Section 527.40  Form of Application

a)         Applications will be accepted at any time during the year.  The Department will provide interested Applicants with an application package upon request. Submittal of an application does not commit the Department to award assistance or to pay any costs, including the application fee, incurred by the Applicant in the preparation of an application.

b)         Any Taxpayer proposing a Project located or planned to be located in Illinois may request consideration of its Project, by application to the Department, in which the Applicant states its intent to make at least a specified level of investment, if the Applicant has more than 100 employees, and intends to hire or retain a specified number of Full-time Employees at a designated location in Illinois as set forth in Section 5-20 of the Act. [35 ILCS 10/5-20(a)]

c)         Written applications will be required and must be submitted on the standard application form provided by the Department.  Applications shall be submitted to the Department office location identified on the application. The application shall include:

1)         Application Cover Page – containing name, address, and telephone number of Applicant; key contact and title; total number of new employees to be hired and, when applicable, the number of Full-time Employees to be retained; company Federal Employer Identification Number (F.E.I.N.); Standard Industrial Code (S.I.C.); if available, Illinois Unemployment Insurance Account Code; State Senate District number; State Representative District number; authorized signatures; and related information.

2)         Project Summary – a detailed description of the Project that is to be the subject of the Agreement. [35 ILCS 10/5-50(l)]

3)         Site Map – an outline of the general location of the Project on a site map, including the location of any flood plain areas and wetland areas.

4)         Jobs Impact – a detailed description of the number of New Employees to be hired and the occupation and payroll of the full-time jobs to be created [35 ILCS 10/5-50(9)] as a result of the Project, and a schedule of anticipated starting dates of the new hires. In addition, the Applicant must provide the total number of Full-time Employees employed by the Applicant and any Related Member, subsidiary, parent, or sister company in the State of Illinois at the time of the application. If the Applicant seeks a Credit with respect to Retained Employees, the application shall include, the occupation and payroll of the Full-time Employees to be retained as a result of the Project.

5)         Capital Improvements Planned – a detailed description of the investment the Taxpayer will make in Capital Improvements, and the designated location in Illinois for the investment.  [35 ILCS 10/5-50(10)] This shall include but not be limited to a description (or specifications or lists) of the planned Capital Improvements demonstrating the investment is qualified; documentation to substantiate the value of the investment (value of Capital Improvements as provided by appraisers, vendors, contractors and/or architects and engineers); and a schedule regarding when the eligible investment will be placed in service.

6)         Total Project Costs – a detailed description of total Project Cost as defined in Section 527.20.

7)         Competitive Requirements of the Project – evidence supplied by the Applicant demonstrating that, if not for the Credit, the Project would not occur in Illinois, which may be demonstrated by evidence that receipt of the Credit is essential to the Applicant's decision to create new jobs in the State, such as the magnitude of the cost differential between Illinois and a competing state. In the event that the Applicant is seeking an increase in the amount of the credit for Retained Employees, the Applicant must provide documentation:

A)        evidencing that the Applicant has multi-state location options and could reasonably and efficiently locate outside of the State.  An example of this evidence includes documentation indicating firm interest in alternative non-Illinois locations, such as a prospective offer or letter; or

B)        demonstrating that at least one other state is being considered for the Project, for example, disclosure of sites of out-of-state location options that would receive the proposed investment and job creation in the event the business is not designated, which may include documentation such as incentive letters or prospective offers from other states. [35 ILCS 10/5-25]

8)         Cost Differential – documentation of a cost differential of alternative out-of-state sites, such as written information on  non-Illinois sites under consideration, comparison of industry costs in other states, cost/benefit analyses of moving or closing the business, financial statements, internal memoranda, or any other financial documentation evidencing cost differential.

9)         Financial Statement – a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement of the Taxpayer for the last two years.

10)         Other Provisions – any other provisions or information the Department determines is necessary to facilitate the Department's evaluation of the application.

d)         The Applicant is responsible for the accuracy of all data, information and documentation included in its application.  Once submitted, applications shall become the property of the Department.

e)         Applications will not be evaluated unless the application fee has been included.

f)         Any documentary materials or data made available or received by any member of a business development or other Committee formed by the Department or any agent or employee of the Department shall be deemed confidential and shall not be deemed public records to the extent that the materials or data consist of trade secrets, commercial or financial information regarding the operation of the business conducted by the Applicant for, or recipient of, any tax credit under the Act, or any information regarding the competitive position of a business in a particular field of endeavor. [35 ILCS 10/5-90(a)]

(Source:  Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 6320, effective March 20, 2018)