SUCCESSES, COMMITMENTS AND PARTNERSHIPS

Ruth Colby, CED Board Chair, welcomed more than 250 guests and thanked members of the CED Board for their time, guidance, and leadership in making the CED and Will County the best it can be. She reflected on the CED’s forty-one years of success.

In 2022 forty-three investor organizations marked 30 years or more of investment in the CED, which was commemorated through presentations of Certificates of Appreciation recognizing their commitment to community and their partnership with the Will County Center for Economic Development.

County Executive, Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant offered comments highlighting the many groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings that occurred in 2022 throughout the county. The Executive also pointed to opportunities for small businesses and non-profits to apply for ARPA funding targeted towards mitigating existing hardships from the pandemic. Finally, she invited employers to explore the services of the Will County Workforce Services Division to help fill job vacancies and upskilling opportunities and training.

Congressman Bill Foster (D-11) gave remarks and highlighted significant legislation recently passed including the American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure and Jobs Act.

“These historic investments may have been passed in the last two years of Congress, but these investments will be playing out over the next decades to the benefit of Will County and businesses around the country.”

Two factors that seemed to matter most when convincing Lion Electric to locate in the southwest suburbs, Foster said.

“Part of the pitch we made was that in this area we have a highly skilled workforce ready to go and we have a second-to-none transportation infrastructure,” Foster said.

Doug Pryor, President & CEO was the featured speaker providing an economic overview illustrating where Will County conditions are compared with the region and State.

Highlights included Will County’s strength in:

• job growth
• manufacturing
• energy production
• leading the state in single family home building permits 4 years straight!

Pryor highlighted Will County infrastructure projects including those most recently completed: I-55 at Weber Road and Route 30 at I-80. He shared that the Houbolt Road Extension bridge project is near completion and lastly provided an update on the rebuild of I-80 from Minooka to New Lenox to include new Des Plaines River bridges.

Guests heard about the many companies investing and reinvesting in Will County this year, which includes Lion Electric, who recently produced its first, all electric, “Made in America”, school bus at its City of Joliet manufacturing facility. This is an important milestone for one of the most important projects in our region. Vehicles are now being produced right here in Will County, and they are the future of transportation.

View the CED 2022 Annual Report to Investors Presentation

Thank you to the CED Investors who stepped up to sponsor this important annual update. We are grateful for their commitment to this event and appreciate their support.