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| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Illinois Economic Development Corporation Act.
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| 6 | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, except as | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | otherwise provided: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | "Board" means the board of directors of the corporation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | "Center" means the Illinois Small Business Development | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Center. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | "Corporation" means the Illinois Economic Development | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Corporation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | "Economic development program" means a program or activity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | having the primary purpose of encouraging the establishment and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | growth of business in this State, including the creation and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | retention of jobs.
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| 17 | Section 10. Illinois Economic Corporation; creation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | (a) The Illinois Economic Development Corporation is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | created. The board of directors of the corporation is created | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | and shall consist of the Governor, who shall serve as | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | chairperson of the board, and 8 members, at least 2 of whom are | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | employed in the private sector. The members of the board shall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of | ||||||
| 2 | the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. | ||||||
| 3 | The Director of Central Management Services and the Director of | ||||||
| 4 | Revenue shall also serve as nonvoting members of the board. | ||||||
| 5 | (b) A majority of the voting members of the board | ||||||
| 6 | constitutes a quorum for the purpose of conducting its business | ||||||
| 7 | and exercising its powers and for all other purposes, | ||||||
| 8 | notwithstanding the existence of vacancies. Action may be taken | ||||||
| 9 | by the board upon a vote of a majority of the voting members | ||||||
| 10 | present. | ||||||
| 11 | (c) An executive director shall be appointed by the | ||||||
| 12 | Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall | ||||||
| 13 | serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The board may delegate | ||||||
| 14 | to the executive director any powers and duties the board | ||||||
| 15 | considers proper. The executive director shall receive | ||||||
| 16 | compensation as determined by the board.
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| 17 | Section 15. Duties of the board. | ||||||
| 18 | (a) The board shall develop
and implement economic programs | ||||||
| 19 | to provide business
support and expertise and financial | ||||||
| 20 | assistance to companies
that are investing and creating jobs in | ||||||
| 21 | Illinois and
to support new business start-ups and business | ||||||
| 22 | expansion
and growth in Illinois. The board may also
develop | ||||||
| 23 | and implement any other programs related to
economic | ||||||
| 24 | development in Illinois. | ||||||
| 25 | (b) For each program developed and implemented by
the | ||||||
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| 1 | board, the board shall do all of the following: | ||||||
| 2 | (1) establish clear and measurable goals for the | ||||||
| 3 | program
that are tied to statutory or programmatic policy
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| 4 | objectives; | ||||||
| 5 | (2) establish at least one quantifiable benchmark for
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| 6 | each program goal described in paragraph (1); | ||||||
| 7 | (3) require that each recipient of a grant or loan
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| 8 | under the program submit a report to the corporation;
each | ||||||
| 9 | contract with a recipient of a grant or loan under the
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| 10 | program must specify the frequency and format of the
report | ||||||
| 11 | to be submitted to the corporation and the performance
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| 12 | measures to be included in the report; | ||||||
| 13 | (4) establish a method for evaluating the projected
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| 14 | results of the program with actual outcomes as determined
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| 15 | by evaluating the information described in paragraphs
(1) | ||||||
| 16 | and (2); and | ||||||
| 17 | (5) annually and independently verify, from a sample
of | ||||||
| 18 | grants and loans, the accuracy of the information
required | ||||||
| 19 | to be reported under paragraph (3). | ||||||
| 20 | (c) The board shall require for each program developed
and | ||||||
| 21 | implemented by the board all of the following: | ||||||
| 22 | (1) that each recipient of a grant or loan under the
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| 23 | program of at least $100,000 submit to the corporation a
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| 24 | verified statement describing the recipient's expenditure
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| 25 | of the grant or loan funds, signed by both an independent
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| 26 | certified public accountant and the director or principal
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| 1 | officer of the recipient to attest to the accuracy of the | ||||||
| 2 | verified
statement; the board shall also require the | ||||||
| 3 | recipient
of such a grant or loan to make available for | ||||||
| 4 | inspection
the documents supporting the verified | ||||||
| 5 | statement; the
board must include the requirement in the | ||||||
| 6 | contract with
grant or loan recipients; and | ||||||
| 7 | (2) that the board, if a recipient of a grant or loan
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| 8 | under the program submits false or misleading information
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| 9 | to the corporation or fails to comply with the terms
of a | ||||||
| 10 | contract entered into with the corporation, without
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| 11 | providing satisfactory explanation for the noncompliance,
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| 12 | do all of the following: | ||||||
| 13 | (A) recoup payments made to the recipient; | ||||||
| 14 | (B) withhold future payments to be made to the | ||||||
| 15 | recipient; and | ||||||
| 16 | (C) impose a financial penalty on the recipient.
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| 17 | Section 20. Powers of the board. The board shall have all
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| 18 | the powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes
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| 19 | and provisions of this Act. In addition to all
other powers | ||||||
| 20 | granted the board under this Act, the
board may specifically: | ||||||
| 21 | (1) adopt, amend, and repeal any bylaws, policies,
and | ||||||
| 22 | procedures for the regulation of its affairs and the
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| 23 | conduct of its business; | ||||||
| 24 | (2) have a seal and alter the seal at pleasure; | ||||||
| 25 | (3) maintain an office; | ||||||
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| 1 | (4) sue and be sued; | ||||||
| 2 | (5) accept gifts, grants, loans, or other | ||||||
| 3 | contributions
from private or public sources; | ||||||
| 4 | (6) establish the corporation's annual budget and
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| 5 | monitor the fiscal management of the corporation; | ||||||
| 6 | (7) execute contracts and other instruments required
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| 7 | for the operation of the corporation; | ||||||
| 8 | (8) employ any officers, agents, and employees that
it | ||||||
| 9 | may require and determine their qualifications, duties,
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| 10 | and compensation; | ||||||
| 11 | (9) issue notes, bonds, and any other obligations; | ||||||
| 12 | (10) make loans and provide grants; | ||||||
| 13 | (11) incur debt; and | ||||||
| 14 | (12) procure liability insurance.
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| 15 | Section 25. Illinois Small Business Development Center. | ||||||
| 16 | (a) The Illinois Small Business Development Center is | ||||||
| 17 | created within the corporation to provide business counseling | ||||||
| 18 | and educational programs developed at the local, regional, and | ||||||
| 19 | State level to support Illinois small business creation and | ||||||
| 20 | growth. The Center shall be administered by an advisory | ||||||
| 21 | council. | ||||||
| 22 | (b) The advisory council is created and shall consist of 7 | ||||||
| 23 | members appointed by the board. The members shall be persons of | ||||||
| 24 | recognized expertise and ability in the field of small business | ||||||
| 25 | creation and growth. A majority of the members of the advisory | ||||||
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| 1 | council constitutes a quorum for the purpose of conducting its | ||||||
| 2 | business and exercising its powers and for all other purposes, | ||||||
| 3 | notwithstanding the existence of vacancies. Action may be taken | ||||||
| 4 | by the advisory council upon a vote of a majority of the | ||||||
| 5 | members present. | ||||||
| 6 | (c) The Center shall provide assistance, in the form of | ||||||
| 7 | training, counseling, and information resources, to startup | ||||||
| 8 | businesses and job-creator firms regarding the following | ||||||
| 9 | separate steps in the startup process: | ||||||
| 10 | (1) executing and filing articles of incorporation, | ||||||
| 11 | articles of organization, or any other papers required to | ||||||
| 12 | form a business; | ||||||
| 13 | (2) building management skills; and | ||||||
| 14 | (3) developing a market analysis.
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| 15 | Section 30. Administrative support. | ||||||
| 16 | (a) If requested by the board, the Department
of Commerce | ||||||
| 17 | and Economic Opportunity shall provide staff or other resources
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| 18 | to assist the board in carrying out the purposes and provisions
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| 19 | of this Act. | ||||||
| 20 | (b) To the extent practical, the Department
of Commerce and | ||||||
| 21 | Economic Opportunity and the board shall seek to coordinate | ||||||
| 22 | their
economic development programs.
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| 23 | Section 35. Liability limited. Neither the State nor any
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| 24 | political subdivision of the State, nor any officer,
employee, | ||||||
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| 1 | or agent of the State or a political subdivision
of the State | ||||||
| 2 | who is acting within the scope of employment
or agency, is | ||||||
| 3 | liable for any debt, obligation, act, or omission
of the | ||||||
| 4 | corporation.
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| 5 | Section 40. Annual reports. | ||||||
| 6 | (a) Annually, by January 1, the board shall submit
to the | ||||||
| 7 | members of the General Assembly a report
identifying the | ||||||
| 8 | economic development projects that the
board intends to develop | ||||||
| 9 | and implement during the current
calendar year. | ||||||
| 10 | (b) Annually, no later than October l, the board shall
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| 11 | submit to the members of the General Assembly a report for the
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| 12 | previous fiscal year on each of the economic development
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| 13 | programs of the corporation that contains all of the
following: | ||||||
| 14 | (1) a description of each program; | ||||||
| 15 | (2) a comparison of expected and actual program
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| 16 | outcomes; | ||||||
| 17 | (3) the number of grants made under the program; | ||||||
| 18 | (4) the number of loans made under the program; | ||||||
| 19 | (5) the amount of each grant and loan made under the
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| 20 | program; | ||||||
| 21 | (6) the recipient of each grant or loan made under the
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| 22 | program; | ||||||
| 23 | (7) the sum total of all grants and loans awarded to
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| 24 | and received by each recipient under the program; and | ||||||
| 25 | (8) any recommended changes to the program. | ||||||
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| 1 | (c) The board shall make readily accessible to the
public | ||||||
| 2 | on its official Internet website the information
required under | ||||||
| 3 | subsection (b).
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| 4 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 5 | becoming law.
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