Will County CED
Will County In The News
Unemployment Down and Job Creation Steady in Will County
In the newsUnemployment Down & Job Creation Steady in Will County, IllinoisAs of April, the county’s unemployment rate stood at 7%, below one year prior when it reached 16% By Alex Ortiz | ShawLocal.com Will County’s economy appears to be on solid footing as it...
CED 2021 Eye Opener
The Eye Opener, the CED’s mid-year briefing on key developments, initiatives, and economic indicators in Will County was held virtually with more than 150 participating. The presentation offered insight as to what is ahead for the region-from infrastructure improvements to industries poised for growth.
Lion Electric Job Plans Detailed
In the newsLion Electric Job Plans DetailedBus, truck manufacturer plans to start production in late 2022 with 324 workers Bob Okon – ShawMedia.com The Lion Electric Company plans to begin taking applications before the end of this year at its future Joliet plant,...
Commercial Vehicle Maker Lion Electric Announces $70 Million Facility For Joliet
Governor JB Pritzker joined elected officials and the Lion Electric Company — a Canadian based manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles — to announce a significant investment in Illinois, with plans to build the company’s first-ever U.S. manufacturing facility and the largest plant of its kind in the country.
CED Celebrates 40 Years Of Raising The Tide
This year marks the Will County Center for Economic Development’s 40th anniversary. I am proud to serve as board chairwoman through this milestone year and to shine a light on the impact the organization has had on our community.
Lion Electric A Twist To Joliet Industrial Growth
The pending arrival of The Lion Electric Co. puts a new perspective on the industrial development that has proliferated in Joliet and surrounding towns. Industrial has translated to warehouses and distribution centers for years with many people complaining that logistics is not their idea of industry.
Air-traffic control tower coming to Lewis University Airport
Construction is expected to get underway soon on a control tower for Lewis University Airport in Romeoville, and it could be a real economic boost for Will County and put the airport on the map for large corporations, according to officials. “It takes us to a totally different level at the airport. This has always been part of the plan since the Joliet Regional Port District purchased the airport from Lewis University in 1989,” said Chris Lawson, the district’s director.
IRG To Turn Former Illinois Caterpillar Manufacturing Facility Into Multitenant Site
Industrial Realty Group picked up a sprawling industrial campus and trio of buildings outside Chicago, where Caterpillar once manufactured hydraulic equipment, to rework into a multitenant facility. The 69-acre property that has been vacant for two years sits along the Des Plaines River in suburban Rockdale, Illinois, just outside Joliet, with good access to a number of intermodal transit sources.
Economic Upswing Underway in Will County
Like the winds of change blowing through with the arrival of spring, many are hopeful the local job market will quickly start to improve as more receive COVID vaccines and more businesses, especially restaurants, are able to ramp up productivity and hire more employees.
State Starts Work On I-55 Interchanges, I-80 Bridge
The Illinois Department of Transportation this week announced construction starts this spring on several local sections of Interstate 55, including advance work for a new interchange at Route 59 and a new interchange at Interstate 80. IDOT also will begin work on I-80 bridges in Joliet.
Diageo To Spend $80 Million To Expand U.S. Ready-To-Drink Beverage Production
Spirits group Diageo said on Thursday it would spend $80 million to install two can-filling lines at a new plant in Illinois, to boost production of fast growing ready-to-drink beverages. The new facility in Plainfield, Illinois will make more than 25 million cases of ready-to-drink beverages every year, including Smirnoff seltzers and spirits-based cocktails from Crown Royal and Ketel One Botanicals.
Houbolt bridge construction ready to go
Construction of the Houbolt Road bridge is expected to start within the next couple of weeks. “We’re a full go as of today,” Michael Murphy, chief development officer for CenterPoint Properties said Tuesday. Murphy said a construction trailer should be on the site “in the next couple of days. … It will take a week or so to go to work.”
Biggest hydrogen fuel cell component factory in U.S. coming to Bolingbrook
Biggest hydrogen fuel cell component factory in U.S. coming to Bolingbrook. New York-based Hyzon Motors, which develops hydrogen-powered trucks, aims to start production by the end of the year. A New York-based company that develops hydrogen-powered commercial trucks plans to begin producing fuel-cell materials in Bolingbrook later this year.
Wayfair to Open Romeoville Fulfillment Center With at Least 250 Jobs
Online home goods retailer Wayfair is opening a fulfillment center in Romeoville that is expected to employ more than 250 people. The 1.2 million-square-foot facility will help the company “further scale our excellent shopping experience to meet the needs of our rapidly growing customer base in the greater Chicago region and across the U.S.,” Wayfair COO Thomas Netzer said in a news release Friday.
Will County, Illinois 1 of 9 In State Seeing Population Growth
Will County was one of only a handful of counties in Illinois to see population growth over the past decade, according to a study by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. Only nine of the state’s 102 counties saw population growth over the past 10 years, according to the CMAP study: Kendall, Champaign, Monroe, Kane, Will, Grundy, Williamson, DuPage and McLean.
Trash to Cash: Will County to Convert Methane Into Renewable Gas Turning Trash Into Cash
The Will County Board approved the next steps to convert methane gas produced at the Prairie View Landfill into compressed natural gas. The board voted today to select SCS Energy to design and build a plant to convert the methane to renewable natural gas. Harbour Contractors from Plainfield will lead the construction piece of this project. Currently, some methane gas is converted into electricity at the landfill with the remainder being burned off.
Warehouses added to Rock Run Crossings plan
A new feature is being added to the plans for Rock Run Crossings, which is billed as a future destination center that would attract shoppers, diners, moviegoers and more from a region spanning into the Chicago suburbs and central Illinois –warehouses.
Transportation Tribute Honors Legacy of Larry Walsh
Local, regional and state transportation officials paid tribute to the late Will County Executive Larry Walsh, Sr. on October 13th. First as a State Senator and later as the County Executive, Larry devoted countless hours planning, supporting and securing billions of dollars for transportation projects throughout the region.
Will County Unemployment Falls Again in September 2020
Will County’s unemployment rate continued to improve in August, falling to 9.7 percent from a peak of 17.4 percent in April. Overall, total unemployed persons in Will County has fallen from a peak of more than 60,000 in April to just over 33,000 in September.
Joliet council could vote Tuesday on lease for Houbolt Road bridge
The Joliet City Council on Monday was getting its first look at a 99-year lease agreement that spells out terms for future city ownership of a privately built Houbolt Road bridge estimated to cost $160 million. The council is slated to vote Tuesday on the lease, which must be approved before bridge construction starts.