enterprise Zone construction jobs credit against the taxpayer's Illinois income taxes based on the incremental income tax attributable to laborers or workers employed at certain construction sites located in Enterprise Zones.” It also created “a New Construction EDGE Credit based on the incremental income tax attributable to laborers or workers employed at construction sites associated with EDGE projects, [and] a River Edge construction jobs credit based on the incremental income tax attributable to laborers or workers employed at certain construction sites in a River Edge Redevelopment Zone. Requires contractors and subcontractors associated with projects that receive credits under the amendatory Act to file certified payroll information with the Department of Labor and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.”

In his Facebook post, Stoller guided readers to a news release he'd posted on his Senate website, which included a statement on the reinstatement. “While I may not have been in the General Assembly when the Blue Collar Jobs Act was passed in 2019, it is a program that I and my fellow Republican colleagues have advocated for its implementation ever since the Governor froze it,” Stoller said. “Job creators within our state have faced struggling and uneasy times over the past few years. Hopefully, the release of funding for the Blue Collar Jobs Act will provide them and our state’s economy with a desperately-needed boost.”

The press release explored the four components of the Blue Collar Jobs Act as well: The Blue Collar Jobs Act includes: High Impact Business (HIB) Construction Jobs Credit: Equals 50% of the incremental income tax attributable to qualified construction jobs for a designated HIB taxpayer during the construction period with an investment of at least $12 million; Enterprise Zone (EZ) Construction Jobs Credit: Equals 50% of the incremental income tax attributable to qualified construction jobs for approved capital investments of at least $10 million located in an EZ during the construction period; River Edge (RE) Construction Jobs Credit: Equals 50% of the incremental income tax attributable to qualified construction jobs for approved rehabilitation plan of at least $ 1 million located in a RE during the construction period (applicable for tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2021); New Construction Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) Credit: Discretionary credit for up to 50% of the incremental income tax attributable to qualified construction jobs during the construction period for approved capital investment projects over $10 million.

“By offering tax incentives through the bipartisan Blue Collar Jobs Act, the State is bolstering construction projects and supporting economic development throughout Illinois,” DCEO Director Kristin Richards said. “The innovative tax credit structure will help create new, good-paying construction jobs while encouraging businesses to increase investments in Illinois’ communities.”