Illinois Governor Regionalizes ED Efforts

In mid-September, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich unveiled a new approach to economic development in Illinois– regionalism. While several other states currently use or have explored a regionalized approach to delivering state economic development services, the concept is new for Illinois. The Governor’s plan divides the state into ten separate economic regions by finding areas with similar economic strengths and similar economic needs, and then creates a separate regional economic development plan for each.

More than 20 state agencies, boards and commissions will be involved in the creation and implementation of each regional plan. Each plan will contain 15-25 tangible actions that the state can take to help create jobs, and give communities the tools they need to attract businesses. Items in the plans will range from creating needed infrastructure like roads and industrial parks to providing job training and consulting services through workforce development programs and new entrepreneurship centers to programs to help promote tourism.

"It's time we stopped using a one size fits all approach when it comes to economic development, and started looking at each region individually – and it’s time we start making plans that play to each region’s strengths and address each region’s needs,” Blagojevich said in his remarks. “We’re going to take every step we can to make our cities and our towns places where businesses can thrive and where people can get jobs. We’re going to build new roads. We’re going to build new infrastructure. We’re going to provide training, technology, and venture capital. We’re going to reduce the cost of doing business in Illinois. We’re going to do everything we possibly can to give our communities the ability to compete again."

The planning process started this month and will continue throughout the next few months, rolled out one region at a time. The first rollout is to be in Rockford this week. Since the start of his administration, Governor Blagojevich’s administration has reached out, across the state to economic development groups, local chambers of commerce, large and small business leaders and labor to help identify some of the needs in each region.

The Governor made his announcement during a speech to 250 Illinois business, labor and government leaders on the first day of his two-day 2003 Illinois Economic Summit. The Economic Summits were created to help provide the administration with ideas for the regional plans.