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llinois has broken archrival Michigan’s five-year claim to having the most new and expanded facilities in a calendar year – by just three projects. The 2002 almost-tie is testament to the Midwest’s economic strength; Ohio and Indiana also made the Top 10 list.
Illinois, however, like virtually all states, saw a decrease in the number of projects – a 36 percent drop from the number of qualifying projects recorded in 2001. Because this can be said, in varying degrees, about states throughout the country, the lower numbers point clearly to corporate belt tightening and a relative reluctance to invest in new projects – relative to just a few years ago.
Conway Data’s proprietary New Plant Database (NPD) has tracked new and expanding commercial facilities globally since 1989. (For analysis of how New Plant data volumes compare to the performance of key economic indicators, see the sidebar on page 162). NPD focuses on new corporate location projects with a significant economic impact. The database contains information on more than 110,000 qualified projects (see the Governor’s Cup Methodology and Data Sources sidebar, p. 160).
“On behalf of the people of Illinois, it is an honor for our state to be named by Site Selection magazine as the top state in America for business development for the second year in a row,” says new Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY’-uh-vich). “Site Selection‘s 2002 state rankings clearly show that despite tough economic times, Illinois is a great place to do business. Our highly skilled workers and strong communities provide companies with a competitive edge in today’s global economy.”
New Directions
The governor takes no personal credit for the state’s economic development performance prior to his inauguration. In fact, early on in his term, he was somewhat critical of the agency behind Illinois’ economic success, referring to the Dept. of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) as “a department with great potential, but greater problems” in a press release issued Jan. 30th announcing “a new direction” for the department.
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Among the changes announced by Gov. Blagojevich in late January are a name change for the agency to the Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and a new director, Jack Lavin, who served in the early 1990s as deputy state treasurer. Since 1995, Lavin has worked in the private sector in the restaurant industry.
“The department will be on the front lines in my effort to carry out government-wide reforms and institute the fiscal discipline that the people of Illinois want and deserve,” the governor said in the release.
State job-training programs will likely be consolidated under the auspices of DCEO. And the department will review, at the governor’s direction, all Illinois FIRST and other initiatives to decide which to keep and which are mere political pork. Illinois FIRST was former Gov. George Ryan’s US$12 billion, five-year infrastructure investment program that was designed, in part, to help attract capital investment.
Among the projects announced in 2002 were Ecolab’s expansion of its facility in Elk Grove Village, which will result in 90 new jobs. The company, which develops cleaning, sanitizing, pest elimination and maintenance and repair products for institutional customers, is incorporating a repair facility for its Ecotemp warewashing equipment at the site.
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The Governor’s Cup Methodology
and Data Sources
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One of the largest distribution and repackaging facilities in the Midwest was announced by Unilever in July. The $50-million, 1.3-million-sq.-ft. (120,770-sq.-m.) facility being built by ProLogis in Pontoon Beach, Ill., will repackage and distribute products sold through Unilever’s Home and Personal Care division.
And Alcoa has completed the expansion of an aluminum extrusion facility in Morris, Ill., where it also invested $5 million in special production equipment. The new projects added 35 jobs to the facility, for a total of 330 employees.
“I believe that our state’s renewed focus on forging new partnerships between the public and private sector and between business and labor are critical components in the success of the Illinois economy,” says Gov. Blagojevich. “Illinois’ success over the last two years stands on the shoulders of the strong work ethic of Illinois workers. Our labor force, among the most effective in the world, understands what it means to put in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
“As governor,” he adds, “I am committed to growing business by making sure we invest in education and support the entrepreneurial spirit of both small businesses and corporations alike. The investments we make today will help the workers of tomorrow have new opportunities for prosperity.”
The indexing system involving 10 criteria used in last year’s Governor’s Cup competition is the basis of a new awards program – the Site Selection Competitiveness Awards.
These awards, which will be announced in the May 2003 issue, will honor the state economic development agencies that were most competitive in 2002, as measured by a range of New Plant Database-derived and other criteria, some of which are per capita in nature.
Our annual Top Economic Development Groups coverage, also appearing in the May issue, will now be limited to city and regional economic development agencies only. State groups are only eligible for the Competitiveness Awards.
Table: “New Corporate Facilities and Expansions (2000-2002)” (33 KB)
Table: “20 Giants: 2002’s Biggest U.S. Corporate Facilities” (39 KB)
Continue to sidebar: “New Plant Tallies: A Microcosm of U.S. Economy”