Gov. Pritzker announces $500 million in funding to certify sites statewide.
When the Illinois General Assembly passed the $55.1 billion state FY2026 budget on June 1, the bill included, among other economic development spending measures, a record $500 million commitment to site readiness. Funds specifically were earmarked to support two state programs: Central Management Service’s Surplus to Success and the Site Readiness Initiative (SRI) of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
Surplus to Success receives $300 million, while SRI nets a new infusion of $200 million. Together, these allocations represent the largest investment in state history to make sites across Illinois ready for business. Funding includes state dollars for remediation of state-owned sites as well as efforts to market and recruit businesses from other states.
The budget passage follows actions taken by Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this year to award site preparedness funding to 24 sites across Illinois. On January 29, Pritzker announced awards totaling $31 million through two competitive funding opportunities: grants to support due diligence activities, studies and site plans; and Capital Ready grants to support capital infrastructure improvements. The grants ranged in size from $35,000 to $3 million.
Recipients of these awards included the Jo-Carroll Depot Local Redevelopment Authority in Northwest Illinois, which is getting $3 million to build natural gas infrastructure at the Savanna Industrial Park; and the City of Mattoon in Southeast Illinois, which is getting nearly $2.4 million to make substation improvements for 74 acres at Mattoon Enterprise Park.
There are 15 certified Megasites in Illinois. Vetted Sites is another state program that has 70 certified sites that are primed for fast-moving for industrial development.
Source: Illinois EDC
“Readiness planning, assessments, infrastructure improvements — these are all the fundamental work that must be done for businesses and investments to flourish and jobs to grow across the state,” Pritzker said. “In every corner of Illinois, there are communities that are overflowing with untapped potential but do not have the resources and support they need to fully realize it. Now, I am happy to say that a whole lot has changed. We are investing in our sites. We are thinking about the future, and we are growing economic development across the state.”
DCEO Director Kristin Richards added, “The Regional Site Readiness Program is building on the state’s economic momentum. These projects are readying sites for new capital investment and job creation to solidify Illinois’ reputation as an economic powerhouse that provides companies with access to the infrastructure they need to succeed.”
Pumping Millions Into Megasites
The state also administers the Megasites initiative and the Vetted Sites program. The Megasites initiative is a state effort to support site readiness at large-scale tracts around Illinois.
Two years ago, Pritzker kicked off the program by announcing $40 million in state funding for Megasites statewide. Recent award recipients include Jerseyville; Winnebago County; Interchange City West; Marquis Land Holdings LLC; and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
The Illinois EDC currently lists 15 available Megasites statewide. Examples include the 3,184-acre NRG site in Morris in Grundy County and the 5,000-acre Dual Rail Mega Site in Rochelle in Ogle County. There are also the 3,300-acre Marquis Industrial Complex in Hennepin and the 3,200-acre AC Rail-Access Megasite in Manteno. All four of these tracts are firmly on the radar screen of site selectors right now.
For a complete list of Megasites in Illinois, go to Illinois EDC’s website (illinoisedc.org)
Vetted Sites Up to 70
Vetted Sites, also administered by the Illinois EDC, are identified by the organization as the top sites in Illinois based on eight site characteristics: acreage; utilities; logistics; permitting and entitlement; workforce; ownership; local and state incentives; and environmental and topographical conditions. The program also provides ample site data so that companies can make local decisions quickly and accurately.
Currently, Illinois EDC Vetted Sites has 35 sites that are certified in the program. These tracts include the 500-acre Hartford Industrial Center and the 96-acre Blitstein Farm site in Dwight.
Paulina San Millan, senior vice president of business development for Illinois EDC, says, “We retain experts in Illinois to certify our sites. They do a deep-dive analysis; and then we market them. We know that in the global economy today, if you don’t have the sites, you can’t compete for projects.”
“We retain experts in Illinois to certify our sites. They do a deep-dive analysis; and then we market them. We know that in the global economy today, if you don’t have the sites,
you can’t compete for projects.”— Paulina San Millan, Senior Vice President, Illinois EDC
She adds that “We started at 35, we are now at 70. We are always asking ourselves ‘How can we be creative and get [these assets] in front of site selectors?’ ”
Helping Illinois is the fact that many Vetted Sites are located along major highways. A good example is the I-80 Logistics Park site in Minooka. It has 416 acres that are ready for development. There are also the 250-acre I-55 Commerce Center in Litchfield and the 320-acre Cornerstone at Chicago Rockford International Airport.
For a complete list of Vetted Sites in Illinois, go to illinoisedc.org/resources/site-selection/megasites.
Ameren Speeds Up the Process
Eric Whitfield, economic director for Ameren Illinois, says his electric utility company began investing heavily into site preparation about three or four years ago. “We wanted to know two things: What are the top sites across the whole service territory? And what sites are being submitted for the most projects? It started out as a process improvement initiative for ourselves.”
Whitfield says certified sites are essential today because “RFI submissions are only getting quicker and requiring more detailed information. We took our top sites and had our engineers look at them ahead of time. The Illinois EDC rolled out its Vetted Sites program at the same time. As they identified more sites, we were able to take those into our own intake and be more proactive.”
Whitfield adds that the primary goal of shoring up site readiness is “improving speed to market. Everyone needs to know what it will take from an energy standpoint; and it helps our communities understand what they have.”
To date, says Whitfield, Ameren has vetted close to 100 sites around the state. “We keep a rolling top 35 that we refresh each year,” he notes. “That helps us identify some gaps too. That led to the Site Readiness grants that the state now uses.”
A big beneficiary of this new state program is downstate Illinois, he adds. “This program is really paying off for the downstate area. A sustainable aviation fuel plant went to Metro East [near St. Louis] because the rail-served sites in that area were pre-vetted. Because of results like this, we will continue to enhance this program.”
