We appreciate your participation and the commitment of our businesses to our community.
Please direct all questions/concerns to the Economic Development Office, 217.330.5507

Opening a new business?

Please call our Economic Development Office to learn about our Business Incentive – 217-330-5507 [email protected]

Clark County Enterprise Zone

The Clark County Enterprise Zone was established on July I, 1990. An enterprise zone is a specific area designated by the State of Illinois in cooperation with a local government to receive various tax incentives and other benefits to stimulate economic activity. A business wanting to expand or locate within the Clark County Enterprise Zone could be eligible for local incentives including a sales tax exemption on building materials and a property tax abatement on the improvements.

Casey’s Enterprise Zone covers much of the western portion of the community, including a significant portion of both sides of Central and several of our industrial areas.

Incentives that may be available to businesses building or doing renovation projects in the Enterprise Zone include the following:

Sales Tax Exemption on Building Materials – Building materials that are eligible for the enterprise zone sales tax exemption includes items purchased in Illinois that are permanently affixed to real property such as lumber, mortar, glue-down carpets, paint, wallpaper and similar affixed items.

Property Tax Abatement – the abatement applies only to taxes on the increase in assessed value attributable to the new construction, renovation, or rehabilitation. Taxes based on the assessed value of land and existing improvements continue to be collected. The property tax abatement is approximately an 85% abatement on improvements (not all taxing bodies participate such as Fire District, Townships, Park District, etc.) for the first 5- year upon completion. In the 6th year, owner pays 25%, 7th year owner pays 50%, 8th year owner pays 75% and the 9th year owner pays 100%.

Please note that the Enterprise Zone Administrator must approve all applications before a project begins in order to qualify for the incentives. We have applied for renewal of our zone – please be patient during this time as incentives may not be available.

More about the Clark County Enterprise Zone:

In these increasingly competitive and global times, it becomes ever more important that communities working to attract, expand and grow a business from within are able to offer value and savings to companies.

Business incentives are one of the ways in which communities make themselves competitive in the market, in addition to facilitating strong financial industries, business services and a high quality of life.

Did you know that Clark County has a value-added program for businesses looking to make improvements to property?

The Clark County Enterprise Zone has been in place since 1990 and includes the area in the following communities: Casey, Clark Center, Marshall, Martinsville, Westfield and West Union. The point of the Enterprise Zone is to stimulate economic growth in specific areas (chosen in conjunction with the State) by offering tax incentives to businesses which build or improve property therein.

This means that if a business locates or renovates a building in the Enterprise Zone, they could be eligible for incentives that would not be available anywhere else. These incentives are both related to taxes.

The first is a sales tax exemption on permanent building materials, including items that are affixed to real property such as lumber, mortar, glue-down carpets, paint, wallpaper and similarly attached items. This exemption is only available on items purchased in Illinois.

The second is a property tax abatement applied to taxes on the increased in assessed value which can be attributed to new construction, renovation or rehabilitation. The pre-existing property tax level is not affected, and taxes based on the assessed value of land continue to be collected, but the property tax abatement is approximately an 85% abatement on the improved value for the first 5 years upon completion. Afterwards, the incentive is tiered: in the sixth year the owner pays 25%, in the seventh year the owner pays 50%, in the eighth year the owner pays 75%, and in the ninth year the incentive ends.

The idea behind these incentives is to jumpstart growth and give businesses investing in physical infrastructure assistance getting off the ground to create a strong foundation in our communities.

If you are interested in taking advantage of these incentives, the first step is finding out if your property or building is in the Enterprise Zone. Fill out an application, a relatively simple two-page form about your project which is then returned to the Enterprise Zone Administrator. Applicants can expect to receive approval or a request for further information within one week. Please note that approval must be received before the project begins to qualify for incentives.

The Clark County Enterprise Zone has been of significant value in stimulating business activity over the last several years, with 7 projects since October 2011 alone, accounting for the creation and retention of over 200 jobs in Clark County in that time period. There is currently a discussion in the Illinois legislature about whether or not to extend Enterprise Zones for an additional 25 years. These are the tools your communities use to create growth and level the playing field with other places. Incentives are invaluable resources that rural communities cannot afford to lose.

For more information on the Clark County Enterprise Zone, contact the Economic Development Office at (217) 330-5507 or [email protected] , or the Administrator of the Clark County Enterprise Zone, Nancy Smitley, at (217) 826-8087.

Other Resources

For business assistance, updates, and COVID-19 impacts please visit: https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/Pages/default.aspx