by Chris Lusvardi (Herald & Review) Legislation introduced in Springfield could boost efforts to attract bio-based businesses to Decatur and Central Illinois. The legislation introduced by state Sens. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, and Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, would provide incentives to produce and sell new renewable products made from biomass and other renewable sources.
The potential exists for Decatur to be at the center of a new $20 billion biotechnology industry, Rose said Friday.
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Rose said the intent to use the production and shipping capacity of Decatur highlighted through the Midwest Inland Port. He said those capabilities would be used along with the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab in Urbana.
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Iowa and Minnesota already have established state incentives and legislation is pending in Congress to establish a similar credit at the federal level.
The proposed legislation in Illinois would provide a state tax credit to companies within the state that produce and sell new manufactured products made from bio-based molecules of biomass feedstocks. Those products represent the next generation of advanced biofuels and include renewable chemicals and food additives. READ MORE