Governor Pritzker Boosts Corn Farmers with New Law: Tax Incentives for Cleaner Ethanol Fuels

Jun 13, 2023

By Haley Bickelhaupt

On Wednesday, Governor J.B. Pritzker supported Illinois corn farmers by signing into law a Revenue Omnibus package that includes sales tax incentives for higher blends of ethanol purchased in Illinois.

The IL Corn Growers Association applauds the Governor and Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex), who sponsored the original bill, for their continued support of cleaner energy through biofuels. Recently, the Governor was also a national leader in supporting the year-round sale of 15 percent ethanol blended fuel.

“Ethanol blends are cheaper, cleaner fuels that boost the Illinois economy. We are so grateful to Gov Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly for recognizing these benefits and passing a tax incentive that will save consumers even more money at the pump,” said Fairfield farmer and IL Corn Growers Association President Matt Rush. “Illinois corn farmers have advocated for this policy for a long time; we should feel great getting it over the finish line.”
The ethanol incentives established in SB 1963 (Public Act 103-0009) will reduce the percentage of retail sales tax on E15 blends by 10 percent; mid-range blends by 20 percent; and reauthorizes the 100 percent reduction of sales tax for majority blended ethanol fuels (E-85). The tax incentives will sunset on December 31, 2028.

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Video: How American Farmers Harvest 1.15 Billion Pounds of Sunflowers

Across the open plains of North Dakota and South Dakota, sunflower fields turn the American landscape into a sea of gold. In this farming documentary, we go inside modern sunflower farming to see how farmers plant, grow, harvest, clean, dry, process, and transform sunflower seeds into valuable products used every day.

In 2024, American farmers harvested about 1.15 billion pounds of sunflowers. This video follows the full journey from warm spring planting to combine harvesting, seed cleaning, storage, oil extraction, refining, roasting, packaging, and animal feed production.

You will see how sunflower seeds are processed into cooking oil, roasted snacks, bakery ingredients, birdseed, livestock feed, and useful byproducts. From golden fields to modern processing plants, this is the story of how a beautiful flower becomes one of America’s important oilseed crops.

Watch until the end to discover how sunflower farming connects farmers, machines, factories, food production, and sustainable agriculture.