Governor Quinn Fights to Save Jobs in Freeport

FREEPORT – July 26, 2012. As part of his commitment to protect Illinois jobs, Governor Pat Quinn today stood with workers at Sensata Technologies in Freeport, Ill. to urge Congress to pass the Bring Jobs Home Act. Following the National Governor's Association conference, Governor Quinn wrote a letter signed by governors of 11 other states to Congressional leadership supporting passage of the act, which encourages companies to hire American workers. Sensata, an international company that manufactures auto sensors and employs around 170 men and women in Freeport, recently announced plans to close the plant and move the jobs overseas.

“Illinois has a stake in the Bring Jobs Home Act,” Governor Quinn said. “This is a critical time in our economic recovery and we need to be growing jobs in Illinois, not rewarding companies that send jobs overseas."

President Obama has urged Congress to pass the Bring Jobs Home Act, which rewards companies that move operations back to the United States from another country with a 20 percent tax credit. The act funds the credit by ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Last week, the measure was blocked in the U.S. Senate.

Standing alongside Sensata plant workers today, Governor Quinn pledged to continue working with the Obama administration, Congress and other states to pass this act and ensure that companies are not rewarded for sending American jobs overseas.

The sensors built at Sensata’s Freeport plant monitor oil pressure and engine temperature. Sensata purchased the facility in January 2011 and announced plans to move operations to China. Jobs at the Freeport plant are expected to be eliminated by the end of this year.

Freeport is already home to manufacturers including Honeywell, Newell-Rubbermaid and Titan Tire Company. Its proximity to air, rail and freight shipping make it a place where companies can easily market their goods worldwide. The loss of 170 jobs in the small community will slow local economic recovery and impact small businesses. Plant workers and the Freeport City Council have urged federal officials to step in and stop the company’s planned closure.