Springfield Shoots Down CME Group Tax Breaks... For Now

By aaroncynic in News on Nov 10, 2011 7:40PM

The push to grant CME Group, CBOE Holdings and Sears tax breaks stalled in the Illinois Legislature yesterday. Hearings on the matter will continue however, as House Speaker Michael Madigan ordered an extension to the six-day veto session.

A full vote by the Senate and House is scheduled for Nov. 21. CME continued to grumble about the delay in getting its tax breaks, with its Chairman Terry Duffy touting “very, very lucrative” offers to move to other states.

Meanwhile, the Tribune reports CME has yet to cash in the tax credits it received in 2008. According to a progress report from the Illinois Corporate Accountability website, CME has unclaimed credits that add up to $405,000 to retain 25 workers and build a facility in Aurora. The company has been stalling to claim those credits because the $74.1 million data center wasn’t finished and it only retained half of the workers. Should CME hire the other half, it would be eligible to claim the credit over the next ten years.

Still, CME Chairman Duffy claims the company isn’t looking for a handout. “I want to pay the taxes that the CME Group owes,” he told the House Revenue Committee. Apparently, Duffy and CME is waiting for the legislature to come up with an amount that they feel like paying.