AROUND ILLINOIS

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NOTES

Economic development projects in communities all over Illinois are injecting needed revenue, revitalization, and economic activity into the state. Below is a look at just a few of the projects underway in Illinois.

1. BELVIDERE: Rock Valley College selected a Belvidere site to develop a workforce training center in conjunction with Belvidere public schools. The center will help train students for careers in manufacturing, welding, electronics, and more.

2. CHAMPAIGN: Ground has been broken on a six-story apartment building geared to college students in Champaign. The developers reportedly expect to complete the building in time for the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

3. CHICAGO: Thirty-two minority-owned businesses and business incubators around the state will receive a total of $11 million in state grants to create jobs, build capacity, increase revenues, and revitalize properties in underserved communities. The grants, part of the state’s Minority-Owned Business Capital and Infrastructure Program, were announced by Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in June.

4. EFFINGHAM: The Effingham City Council in June approved annexing property along interstates 57 and 70 that will become the proposed Interstate North Business District, the fifth such district in the city.

5. MURPHYSBORO: Ground was broken in March for the development of a Holiday Inn Express at the corner of Illinois 127 and Illinois 13.

6. VERNON HILLS: A parcel of land known locally as the Darling family farm will be transformed into the South Lake Industrial Center, a $100 million deal confirmed by local officials in June. ■