Navistar thanks Quinn, Madigan

On the heels of Navistar reaching a successful agreement to establish our World Headquarters in Lisle, I want to thank Governor Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan on behalf of CEO Dan Ustian, our board and our investors.

Governor Quinn and Attorney General Madigan showed tremendous leadership in working with Navistar and the community to make it possible for us to relocate to the former Alcatel-Lucent campus. When we had reached an impasse with the Lisle planning and zoning process, it was the governor and attorney general who stepped up to offer assistance to keep Navistar in Illinois and to create economic opportunities for the whole region.

Their staffs with the opponents of the project and their attorney to explore ending the dispute, which ultimately led to a solution that worked for all parties. Even after Governor Quinn signed into law targeted incentives to keep Navistar in Illinois, there still was a major obstacle to overcome because the solution resulted in significant cost increases resulting from moving operations from Lisle to another Illinois location. But Governor Quinn directed the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to work with Navistar on a package of incentives that could make our new plan financially feasible. In the end, the governor came through with an investment package of nearly $65 million that sealed the deal. HIs administration's economic development efforts resulted in Navistar committing to investing $205 million in Lisle and two other Illinois facilities. Meanwhile, the attorney general's office and governor's staff successfully mediated with the neighbors opposing the Navistar facility.

This is how a public-private partnership should work. A path has been cleared for a company with deep roots in Illinois to stay here, retaining or creating nearly 3,000 permanent jobs and more than 400 construction jobs.

Don Sharp

Navistar VP and Chief Information Officer