Illinois Business Developments

Illinois as the biggest market of the Midwest and home to over two thousand corporate headquarters, a bustling startup scene, and over 1.2 million small enterprises, has the infrastructure that companies require to thrive in business today. The world's best infrastructure connects companies to suppliers and customers, to a skilled and knowledgeable workforces in various industries and an advanced manufacturing base - Illinois is a leader in many areas such as clean and advanced energy, agribusiness, IT life sciences logistics for transportation.

Illinois has experienced a tremendous increase in expansion of foreign investments in recent years. Countries such as Britain, Japan, Germany and China were among the top countries investing in Illinois and by 2023, this amount was over USD $13.2 billion across manufacturing, agribusiness and other industries in Illinois all by itself.

Since 2014, nearly $1 billion in incentives has been awarded under Illinois' Reimagining Energy and Vehicles program to companies providing electric vehicles and clean energy production. Last month, DCEO also provided PsiQuantum Manufacturing with an incentive package of more than 200 million dollars for their new high-tech manufacturing facility located in East Alton.

Governor JB Pritzker was present along with representatives from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network and local officials today in Chicago to inaugurate CZ Biohub Chicago - a revolutionary research hub located in the forefront of scientific research. The project will unite University of Chicago, Urbana-Champaign State University (UIUC) and Northwestern University researchers to study human tissue development as well as develop groundbreaking therapeutics.

Governor JB Pritzker and Flender Corporation recently announced they have announced they are expanding their current manufacturing facility in Elgin and will create 50 full-time employment while keeping 140 existing full-time positions intact.

The Illinois Small Business Development Center located at Southern Illinois University is funded partly through a cooperative arrangement between U.S. Small Business Administration, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Southern Illinois University. The Center assists entrepreneurs in the area with support for beginning or expanding their business with services that include free workshops on business planning, one-on-one counseling sessions with experienced Business Advisors and access financing opportunities.

State officials in Indiana are insisting on employers offering higher compensation and benefits as way to keep child care employees in the United States and facing a lack of employment. This follows the closing of a children's care facility in Bronzeville which struggled to retain employees.

Illinois Department of Labor also launched an online tool designed to inform small-scale businesses about the laws governing employment. Employers can search by keyword or browse through categories on this site; as well as connect to the appropriate state agencies and sources.

Illinois Business Development Authority (IBDA) has taken steps to make people aware of Illinois tax incentives for business expansion. The IBDA hosted a webinar this week about this topic. The event was recorded and will be archived on their website.