Back To Business Grant Program Announced

Back To Business Grant Program Announced

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Back To Business Grant Program Announced​

B2B Back to Business Logo

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announce $175 million available for Back to Business (B2B)

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced on March 21, 2023, that $175 million is available in grant funding through the Back to Business (B2B) program. Following state recovery for businesses totaling nearly $1.5 billion, the latest American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) -funded opportunity is designed to provide additional support for the hardest-hit sectors, including restaurants (B2B Restaurants), hotels (B2B Hotels), and businesses or organizations in the creative arts sector (B2B Arts).

Applications will be open April 5-May 10, 2023. DCEO encourages applicants to familiarize themselves with program eligibility requirements and reach out to local community navigators with any questions. All eligibility and program information is available here.

Additionally, DCEO will host statewide information kick-off webinar sessions in the next few weeks in both English and Spanish. Dates and registration links are also available on the same site here.

The application portal will open on Wednesday, April 5 with a link provided at the same site here.

State Grants Available for Restaurants Through Back to Business (B2B) Program - Two guys and girl having lunch in restaurant
B2B Grants for hotels, couple checking in at hotel desk.
B2B grants for Creative Arts Businesses - People at art fundraiser

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New CED Investor Event Hits the Mark!

New CED Investor Event Hits the Mark!

The Will County CED showcased the first, “CED After 3” event on February 22nd. Thank you to the many investors who braved the rain and cold to join us! We appreciate the support of Wight & Co as our inaugural sponsor and the Joliet Area Historical Museum for their wonderful hospitality and venue.

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PART Project Launches to Address Regional Transit

PART Project Launches to Address Regional Transit

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PART Project Launches to Address Regional Transit

PART Project Launches to Address Regional Transit

Planning for a stronger and more financially secure transit system for Chicagoland is underway with the first meeting of a diverse group of stakeholders from the business, community, environmental, labor, and civic sectors along with the public.

The outcome will be a set of state legislative recommendations that ensure the long-term financial viability of a comprehensive and coordinated regional public transportation system, as required by state law enacted last year.

The Will County CED’s Doug Pryor is honored to be part of the newly formed PART (Plan of Action for Regional Transit) steering committee, and he looks forward to participating in this critical transportation planning for the region’s continued economic growth.

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New Hospital Partnership Launches – Includes Bolingbrook Location

New Hospital Partnership Launches – Includes Bolingbrook Location

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New Hospital Partnership Launches – Includes Bolingbrook Location

U Chicago Advent Hospital Bolingbrook, IL

The University of Chicago Medicine and AdventHealth have closed on a transaction to form a joint venture called UChicago Medicine AdventHealth, which will combine the expertise and resources of both organizations to bring academic medicine to the western suburbs.

The two organizations announced a definitive agreement to affiliate in September 2022, with plans for UChicago Medicine to acquire a controlling interest in AdventHealth’s Great Lakes Region, which includes its four Illinois hospitals in Bolingbrook, Glendale Heights, Hinsdale and La Grange along with a network of nearly 50 physicians’ offices and outpatient locations.

The AdventHealth Great Lakes Region’s facilities will be co-branded as UChicago Medicine AdventHealth to build upon the complementary strengths of the two organizations, with UChicago Medicine’s national reputation as an academic health system and AdventHealth’s focus on delivering outstanding medical care in community settings.

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Regional Partnership for Economic Development Announced

Regional Partnership for Economic Development Announced

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Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership

Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership

The new Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership was announced this week and includes the City of Chicago, Cook County and six counties across the northeastern Illinois region including Will County.

This exciting new partnership will serve as a driving force of business on a regional level focused on promoting the many assets, including extensive freight infrastructure, diverse talent, strong export industries, and world-class institutions of innovation, research, and culture to develop a competitive global identity. Work began more than two years ago convening the institutions and partners necessary to develop recommendations and consensus on the Partnerships principles and expectations.

Our President & CEO, Doug Pryor is honored to be a board member and is proud to have been invited to participate in the development over the last two years creating this new and exciting regional partnership on behalf of the Will County Center for Economic Development and Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant.

“As our local economy continues to grow and adapt to a changing environment, the importance of a regional partnership has never been clearer. We will be able to achieve more by working together. I look forward to working with my county colleagues throughout the Chicagoland region to develop a comprehensive economic development strategy.”

–  Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant

Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership – CMAP (illinois.gov)

Read the full story.

Will County Joins First-Ever Regional Partnership for Economic Development – Will County News

Will County Executive Press Release

Clarius Partners’ Lion Electric manufacturing facility: A once-in-a-lifetime project in Joliet

Clarius Partners’ Lion Electric manufacturing facility: A once-in-a-lifetime project in Joliet

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Clarius Partners’ Lion Electric manufacturing facility: A once-in-a-lifetime project in Joliet

Lion Electric

By DAN RAFTER NOVEMBER 21, 2022

The kind of project that doesn’t come along very often. That’s how Peter Schmidt, senior vice president with Rosemont, Illinois-based Meridian Design Build, described the Lion Electric project in Joliet, Illinois.

Meridian Design Build served as the general contractor on Clarius Park Joliet’s Building 2, a 906,517-square-foot industrial facility developed by Clarius Partners in partnership with Walton Street Capital in the Chicago suburb of Joliet. The facility will serve as a manufacturing base for Quebec-based Lion Electric, a maker of zero-emission electric vehicles.

Lion Electric will build up to 20,000 electric vehicles here each year, mostly electric school buses. The facility at 3835 Youngs Road will have a positive impact on its home of Joliet, too, employing as many as 1,400 workers.

Read more at:
REjournals.com

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Annual Report Speaks To Will County

Annual Report Speaks To Will County

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Annual Report Speaks To Will County

SUCCESSES, COMMITMENTS AND PARTNERSHIPS

CED, CEO Doug Pryor speaks at 2023 Annual Report Presentation

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.

Annual Report Sponsors

2022 Annual Report Presentation

2022 ANNUAL REPORT TO INVESTORS

2022 marked another year of success for Will County leading the region in development and job creation. Although not without its challenges, 2022 has been a time for change, for growth and has been filled with countless achievements.

Learn more and view a video slideshow of the event