Groupon Defends State Aid

(Chicago Tribune) — Groupon sees the $3.5 million incentive package Illinois recently gave the company to create 250 jobs as another sign it has arrived.  In separate interviews, President Rob Solomon and Brad Keywell, who helped seed the company, cited a long list of big-name, old-economy corporations that have received tax breaks. The list implied two things: First, Groupon is now in that league. And second, a lot of companies have received help — often by committing merely to retain jobs, rather than create them.  “There’s a lot of important employers in Illinois,” Solomon said. “We want to be one of them.”