Gov. Bruce Rauner has offered packaged food giant ConAgra tax incentives to move its headquarters from Omaha to Chicago, according to a source familiar with the deal.
The revelation comes on the heels of news that ConAgra is negotiating to lease office space large enough to accommodate as many as 1,000 workers at River North’s Merchandise Mart.
Speculation that the firm, which owns brands including Chef Boyardee, Hebrew National hot dogs and Slim Jim meat sticks, will move its headquarters increased last week after CEO Sean Connolly told investors that the firm expected to have an increased presence in Illinois.
Connolly, who lives in Winnetka, said at the time he would tell ConAgra employees by the end of this week about his plans, which he said would include layoffs and fewer employees in Omaha.
A spokesman for ConAgra declined to comment Tuesday on the tax breaks the firm has been offered to move to Chicago. But a source familiar with the deal said Rauner met with ConAgra executives earlier this year and offered them Edge tax incentives to move to Illinois.
Though Rauner has since ordered a halt on such incentives until the state’s budget impasse is resolved, the commitment to ConAgra was made before that and will be honored, the source said.
Last week, a source told the Tribune that ConAgra was negotiating to lease 180,000 to 200,000 square feet of office space at the Merchandise Mart but had yet to sign a deal while it hammered out tax incentives.
Workers from ConAgra’s suburban office in Naperville, as well as some of those in Omaha, are expected to relocate, that source said.
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