State Senator Dave Koehler and Representative Mike Smith were able to pass legislation that will save Keystone Steel and Wire a bundle of money in taxes that had threatened to shutter the struggling business. Koehler’s office issued a press release that explained:

Senate Bill 328 allows Keystone to continue to benefit from a tax exemption it has long enjoyed. Illinois provides a tax exemption to businesses in enterprise zones that employ more than 1,000 full-time workers. Due to the recession, Keystone has had to cut back on employee hours and no longer qualifies. The legislation allows Keystone to
continue to take the exemption as long as it maintains at least 500 full-time employees and gradually works back up to 1,000 full-time employees by 2013. The potential effect of losing the exemption could amount to a monthly financial loss of $140,000 per month for the company and threaten its financial viability.

Keystone’s enterprise zone was established in the mid-1980s.