Amazon gets Illinois tax credits despite calls for review

A prolonged state budget crisis that has led to public employee layoffs and the planned closing of government offices statewide hasn't kept Illinois from extending a package of corporate tax breaks to the nation's most valuable retailer.

First-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner put a hold on the corporate recruitment tool in early June amid a budget impasse that has stretched more than two months into the fiscal year.

But the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity says that online retail giant Amazon — with a market value of nearly $250 billion — received the tax credits because of a previous commitment, with the state notifying the company of the award in late May.