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ILLINOIS SPOTLIGHT
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ew Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich) begins his administration with a daunting task – dealing with a budget deficit approaching US$5 billion. The three-term Democratic congressman calls it "the worst budget crisis the state has ever known."
Blagojevich's economic development platform includes goals of creating 250,000 jobs with special emphasis given to northern, central, southwestern and southern regions of the state. He plans to create a $200-million "Illinois Opportunity Fund" using state resources and private investment to bring new businesses to struggling areas. Blagojevich also proposes to work toward upgrading the state's aging, high-pollution power plants with coal-fired electrical plants that will burn Illinois coal more cleanly and create 20,000 jobs.
But even in a down economy, Illinois, and its largest city in particular, continue to pull in new investment. The state will put the Governor's Cup from Site Selection in its trophy case for the second consecutive year. And Chicago continues a similar streak as it once again bested Detroit as the top-ranked metro in the U.S. for new and expanded facilities.
One of the Windy City's long-awaited projects got under way in October 2002 when Solo Cup began construction on its $100-million facility at the former U.S. Steel South Works mill site. The project allows the producer of paper and plastic food service items to expand its operations, retain 550 employees and create 450 jobs.
Illinois' recent development success withstanding, some western areas of the state may have been overlooked in recent years as firms scout the state for potential industrial sites. A spate of recent plant closings and layoffs have left the region with a plentiful labor supply.
"The availability of skilled, unskilled and semi-skilled labor is considered to be quite high, but no one knows we are here," says Eric Voyles, president and CEO of the Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association (GREDA). "We have an excellent labor force. It's just dispersed over several counties." Voyles notes that a gradual shut down by the Maytag plant in Galesburg will leave the area with between 1,600 and 2,400 highly skilled but unemployed workers over the next several months.
Voyles says a recent market analysis of labor trends and commuter patterns conducted for a consortium of economic development agencies in Western Illinois indicates the region is ripe for new industry. The analysis indicates that in some job categories, up to 40 percent of the work force is willing to consider other job options.
About one million people live within a 50-mile (80-km.) radius of Galesburg, Voyles says. And, unlike in some metro regions, many potential employees in the region are willing to drive that far to work, he says.
Blagojevich's economic development platform includes goals of creating 250,000 jobs with special emphasis given to northern, central, southwestern and southern regions of the state. He plans to create a $200-million "Illinois Opportunity Fund" using state resources and private investment to bring new businesses to struggling areas. Blagojevich also proposes to work toward upgrading the state's aging, high-pollution power plants with coal-fired electrical plants that will burn Illinois coal more cleanly and create 20,000 jobs.
But even in a down economy, Illinois, and its largest city in particular, continue to pull in new investment. The state will put the Governor's Cup from Site Selection in its trophy case for the second consecutive year. And Chicago continues a similar streak as it once again bested Detroit as the top-ranked metro in the U.S. for new and expanded facilities.
One of the Windy City's long-awaited projects got under way in October 2002 when Solo Cup began construction on its $100-million facility at the former U.S. Steel South Works mill site. The project allows the producer of paper and plastic food service items to expand its operations, retain 550 employees and create 450 jobs.
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Illinois 2003:
Population: 12,541,707A Demographic Profile Pop. growth (1990-2002): 9.72% Households: 4,641,675 Housing Units: 4,927,365 Median Household Size: 2.7 Home Ownership: 64.5% Median Monthly Rent: $481 Median Monthly Mortgage: $779 Per Capita Income: $29,221 Percent with College Degree: 19.0 Total Work Force: 6,105,825 Total Crime Index (US avg. = 100): 173.0 Annual Avg. Temperature: 51 Annual Spending Per Capita: $16,350,80 Consumer Price Index: 147.4 EASI Quality of Life Index: 88.0 Source: Development Alliance
(www.developmentalliance.com)
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Illinois' recent development success withstanding, some western areas of the state may have been overlooked in recent years as firms scout the state for potential industrial sites. A spate of recent plant closings and layoffs have left the region with a plentiful labor supply.
"The availability of skilled, unskilled and semi-skilled labor is considered to be quite high, but no one knows we are here," says Eric Voyles, president and CEO of the Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association (GREDA). "We have an excellent labor force. It's just dispersed over several counties." Voyles notes that a gradual shut down by the Maytag plant in Galesburg will leave the area with between 1,600 and 2,400 highly skilled but unemployed workers over the next several months.
Voyles says a recent market analysis of labor trends and commuter patterns conducted for a consortium of economic development agencies in Western Illinois indicates the region is ripe for new industry. The analysis indicates that in some job categories, up to 40 percent of the work force is willing to consider other job options.
About one million people live within a 50-mile (80-km.) radius of Galesburg, Voyles says. And, unlike in some metro regions, many potential employees in the region are willing to drive that far to work, he says.