The Daily Herald reported today that Sears Holdings Corp. is considering moving its corporate headquarters from northwest suburban Hoffman Estates to a new out of state location. According to the Daily Herald, Sears has been in discussions with North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and New Jersey.
"We do owe it to our associates and shareholders to consider options and alternatives and intend to be very throughtful and thorough in our deliberations," a Sears spokesman told the Daily Herald. "It is still very early in the process."
The Daily Herald also reports that as part of that process, Sears commissioned an economic impact study that concluded the company's departure could send shock waves through the suburbs, with the potential loss of about 6,000 Sears employees and another 9,000 ancillary jobs with nearby businesses, vendors and contractors.
In connection with its move from downtown Chicago twenty two years ago, Sears received both state and local incentives which are set to expire in 2012. A bill introduced in Springfield by state Rep. Fred Crespo, a former Hoffman Estates village board member, would continue property tax breaks for Sears for another 15 years in an effort to keep the company in Hoffman Estates, the Daily Herald reported.
The Sears report comes just days after Crain's Chicago Business disclosed that another major corporate employer in Hoffman Estates, AT&T Inc., has put its 1.5-million-square-foot campus on the market.
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