Press Releases
Business Development Flourishing Under Ryan Administration
SPRINGFIELD -- Governor George H. Ryan today marked Business Day 2000 in Springfield by highlighting a string of business success stories that have occurred in Illinois since he took office.
Since January of last year, DCCA has worked with companies to bring 74 major projects to the state that have involved 100 or more jobs. The private investment generated by these industry development projects has resulted in more than $1.6 billion worth of private investment and created nearly 15,000 new jobs and retained more than 14,000 jobs.
"We're currently experiencing a tremendous amount of economic development activity in our state," Ryan said. "A big reason for this increased economic activity is the fact that government, business and labor are working to address the state's economic development needs to ensure that Illinois can effectively compete for new business projects and the jobs that come with them."
Since Ryan took office, two major economic development initiatives have been signed into law. The EDGE (Economic Development through a Growing Economy) program puts Illinois on equal footing with surrounding states by offering corporate income tax credits for the creation of new jobs. Essential to the state's economic development efforts has been the establishment of Illinois FIRST, the governor's $12 billion fund for infrastructure, roads, schools and transit. Illinois FIRST is providing critical funds for infrastructure projects associated with the construction of new and expanded businesses.
In addition, the governor has increased the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs' (DCCA) budget, enabling the agency to provide companies with additional job training funds and technical assistance.
"Due to the governor's and the General Assembly's willingness to provide the essential economic development tools of EDGE, Illinois FIRST and the proposed Illinois VentureTECH initiative, Illinois is well positioned to build upon last year's historic level of economic development success," said DCCA Director Pam McDonough.
Agency officials recently completed a survey for Site Selection magazine that tracked major economic development during 1999. That survey, (which was limited to locations and expansions over 20,000 square-feet, or at least $1 million investment, or 50 or more employees), found companies invested $4.4 billion dollars and added 61,100 jobs to the Illinois economy last year.
The governor said his five-year $1.9 billion Illinois VentureTECH program is designed to create jobs in the new economy by providing early stage seed capital that is essential for growing high-tech businesses. "We want to build upon the successes we've had so far, so we're looking for new opportunities to attract and retain those businesses which will contribute to the future prosperity of our state," Ryan added.
Attached is a list of economic development projects announced under the Ryan administration.
(Reporting Period 01/01/99 to Present)
(Does not include projects with less than 100 new or retained jobs)
PROJECT NAME | COMMUNITY | PRIVATE INVESTMENT $ | JOBS RETAINED | NEW JOBS |
Solo Cup | Chicago | 71,000,000 | 550 | 200 |
Walgreen | Mt. Vernon | 54,500,000 | 660 | 450 |
A & R | Channahon | 12,400,000 | 0 | 105 |
National Railway Equipment Co. | Mt. Vernon | 3,300,000 | 0 | 115 |
Big River Zinc Corp. | Sauget | 78,000,000 | 385 | 0 |
Construx/Superior Walls of Central | Springfield | 2,500,000 | 0 | 120 |
TAP Pharmaceuticals (Joint Venture of Abbott Labs and Takeda) | Deerfield | 54,000,000 | 0 | 500 |
General Cable | Monticello | 5,500,000 | 100 | 30 |
TWA Reservation Center | Chicago | 6,000,000 | 250 | 100 |
T.P.S. Print Shop | Newton | 589,000 | 130 | 20 |
Aux Sable Liquid Products, Inc. | Channahon | 365,000,000 | 0 | 100 |
Menon Acquisition Company/Norwest Business Credit Inc. | Sandwich | 20,000,000 | 200 | 25 |
Dart Corporation | Naperville | 22,000,000 | 0 | 350 |
Uniforms To You | Bedford Park & Chicago | 12,000,000 | 925 | 200 |
United Distiller and Vintners, Inc. (UDV) | Plainfield | 20,500,000 | 61 | 50 |
Cannon Precision Manufacturing-GEM, Inc. | Aledo | 3,752,725 | 90 | 150 |
Amax Plating Company | Elgin | 3,000,000 | 90 | 10 |
CHI Overhead Doors, Inc. | Arthur | 2,681,150 | 130 | 50 |
Cherry Electric | Waukegan | 70,000,000 | 1,000 | 0 |
Medela, Inc. | McHenry | 9,000,000 | 300 | 30 |
Schrock | Arthur | 3,000,000 | 560 | 100 |
Eagle Soft; A Patterson Company | Effingham | 1,200,000 | 88 | 30 |
Brake Parts, Inc. | McHenry | 11,000,000 | 100 | 150 |
Nestle USA | Bloomington | 45,000,000 | 300 | 125 |
Ideal Industries | Sycamore | 0 | 613 | 0 |
R. G. Ray Corporation | Buffalo Grove | 7,600,000 | 300 | 80 |
AG Communications Systems | Genoa | 0 | 700 | 50 |
Plano Molding Co. | Sandwich | 1,500,000 | 180 | 12 |
Pork King Packaging | Morengo | 4,000,000 | 0 | 206 |
Truck Centers | Troy | 10,000,000 | 169 | 139 |
Chapco | River Grove | 8,200,000 | 150 | 0 |
Primary Steel/Metron Division | Chicago | 4,000,000 | 150 | 35 |
Progressive Manufacturing, Inc. | Lake Zurich | 10,118,000 | 100 | 200 |
Budget Rent a Car Corporation | Lisle | 24,000,000 | 380 | 0 |
Barjan Products, Inc. | Rock Island | 8,000,000 | 200 | 50 |
Fisher Scientific | Romeoville | 9,500,000 | 140 | 0 |
Contempri Industries, Inc. | Pinckneyville | 1,800,000 | 46 | 116 |
Coolsavings | Cook County | 1,500,000 | 125 | 200 |
Acme Refining | Lake Bluff | 1,000,000 | 100 | 0 |
CIGNA | Bourbonnais | 30,000,000 | 600 | 400 |
Sprint PCS | Bolingbrook | 17,000,000 | 0 | 1,200 |
Whiting Corp/Paine/Wetzel | Monee | 12,000,000 | 250 | 0 |
Amishland | Tuscola | 7,000,000 | 60 | 150 |
Bordens Decorative Products/Decorative Surfaces International | Dupo | 15,000,000 | 0 | 300 |
Caterpillar Agricultural Products (New) | DeKalb | 17,000,000 | 146 | 0 |
Lafarge Corporation | Grand Chain | 17,000,000 | 135 | 0 |
Matsushita Universal Media Serv. (MUMS) fka Univ. Music | Pinckneyville | 76,000,000 | 400 | 500 |
MCI WorldCom | Rockford | 20,000,000 | 0 | 900 |
Web Van | Carol Stream | 35,000,000 | 0 | 900 |
Johnson-Ross | Champaign | 500,000 | 100 | 200 |
Nestle USA | Itasca | 0 | 330 | 78 |
Valspar Corp. | Kankakee | 1,173,975 | 165 | 10 |
Circuit City | Aurora | 17,000,000 | 150 | 60 |
Ensign Bickford Industries, Inc. | Wolf Lake | 4,500,000 | 250 | 50 |
Grayson Hill Farm & Energy Mine Transportation System | Raleigh | 200,000 | 100 | 30 |
Quaker Oats | Danville | 20,000,000 | 540 | 45 |
Wisconsin Physicians Service | Marion | 4,700,000 | 300 | 20 |
Sycamore Prairie Industrial Park | Sycamore | 500,000 | 500 | 50 |
Eagle One Aviation | Bethalto | 13,000,000 | 0 | 300 |
Exhibit Source | South Holland | 3,000,000 | 68 | 37 |
Volkswagon (VCI) | Lake County | 10,000,000 | 330 | 130 |
Continental Plastics Containers | Harvard | 8,000,000 | 0 | 120 |
Zeller Plastik Inc. | Wauconda | 7,000,000 | 140 | 80 |
Tellabs Inc. | Naperville | 75,000,000 | 0 | 2,300 |
IBM | Chicago | 15,900,000 | 2 | 250 |
North American Van Lines | Naperville | 144,000,000 | 0 | 850 |
Cellular One | Springfield | 23,000,000 | 120 | 600 |
Project DEB/UBID | Chicago | 13,000,000 | 0 | 160 |
ITW Minigrip/Zip-Pak | Ottawa | 15,000,000 | 0 | 73 |
Shutters, Inc. | Hebron | 5,000,000 | 80 | 15 |
Allstate Insurance Company | Woodridge | 8,500,000 | 0 | 680 |
Owens Corning/IKO | Danville | 49,000,000 | 0 | 60 |
Converter Concepts, Inc. | Quincy | 2,900,000 | 75 | 60 |
Performance Food Group | Peru | 12,000,000 | 0 | 100 |
TOTAL | 1,666,014,850 | 14,113 | 14,806 | |
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