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, Area Development magazine’s #1 Metro in the Midwest for 5-year Growth in 2019. 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. Meetings are primarily held at Olivet Nazarene University’s Weber Leadership Center; however, they occasionally are held offsite in conjunction with industry tours. Meetings are open to the public.
Confirmed 2020 BoD meeting dates are:
- February 13
- June 11 [via Zoom, BoD only]
- September 10 [via Zoom, BoD + media] Agenda
- November 12
Click to access recent Alliance BoD reports:
2019 Reports
- Q1 2019 EAKC BoD Report-b-FINAL
- Q2 2019 EAKC BoD Report-b
- Q2 2019 (June) EAKC BoD Report
- Q3 2019 EAKC BoD Report
- Q4 2019 EAKC BoD Report
To receive notification of Economic Alliance BoD meetings, contact Lisa Wogan.
DOWNLOAD the International Economic Development Council’s “What is Economic Development” document
Click to access the “7 Key Economic Indicators” report delivered at the 2019 State of the County event.