Every state in the union is interested in economic development, and a big part of that interest manifests in trying to convince companies to move operations to a state. How well has Illinois been playing that game, and what’s it mean for jobseekers?
According to a recently-released report from Intersect Illinois, almost 360 businesses either expanded or relocated to the state over the past year. This generated $7.1 billion in capital investments and over 16,000 jobs.
Intersect Illinois is the state’s economic development organization, working with businesses, government, and government partners to showcase the state as being a place where international and domestic companies should relocate and expand.
Who’s on the move?
Here are some of the notable firms making the move to the Land of Lincoln:
Amazon
Jeff Bezos’ brainchild will be building a new distribution center in DeKalb, creating hundreds of jobs. It already employs 43,000 workers across the state out of 20 fulfillment/sorting centers and 20 delivery stations; in all, Amazon has invested $14 billion in Illinois since 2010.
4Front
This vertically integrated cannabis operator and retailer will build a 558,000-square-foot cultivation and production facility in Matteson, with up to 500 jobs and $106 million in investment.
Danobat
Headquartered in Europe, this machine tool manufacturer is moving its U.S. operations from Texas to Illinois, where it once did business years ago. Why? For better supply chain access and better talent. The result? A new 12,700 headquarters center in Rolling Meadows will contain commercial, production, and quality control operations. They’ll have a new neighbor, too, as the FCC also moves its regional HQ nearby.
Tyson
The food giant expanded its Caseyville prepared foods facility, increasing automation and creating 250 new jobs with a $180 million investment that will help them round out a lot of breakfasts, thanks to rising demand for its Hillshire Farms and Jimmy Dean lines.
Bright Farms
This leader in producing locally grown packaged salads expanded its operations to Yorkville (after already operating in Rochelle) by setting up a hydroponic greenhouse farm there that will deliver to nearby supermarkets, resulting in 200 new jobs.
GAF
North America’s largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer announced it’s going to build will build the company’s fifth insulation manufacturing plant in Peru, good for 70 jobs and $80M in investment.
Good news in a nervous economy
The success of the state in bringing in new companies and creating new jobs is a good sign of recovery from the pandemic. It’s especially welcome during these uncertain economic times.
It’s also good to see that the range of companies in the report is highly diverse, encompassing information tech, life sciences/healthcare, transportation and logistics, electric vehicles and energy, agribusiness, and more. Such diversity only adds to the resiliency of the state’s economy in the years ahead.
Best of all. we’re just getting started. With companies continuing to see the benefit of being in Illinois. the momentum is strong.
Dan Seals, CEO, Intersect Illinois
