Prairie State Wire

Amazon has received $733 million in property tax breaks to open its facilities in 16 Illinois communities, second-highest among U.S. states.

That's according to an analysis of data compiled by the advocacy group Good Jobs First, which opposes such subsidies.

Illinois ranks second in granting Amazon property tax subsidies, behind Virginia (20 projects/$824 million) and ahead of New York (22/$671 million), Washington state (10/$608 million) and Oregon (32/$483 million).

Of the taxpayer-subsidized Amazon projects, six are in Cook County.

The largest one is for a 3.8 million Amazon distribution center on a 140-acre site in south suburban Markham, along Interstate 57. The city and a developer assembled "nearly 1,000 different land parcels" in a one-time residential neighborhood to facilitate the project.

Amazon is receiving $322 million in property tax breaks for the Markham property.

Nearby Matteson, which is six miles south of Markham, gave Amazon $82 million in property tax breaks to open a distribution center there. It is on 122 acres of land, near the I-57 and I-80 interchange.

As of Nov. 17, 2022, Amazon had received 310 separate tax break deals from local governments across the U.S., totaling $5.14 billion.

A 2020 WBEZ analysis found there were 36 Amazon warehouses in the Chicago area that had been opened since 2015, totaling 25,488,687 square feet.

Illinois has the second-highest property taxes in the U.S. generally, according to Rocket Mortgage. And property taxes in Cook County for industrial properties like Amazon distribution centers are even higher, with effective rates 3-4 times what they are in neighboring states and Illinois counties.

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Illinois local governments have given Amazon 16 tax break deals totaling $732.97 million, second most among U.S. states

State	# projects	Total subsidy
Virginia	20	$824,291,799
Illinois	16	$732,973,199
New York	22	$671,446,986
Washington	10	$608,644,670
Oregon	32	$483,459,645
Texas	13	$305,959,751
Ohio	14	$172,418,555
Tennessee	20	$166,030,438
Kentucky	21	$111,789,976
Missouri	2	$110,600,000
Massachusetts	5	$86,979,275
California	12	$84,541,000
Michigan	5	$82,352,146
Maryland	3	$68,425,000
South Carolina	5	$64,297,962
Indiana	15	$60,389,500
Alabama	2	$56,500,000
Wisconsin	6	$54,135,500
Louisiana	7	$48,967,587
New Jersey	3	$45,422,240
Florida	13	$43,239,475
Connecticut	3	$37,700,000
North Carolina	5	$31,186,975
Pennsylvania	4	$29,557,871
Georgia	5	$27,115,929
Mississippi	3	$23,925,795
Iowa	2	$22,400,000
Kansas	2	$21,802,522
Colorado	9	$15,779,091
Oklahoma	5	$11,207,651
Utah	3	$9,780,226
Delaware	2	$7,972,500
Minnesota	1	$5,700,000
New Mexico	1	$5,244,071
Arizona	2	$5,139,671
Nevada	5	$3,251,324
Rhode Island	1	$2,700,000
Maine	11	$578,828
TOTALS	310	$5,143,907,158

Where has Amazon received subsidies in Illinois?

Community	Amazon Facility	Year	Subsidy	Description
Markham	Distribution center	2021	$322,000,000	12-year TIF and Cook County property tax abatement
Matteson	Distribution center	2021	$82,000,000	Cook County property tax abatement over 12 years
University Park	Distribution center	2020	$108,200,000	20-year TIF
Channahon	Distribution center	2020	$12,800,000	Road improvements paid by the village of Channahon
Arlington Heights	Distribution center	2020	$9,800,000	Cook County property tax abatement, estimates)
Wilmington	Distribution center	2020	$7,800,000	12-year TIF
Cicero	Distribution center	2020	$5,200,000	12-year TIF and Cook County tax abatements
Palatine	Distribution center	2020	$1,160,000	Cook County property tax abatement
Skokie	Distribution center	2019	$850,000	Cook County tax abatement
Waukegan	Distribution center	2017	$40,000,000	12-year TIF
Monee	Distribution center	2017	$26,900,000	12-year TIF
Aurora	Distribution center	2017	$2,000,000	Illinois Infrastructure grant / Ill. Dept of Transportation
Joliet	Distribution center	2016	$71,536,500	state EDGE grant; maximum amount
Monee	Distribution center	2016	$27,825,937	state EDGE grant; maximum amount
Aurora	Distribution center	2016	$12,899,250	state EDGE grant; maximum amount
Edwardsville	Distribution center	2016	$1,001,512	Illinois road grant / Ill. Dept of Transportation

Sources: Good Jobs First; WBEZ Chicago