The Cook County Board quietly passed a brand new property tax break Thursday that would give the nascent quantum computing development on Chicago’s Southeast Side a substantial reduction on their bills for three decades, as many county homeowners are struggling to handle their own quickly increasing tax burdens.
The creation of the new incentive comes on the heels of Illinois landing PsiQuantum, a tech company that promises to invest billions to develop a commercially viable quantum computer at the dormant South Works site, the previous home of U.S. Steel. Chicago firm Related Midwest is the developer heading the project.
It passed the same week the board held a hearing about how to grant relief to county residents with growing property tax bills.
The tax break was not debated or discussed this week at the county board’s Business and Economic Development Committee meeting. It passed quickly and unanimously.
Much the same happened Thursday at the full County Board. “This is part of our effort to support the attraction of PsiQuantum,” board President Toni Preckwinkle said before the issue passed.
After the meeting, Preckwinkle released a statement applauding the move.
“By offering this new targeted incentive that makes investing and operating a business in Cook County more attractive, we’re signaling to companies at the forefront of innovation that Cook County offers a competitive, supportive hub and ecosystem for investment and growth,” Preckwinkle said. The incentive helps lay “the foundation for a more prosperous future for our communities on the southeast side of Chicago—and the region as a whole.”
Aside from the tax break, the county plans to spend $5 million to help develop the Quantum and Microelectronics Park at the South Works site, Preckwinkle said.
Tax incentives typically reduce assessed values and in turn, property tax bills, for the property owner in exchange for that business bringing vacant lots back on the tax rolls, expanding existing businesses or creating or protecting jobs.
But a property tax bill break for one means more cost for other property owners: when breaks reduce assessments, they spread the overall liability to taxpayers across the county.
It’s unclear how much PsiQuantum could save on their property tax bill — they must still apply and be granted the break — but the incentive would cut their assessment by 15 percentage points.
Commercial properties are assessed at a higher rate than homes: Factories, stores and businesses are assessed at 25% of their market value, while homes and apartments are assessed at 10%. When calculating property tax bills, for example, a commercial property worth $1 million is assessed at $250,000. Quantum computing sites that qualify for the break would instead be assessed at 10% of their market value, so a $1 million property would receive a $100,000 assessment. That 10% rate would stay in place for 30 years, but could not be renewed.
The state is already offering the company a bevy of other incentives through the Manufacturing Chips for Real Opportunity, or “MICRO” Act. That includes capital grants, workforce development help, a low interest loan and other incentives worth $200 million. In exchange, the company must invest at least $1.09 billion and create at least 154 full-time jobs. Gov. JB Pritzker dedicated half a billion dollars in the 2025 budget to develop the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park at the U.S. Steel site, where others could join PsiQuantum. His ultimate goal is to make Illinois a national quantum computing hub.
The new Class 8 MICRO tax incentive will apply to real estate in Cook County used for the manufacturing, research or development of semiconductors, microchips, or quantum computers spurred by the MICRO Act.
County commissioners did dedicate much of Wednesday’s proceedings to hearing how property owners caught off guard by volatile tax bills might benefit from a so-called “circuit breaker.” The idea — which has been gathering steam among some city and county elected officials — would offer a credit or rebate to certain low-income homeowners whose bills make up a high percentage of their income. County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas, and Commissioner Bridget Gainer have begun lobbying for such a change, with help from the state.
Gainer, who led the committee where both the new tax break and the hearing were held, said as a former Park District employee in the 1990s, she’d seen several failed attempts to develop the South Works site.
The quantum campus represented a huge leap ahead for business in Chicago and a bright spot for the struggling East Side neighborhood. After years of vacancy, any development at South Works, even with a tax break, would be a net positive for the county, she argued.
“We’re skipping over manufacturing and distribution and the warehouse and typical solutions, we’re jumping right to something amazing for us,” Gainer said. “The East Side, they needed help. This is exactly what tax incentives were created for.”