Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
USCo representatives seek Class 8 tax relief for Calumet City facility, council approves related resolutions
Summary
Representatives from USCo Industries told the Calumet City Council they plan a roughly $1.5 million investment and to bring manufacturing jobs to a vacant facility; the council approved a package of ordinances and resolutions that included a Class 8 request.
Representatives of USCo Industries asked the Calumet City Council to approve a Class 8 tax incentive for a Calumet City facility and said the company plans to invest about $1.5 million and create a small number of manufacturing jobs.
Nicholas McIntyre introduced the company and Ryan Marks of USCo Cranes described the planned operation, saying the firm manufactures overhead cranes and runway systems and needs additional space. Marks said the company expects to bring “roughly 3 or 4 jobs to start and grow that to somewhere between 12 and 15 jobs” over about a year to 18 months and that average pay would be “somewhere between 20 and $30 an hour with full benefits and 1 heck of a retirement package.”
The request was presented during the council’s resolutions and ordinances item; council members discussed the proposal before voting. Alderman Tillman moved to approve the resolutions and ordinances package that included the Class 8 request; Alderman Navarrete seconded. The council recorded a 6-0 vote in favor of items 1 through 6, which the meeting record ties to the Class 8 presentation.
Alderman Michael Aberrante, noting the loss of another local employer in recent years, urged support for reusing the vacant building and said the jobs could be substantial for the community. Marks said the company would occupy space in the former Stockel building (as discussed in the meeting), replace roofing and electrical systems and restore a dock, and ship crane systems nationally. He also stated that USCo has been a nonunion employer since 1921.
The council’s vote to approve the resolutions and ordinances (items 1–6) was recorded immediately after the presentation. The package included abatement-related items discussed earlier in the meeting in the context of new state and Cook County reporting requirements for TIFs.
The company representatives left contact information with aldermen for follow-up. The council did not specify implementation dates or the precise terms of any tax abatement in the meeting record; those details were not specified in the transcript.
