About Us
The Economic Alliance of Kankakee County is a 501c6 public/private partnership tasked with encouraging and facilitating new investment in the Greater Chicago community of Kankakee County, Illinois. We approach our mission in the spirit of collaboration in order to move the needle in sustainable and equitable ways across the interconnected realms of business, workforce and community development.
Businesses located in our community – from Fortune 500/Global 500 corporations to startups – enjoy a low cost of doing business, responsive educational institutions and workforce training programs, robust utility infrastructure, a 45-minute labor force of 2.8 million, cooperative and aligned leadership with a renewed livability focus, and an outstanding transportation network – including direct Interstate 57 access, three Class I rail lines and the Chicago Southland’s largest regional airport.
Major primary business sectors within Kankakee County include life sciences, food processing, health care, business services, metals and machining, renewable energy, hospitality, and transportation and logistics.
(Access our COVID-19 Response & Recovery Portal here.)
To support new investment, commercial, industrial and residential investors can access a suite of financial incentives. The Alliance also leverages a number of business intelligence tools, providing current property availabilities, market data and other information on demand.
The Economic Alliance holds regular meetings of its board of directors, generally on the second Thursdays of the scheduled months at 7:30 a.m.; locations TBD. Meetings are open to the public.
Confirmed 2023 BoD meeting dates are:
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February 9, 2023
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April 13, 2023
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June 8, 2023
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September 14, 2023
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November 9, 2023
Click to access recent Alliance BoD reports:
2022
2022 Kankakee County Board Report delivered on 1-11-22
- Q1 2022 EAKC BoD Report, February 10, 2022
- Q2 2022 EAKC BoD Report, April 14, 2022
- Remarks by:
- Dr. Michael Boyd, President, Kankakee Community College
- Kevin VanDeven, Vice President & General Manager, Nucor Steel Kankakee
- Senator Patrick Joyce, Illinois, 40th District
- Rep. Jackie Haas, Illinois, 79th District
- Lindsay Parkhurst, Circuit Judge, 21st Judicial Circuit
- Remarks by:
- June 2022 EAKC BoD Report, June 9, 2022
- Remarks by:
- Julie Simpkins, Chief Operating Officer, Gardant Management Solutions
- Greg Echols, Chief Financial Officer, Gardant Management Solutions
- Tina Franklin, Kankakee Iroquois Ford Association of Realtors
- Tire recycling event set for August 27, 2022 hosted by KIFAR and the Kankakee County Farm Bureau. More details available here.
- Jeff Bennett, Managing Partner, McColly Bennett Commercial Advantage
- Remarks by:
- Q3 – September 2022 EAKC BoD Report, September 8, 2022
- Remarks by:
- Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey
- State’s Attorney Jim Rowe
- Remarks by:
- Nov 2022 Economic Alliance BoD Report, November 10, 2022
- Remarks by: Mark Denzler, President & CEO, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
- Inaugural Economic Alliance IMPACT Award granted to Joseph Franco.
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2021
- Q1 2021 EAKC BoD Report
- Q2 2021 EAKC BoD Report
- Guest report featuring the Tyjuan Hagler Foundation.
- June 2021 EAKC BoD Report
- Q3 2021 EAKC BoD Report
- Guest report by Nicholas Crite, Economic Development Manager with Nicor Gas.
- Q4 2021 EAKC BoD Report
- Guest report by Olivet Nazarene University president Dr. Gregg Chenoweth
Click to access the Alliance’s 2021 State of the County Report delivered on 10-20-2021.
DOWNLOAD the International Economic Development Council’s “What is Economic Development” document
Contact:
Tim Nugent, President / CEO, tnugent@kankakeecountyed.org
Angela Morrey, Director of Marketing and Business Attraction, amorrey@kankakeecountyed.org
Ben Wilson, Special Projects, bwilson@kankakeecountyed.org