Motorola spinoff gets tax breaks to stay in Ill.

Motorola Mobility Inc., developer of the DROID and other devices, has picked Libertyville as its global headquarters, with a big assist from the state in the form of incentives worth more than $100 million.

Company Chairman and CEO Sanjay Jha joined Gov. Pat Quinn in announcing the decision Friday at the Libertyville facility, which employs about 3,000 people.

“This is an exciting outcome for our company and our employees,” Jha told a room packed with media and about 250 employees all wearing red T-shirts emblazoned with “Motorola Mobility Illinois.”

“We’ve been here (Illinois) a long, long time. We’ve built our history here together.” The event, which took place in an assembly room, was webcast globally to about 19,000 Motorola employees.

The company, a spinoff of Motorola Inc., which split into two entities earlier this year, had been considering other locations in Texas and California, where Jha lives, for its headquarters.

For months, the company had considered moving at least part of its Libertyville operation in that scenario, but asserted it would keep a strong presence in Illinois. Besides designating Libertyville as the global headquarters, the company will maintain a design center in Chicago.

The Libertyville facility, which opened in 1994, includes corporate offices, engineering, marketing, research and development and sales for mobile devices. Motorola Mobility has developed StarTAC, RAZR, DROID, XOOM, ATRIX.

Working behind the scenes, state officials created an incentive package to ensure Motorola Mobility would stay. Jha said the package was an “important factor” in the decision.

The company will receive tax credits estimated to be worth more than $10 million annually for the next 10 years. The company also will receive job training funds and a $3 million development grant to assist with unspecified capital expenses.

In turn, Motorola Mobility commits to spend more than $500 million in research and development during the next three years.

Quinn deflected the use of incentives, saying they have been used in other instances, such as Chrysler and Boeing. He noted Illinois unemployment has dropped the past 14 months and the state is leading the Midwest in job creation.

“I work with everybody large and small. Good jobs are the best way to help the most people,” he said in response to questions about the incentive package.

“There’s probably more brain power here than anywhere else in Illinois,” he said during the opening remarks. “Jobs follow brainpower.”

Tenth District U.S. Rep. Robert Dold, a Republican from Kenilworth, in a statement said the announcement was a “win-win situation for the company and the region” but added Illinois “must become less hostile to business generally,” so special incentives aren’t needed to attract employers.

Quinn emphasized the importance of continuing advances in technology, and stayed for a demonstration of the new Motorola ATRIX 4G device.

“The personal computer will be revolutionized by devices made right here in Illinois,” he said.

During the event, Quinn signed legislation adding language to existing laws that allows qualifying companies to apply their Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit against their annual withholding tax liability or their annual corporate income tax liability.

“We’re going to continue in the 21st Century to grow with Motorola,” he said. “These are high-technology jobs and they also are jobs that attract other opportunities for the state.”