Illinois governor says his state expected to benefit from CHIPS & Science Act

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Illinois could see part of the $280 billion dollar boost to make key products right here in America.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law.

Biden say it will help strengthen our nation’s domestic manufacturing and supply chains to prevent future backlogs.

“This law funds the entire semiconductor supply chain for research and development,” said Biden at the signing ceremony.

The president says the law will boost America’s ability to compete against China specifically when it comes to semiconductor chip production.

Two plants by Intel are already under construction near Columbus, Ohio, and the White House says more manufacturing companies are announcing plans for increased chip production.

Governor J.B.Pritzker says this legislation will help lower costs on electronics, cars, and other goods.

The Washington News Bureau asked Pritzker specifically what this legislation will mean for Illinois.

“We have a lot of manufacturing,” said Pritzker. “We’re in the heart of what use to be called the rust belt, now the innovation belt, and our manufacturers use semiconductors in virtually everything that they do, and it’s been very hard to obtain those chips when they needed it.”

In the future, Pritzker says this law will bring production back to America and Illinois will benefit from it.

Even as the Biden administration emphasized how the bill also invests in education and training for engineering and technology sectors to support chip production some Republicans opposed the legislation saying it’s just corporate welfare.