Looking Back on a Banner Year for Business in Illinois

It’s been a momentous year for business in Illinois. The state ranked #2 in the country for corporate relocations and expansions, new incentives advanced the business environment, and companies from a diverse range of industries invested in Illinois. In 2023, Illinois continued to generate growth in electric vehicle production, life sciences, food innovation, manufacturing, and more key sectors.

Image from Governor JB Pritzker’s Facebook

“Illinois is open for business, and we will continue to demonstrate why our state is the premier location for domestic and global companies in a diverse range of industries,” said Intersect Illinois CEO Dan Seals.

With top notch infrastructure, reliable clean energy and water, a skilled workforce, and abundant success stories, Illinois is a business powerhouse. Here are some of the top stories from this year and a look at why companies chose to be in Illinois this past year.

• Illinois rises to #2 in relocations: Illinois drew 487 corporate expansion and relocation projects in 2022, making it 2^nd in the nation and the Chicago metro once again ranked number one. Some notable projects included in the count are a $214 million chocolate processing expansion by global confection company Ferrero, an $80 million manufacturing plant by GAF Commercial Roofing and T/CCI’s $20 million retooling of a facility to make EV components. Read the full story here.
  

  Image from ComEd; A utility company that provides electricity and natural gas to northern Illinois.

• Illinois ranks top 5 in data centers: With the digital transformation of many industries, the dominance of social media, and the continued rise of streaming video, the world is creating more data than ever, leading the rush to build more data centers. Illinois has emerged as a major player in the industry, with construction underway on four of the largest data center campuses in the country. This story explains the forces driving this data center boom and why Illinois is the perfect location for the facilities that underpin our 21^st-century economy.
• Illinois notches more EV industry wins: Illinois is already home to manufacturing plants from major electric-vehicle companies including Rivian and Canada’s Lion Electric. This year, Gotion, a world-leading battery maker for EVs, chose Illinois for a new cutting-edge $2 billion plant. Highly competitive incentives and partnerships across all levels of government led the company to choose Illinois and have also bolstered Illinois’ reputation as a leading electric vehicle manufacturing hub.
  

   Image from Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub; The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been chosen to lead the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago – a new biomedical hub – along with the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.

• Chan Zuckerberg Biohub: Chicago was chosen over 58 cities for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Biohub.The $250 million investment recognizes the city as one of the nation’s premier hubs for biotech development. Illinois’ thriving life sciences industry is in large part due to its ecosystem of support and unmatched research universities.
• New incentives to further boost competitiveness: Illinois passed numerous incentives this year to encourage investment in renewable energy, electric vehicles, semiconductors, and startups. From a new “closing fund” to increased tax credits, these new programs make Illinois an even more attractive place for new and expanding businesses. Learn more about many of the new incentives boosting the state’s economic competitiveness here.

Explore more stories about why companies are choosing to be in Illinois, along with key facts and insightful reports, on our Insights page.