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State Legislative Issues
Illinois Main Street Act
In August, 2011, Governor Quinn signed House Bill 3414, the Illinois Main Street Act. It was passed by both the Illinois House and Senate unanimously in June, 2011. The bill formalizes in statute the existing Illinois Main Street program, which serves over 50 communities, and places it within the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DECO). Introduced by State Representative Pat Verschoore (D-Rock Island),
House Bill 3414 maintains the current program of providing assistance to Main Street communities, in coordination with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA), focusing on economic development and historic preservation. It provides a framework for designating new Main Street communities in keeping with the
National Main Street Center’s criteria. Additionally, it designates the Lt. Governor as the Ambassador of the program with DCEO
consulting with the Lt. Governor on activities of the
program.
The Illinois Main Street Program was included on
Landmarks Illinois’ 2010 “Ten
Most Endangered list.” This
legislation helps to address one of the National Main
Street Center’s criteria for lifting a 2010 suspension
of the program.
Illinois Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Legislation
Passed for Five Cities
In July, 2011 Governor Quinn signed
Senate Bill 2168 to create the
Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Act. The act authorizes tax credits against Illinois income taxes for 25% of the cost of rehabilitating qualifying historic properties located in “River Edge Redevelopment Zones,” which exist in the cities of Aurora, East St. Louis, Elgin, Peoria and Rockford. The program will be administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DECO) in coordination with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA).
Passage of this legislation expands upon the bill passed in 2010 that established a state tax credit demonstration project with the Pere Marquette Hotel, a prominent building in downtown Peoria. State Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Pekin), who has been a lead sponsor for both tax credit efforts, noted that “this type of tax credit is all about creating jobs and redeveloping historic, downtown business districts.”
In 2009, a coalition of organizations and municipalities,
The Illinois Coalition for Historic Preservation and Economic Development, began to advocate for a state level historic rehabilitation tax credit. Landmarks Illinois, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, AIA Illinois and numerous municipalities championed tax credit legislation as an opportunity to create private investment in historic buildings throughout the state. See “News Archive” to view the members of this large coalition, past advocacy materials and press. In March 2010, a bill for a statewide program passed the full Illinois Senate, but subsequently did not pass out of the House. The Pere Marquette Hotel rehabilitation was selected as a demonstration project that would at least give legislators the opportunity to learn how the credit works and its critical role in helping to finance a project that might otherwise not move forward. Now with
the June, 2011 passage of SB 2168, historic building owners in more communities will be able to take advantage of this important tax incentive.
Still recognizing the need for a statewide historic rehabilitation tax credit program, Landmarks Illinois has commissioned the Institute for Legal, Legislative & Policy Studies at the University of Illinois, Springfield to conduct an economic study on the impact of a state rehabilitation tax credit. The study will be made available in the fall of 2011.
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