Emanuel still working toward tax break package

Emanuel still working toward tax break package

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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he’ll continue working with lawmakers on a tax break package aimed to keep area businesses from leaving the state.

On Tuesday, the House overwhelmingly rejected a $250 million tax package that included breaks for northwest suburban-based Sears. On Thursday, the governor’s office said Ohio had since offered the company $400 million in incentives to lure it out of Illinois.

Emanuel said lawmakers need to pass the tax break package to keep the state economically healthy.

“All of that is essential to Chicago and the state of Illinois’s economic competitiveness, and their work is not done in this session until they do that,” said Emanuel.

Emanuel would not say whether he’s spoken with Sears executives since the package failed.

In a release earlier this week, Sears said it would make a decision on whether to relocate by the end of the month.

An earlier version of this story reported the tax package was $250 billion. It was $250 million.