TechAmerica Hosts CEO Roundtable with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn

Focus on Priority Issues Facing the Illinois Technology Industry

CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TechAmerica and executives from Illinois' leading innovators met with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn last week to discuss technology and economic development priorities for the state. The meeting was part of TechAmerica's ongoing efforts to provide visibility to the Illinois technology sector and its importance to our state and national economy.

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"It is important for our state that we sit down with our business leaders, and that we engage them in the process as we work to bring further economic growth to Illinois," said Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. "I appreciate these leaders taking the time share their experiences and their input, and I will continue working with the private sector to strengthen our economic recovery. By working together, we can help our state to build an even better environment for businesses."

Priority issues facing the Illinois technology industry were discussed, including improving access to capital and talent, strengthening R&D incentives in the state, passing the Technology Development Act IIa, (IL SB 107), supporting Governor Quinn's new Illinois Innovation Council and its mission, pending affiliate nexus tax legislation (IL HB 3659), and ongoing initiatives to create a policy and regulatory environment that supports growth in the technology sector. TechAmerica and attending executives also provided numerous recommendations on how Washington can better partner with Illinois in creating business-friendly policies and initiatives to drive innovation and job growth. Governor Quinn will be meeting with President Obama at the end of this month to discuss those and other recommendations.

"We commend Governor Quinn for his commitment to supporting high quality job growth and innovation in our state," said T. Kendall Hunt, Chairman, CEO, VASCO Data Security International, Inc. and Chairman of TechAmerica Midwest.  "We value our partnership with Governor Quinn and support a pro-innovation agenda in the Illinois legislature and with the Administration."

Other issues at the national level that were also discussed, including investing in broadband and information technology, encouraging exports and free trade and investment, investing in science and technology education, expanding incentives to encourage support for research and development, and high-skilled immigration reform.

"TechAmerica and our members are committed to leading and supporting substantive efforts to strengthen the Illinois economy and our industry," said Ed Longanecker, Executive Director, Regional Vice President, TechAmerica. "We applaud the Governor for his leadership and ongoing efforts to work with the business community to move our state and economy forward."

Participating executives represented multiple industry segments and companies ranging from start-ups to some of the largest technology employers in the state: Participating companies included:

About TechAmerica

TechAmerica is the leading voice for the U.S. technology industry – the driving force behind productivity growth and jobs creation in the United States and the foundation of the global innovation economy. Representing approximately 1,200 member companies of all sizes from the public and commercial sectors of the economy, it is the industry's largest advocacy organization and is dedicated to helping members' top and bottom lines. TechAmerica is also the technology industry's only grassroots-to-global advocacy network, with offices in state capitals around the United States, Washington, D.C., Europe (Brussels) and Asia (Beijing).It was formed by the merger of AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association), the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA), the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and the Government Electronics & Information Technology Association (GEIA).Learn more about TechAmerica at www.techamerica.org.

SOURCE TechAmerica

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