5 for 5: Illinois Reaps Record Haul in 31 Days
When Illinois recently secured five high-profile project wins in five weeks, the flurry of activity only confirmed what most site selectors already knew: When it comes to advanced manufacturing, Illinois is a juggernaut.
From February 23 to March 25, 2026, Illinois landed major capital investments from AbbVie, DMG MORI, CSL, Hyundai Translead and Mars Snacking.
AbbVie announced February 23 that it will invest $380 million to build two active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facilities at the company’s campus in North Chicago, creating 300 high-wage jobs. Combined with an earlier announcement, AbbVie is up to $575 million in new investments at this campus.
A day later, DMG MORI announced a $40.5 million investment to establish an advanced manufacturing and R&D facility in Chicagoland and create 74 full-time jobs. James Nudo, chairman of DMG MORI Federal Services Inc., said the new plant “will expand our North American R&D capacity, advanced additive manufacturing and automation technologies, and power production of dual-use and defense applications.”
On March 9, CSL announced a $1.5 billion investment to create a manufacturing facility at its campus in Kankakee County, creating 300 jobs and retaining 1,200 others. The facility is supported by an Illinois EDGE incentive deal and will produce immunoglobulin therapies.
Hyundai Translead then announced March 16 that it will invest $450 million into two new Illinois manufacturing facilities in Will County, creating 2,500 full-time jobs while redeveloping former Caterpillar and Lion Electric sites.
Finally, Mars Snacking announced March 25 that it will invest $100 million and create 600 jobs in an expanded global headquarters in Chicago.
That amounts to five major projects, totaling $2.4705 billion in investment and 3,774 new jobs, in only 31 days.
In Illinois, that’s just another month. Consider that over the past five years, Illinois has tallied 2,863 capital investment projects — an amount second only to Texas in that span. Moreover, Illinois increased its haul each year, rising from 480 corporate facility deals in 2021 to 487 in 2022, 552 in 2023, 664 in 2024, and 680 in 2025.
“Since taking office, I have been on a mission to attract more businesses to Illinois, grow our economy, and give us a competitive edge. From rebuilding our infrastructure, strengthening our workforce, and investing in education from cradle to career, we have laid the foundation for sustained growth and prosperity.”
— Gov. JB Pritzker
If the first half of 2026 is any indication, Illinois is well on its way to securing yet another top-two finish in the nation. Commenting on the surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, Gov. JB Pritzker said, “Since taking office, I have been on a mission to attract more businesses to Illinois, grow our economy, and give us a competitive edge. From rebuilding our infrastructure, strengthening our workforce, and investing in education from cradle to career, we have laid the foundation for sustained growth and prosperity. This progress is a clear indication of what Illinois is capable of.”
This progress was measured and charted by the newly formed Illinois Economic Development Corporation’s (Illinois EDC) Economic Research Center in the recently published 2026 State of Business Report. The study was conducted to review the state’s economy and place Illinois’ performance in national and regional context over the past year. The report examined 16 key metrics and found that business establishments in Illinois grew in 2025 and Illinois-based employers outperformed U.S. hiring trends.
Key Findings of Illinois Study
“Growth across the state’s focus industries, alongside sustained entrepreneurship and investment activity, reflects a diverse and active economic base,” the report stated. “These trends indicate that Illinois entered 2026 with solid fundamentals and expanding opportunities tied to innovation, investment and technology adoption.”
Other Takeaways:
- Illinois’ economic growth exceeded U.S. performance in 2025, with state GDP rising 5.85% year-over-year.
- Illinois outperformed U.S. hiring trends as hires increased 7% year-over-year, and Illinois closed the year with 200,000 job openings statewide.
- Inflation pressures eased in 2025, and prices in Illinois’ largest metro areas remained well below the U.S. city average.
- Private capital supported company scaling, including eight IPOs and strong early-stage investment activity, at 427 deals in 2025.
- Illinois experienced job growth in all focus industries, and diverse job growth across regions reinforced Illinois’ momentum.
- Entrepreneurship remained strong with roughly 189,000 new business applications filed in Illinois during 2025.
Another sign of economic strength was reflected in continued high employer demand for workers across Illinois. The state’s labor participation rate of 63.4% remained a full 1.3 points above the U.S. average. Illinois employed roughly 6.2 million workers as of December 2025.
While new hires nationally fell 1.32% in 2025, they increased by 7.45% in Illinois. Meanwhile, Illinois’ population of 12.72 million in 2025 remained steady, even ticking up slightly at 0.13%.
Job growth remained strong across all focus industries in Illinois, led by 12% gains in life sciences, 11% gains in next gen ag, 9% growth in clean energy jobs, and 9% growth in logistics jobs.
Where the Dollar Goes Further
Employers will also be encouraged by declining inflation in Illinois. Prices in Chicagoland and the Metro East portion of Greater St. Louis (Southwest Illinois) remained well below the national average. Across the All Items Inflation Index, prices in Chicagoland tracked closely with the rest of the Midwest while remaining considerably below average prices in the U.S. — nearly 20 index points lower than the national average in 2025.
The Greater St. Louis region, which includes Metro East in southwestern Illinois, saw lower overall price levels than the U.S. city average in 2025, averaging 26 index points below the national level.
Independent media outlets took note. In July, CNBC reported that Illinois rose to its highest ranking in the annual Top States for Business report, as Illinois ranked No. 12 — a jump of 18 spots from when Gov. Pritzker took office.
Furthermore, CNBC ranked Illinois No. 7 in education; No. 12 in access to capital; No. 12 in technology and innovation; No. 3 in infrastructure; and No. 23 in cost of doing business.
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Kristin Richards commented, “As the years go on, Illinois continues to solidify its reputation as a global economic powerhouse under the leadership of Gov. Pritzker. CNBC’s rankings are further evidence that business is booming in Illinois, and DCEO is committed to supporting the state’s world-class workforce while bolstering local economies in every corner of Illinois.”
