MASCOUTAH, Ill. (AP) – Illinois has committed an additional $60 million to help lure a federal spy agency considering a relocation from its long-time home near downtown St. Louis.
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday disclosed the new commitment after a private meeting with National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Director Robert Cardillo at the St. Clair County site near Scott Air Force Base. U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk and other state and federal elected officials also participated
The location has emerged as one of the $1.6 billion project’s two front-runners. St. Clair County has offered to donate nearly 400 acres near the base to the defense and intelligence agency.
St. Louis hopes to keep the NGA and its more than 3,000 high-tech jobs with a new site on the city’s north side.