SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — One year after Governor J.B. Pritzker adopted a plan to “decouple” the state from the 2017 Trump era tax cuts, support is swelling in the statehouse to create a new tax incentive program to lure microchip manufacturers to the Land of Lincoln.

“As we’ve seen, the pandemic create these stresses and cracks in the global supply chain,” Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island) says. “I’ve got a bill that would incentivize manufacturers to make microchips semiconductors, other component parts, right here in Illinois.”

The proposal has bipartisan support in the House. It cleared the Senate unanimously last month. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce, and Illinois Manufacturers Association, and University of Illinois are among the groups supporting the idea.

“We have to compete with states like Ohio and Indiana,” Halpin said, “and until we can convince either the federal government or our sister states to stop that race to the bottom, we need to provide what we can to good Illinois companies that want to expand their operations here.”

Republicans criticized Pritzker and Illinois Democrats for phasing out tax breaks at a time when the jobs market was still recovering from pandemic-induced layoffs, but corporate profits and the broader economic production figures have proven resilient. 

“Those parties have a vested interest in trying to make Illinois look as bad so they can come in and try to ‘fix it,’ Halpin said. “Illinois is a great place to live. It’s a great place to work. It’s a great place to do business.”