Kane County Joins New Regional Partnership for Economic Development

Regional leaders have announced the formation of the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership, a first-of-its-kind united effort including Kane County, the City of Chicago and the Counties of DuPage, Lake, Will, McHenry, Cook and Kendall.  The partnership aims to drive a regional economic strategy intended to deliver mutual benefits to the partners, and strengthen Chicagoland’s economic force in an increasingly fierce competitive global market.

“We look forward to our involvement in this unique partnership among the City of Chicago and its collar counties to create a regional, collaborative approach to economic development,” said Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog. “There is strength in numbers and this partnership will help to quicken the pace of post-pandemic recovery for Kane County businesses and its residents.”

With financial commitment from each of the partners totaling $1 million for the first in a three-year pilot, World Business Chicago (WBC) will manage the new Chicagoland Partnership and expand its services region-wide, complementing existing municipal and county programs.

The Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership will focus on promoting the region’s many assets, including extensive freight infrastructure, diverse talent, strong exporting industries, and world-class institutions of innovation, research, and culture to develop a competitive global identity. Also, international engagement will be coordinated among the partners, and they will share and optimize resources like market research and asset mapping to achieve greater efficiency and scale.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) set this work in motion two years ago, supported by a grant from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, at the request of the region’s county board chairs and the deputy mayor of Chicago. CMAP partnered with the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization. The partners met over a series of convenings to develop the recommendations and achieve consensus on the partnership’s principles and expectations.

Those partners include:

• Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle

• Former DuPage County Board Chair Dan Cronin (Term ended in Dec. 2022)

• Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog

• Former Kendall County Board Chair Scott Gryder (Term ended in Dec. 2022)

• Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart 

• McHenry County Board Chair Michael Buehler

• Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant

• Samir Mayekar, Deputy Mayor for Neighborhood and Economic Development, City of Chicago

• Cook County Bureau of Economic Development

• Choose DuPage 

• Lake County Partners

• McHenry County Economic Development Corporation

• Will County Center for Economic Development

• World Business Chicago

Source/CMAP Media Release