Illinois Ranks High in National Rankings

     Site Selection magazine, a 73-year-old economic development journal, ranks city’s, counties, and State’s annually in various categories such as workforce development, technology hubs and more. Illinois does well in most categories along with Texas and North Carolina. The Chicago region recently ranked #1 for major corporate expansions for over a decade due to the talent pool, infrastructure and diversity. Illinois also ranks high among State’s for the annual number of corporate projects. Below are two charts representing metropolitan areas ranked highly in the categories of being technology hubs and having a highly skilled workforce.

                                                                       Workforce Development                                        

     Workforce, workforce, workforce has for several years now has replaced location, location, location as the number one site selection factor by companies looking to expand or move to a new location. A good workforce is a result of public schools, community colleges, local and State government, and businesses working together to create an environment and labor force that meets local needs. Elgin is doing just that through the cooperation of Elgin Community College, School District U-46, City of Elgin, local businesses, Elgin Development Group, Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, Judson University, Alignment Collaborative and others. Elgin has positioned and prepared itself for the future and will continue to prosper because of these efforts to control its own destiny.