Motorola Mobility Inc. will keep its corporate headquarters in suburban Chicago thanks to a new state incentives deal.
Gov. Pat Quinn and Motorola Mobility Chairman and CEO Dr. Sanjay Jha announced Friday the spin-off division of Motorola that's responsible for RAZR and DROID products is staying put in Libertyville. The company also committed to spending $500 million in research and development to keep about 3,000 jobs in Illinois, Quinn said.
In the past, Jha has shown interest in moving the division to San Diego, Calif., where Jha keeps a second home, as well as San Francisco or Austin, Texas.
On Friday, he agreed to a package that includes Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits, estimated at more than $10 million annually over the next 10 years. Quinn signed Senate Bill 4 on Friday to allow those credits to be used against either the company's annual withholding tax liability or their annual corporate income tax liability.
“Thanks to this partnership, Motorola will be designing state-of-the-art communication devices right here in Illinois,” Quinn said.
This is the second large business to recently consider a move from Illinois. In March, the CEO of Peoria-based Caterpillar sent a letter to Quinn, bemoaning the record state sales tax increase and its potential effect on Caterpillar employees.
Last month, Cat CEO Doug Oberhelman met with Quinn to discuss the Fortune-500 business, which employs more than 23,000 in the state, and the company's future in Illinois. Oberhelman announced Cat will stay in Illinois.
The incentives package for Motorola Mobility also includes job training funds and a Large Business Development Grant to help the company with capital expenses.
"I would like to thank Governor Quinn for his leadership, and I appreciate our partnership with the state of Illinois,” Jha said.
Quinn said in a statement that Illinois continues to see strong signs of economic growth and recovery. He said the state has added 89,500 new net jobs since January 2010.
