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. 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.

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.; locations TBD. Meetings are open to the public.

Click to access recent Alliance BoD reports:

2024

• Q1 2024 Economic Alliance Board Report, February 8, 2024
  • Additional remarks by Rob Sumter, Market EVP, Chief Operating Officer, Ascension Illinois. View the Ascension presentation here.
• Q2 2024 Economic Alliance Board Report, April 11, 2024
  • Additional presentation by Mayor Chris Curtis, City of Kankakee. View the City of Kankakee Report here.
  • Economic Alliance of Kankakee County IMPACT Award recipient Francis J. Smith announced.

2023

• Q1 2023 Economic Alliance Board Report, February 9, 2023
  • Remarks by:
    • Illinois Rep. Jackie Haas (79th District) honoring Joe Franco with a proclamation from the Illinois House of Representatives for his work in community and economic development in Kankakee County and across the region.
    • Nick Allen on behalf of Illinois Senator Patrick Joyce (40th District) honoring Joe Franco with a proclamation from the Illinois Senate for his work in community and economic development in Kankakee County and across the region.
    • Erik Doersching, President & CEO of Tracy Cross & Associates, Inc. regarding the residential market analysis performed for Kankakee County.
      • View Doersching’s presentation here
      • Executive summary of the residential market analysis here
      • View the full report of the residential market analysis here

• Q2 2023 Economic Alliance Board Report, April 13, 2023
  • Additional remarks by:
    • Matthew Kelley, Executive Director, Kankakee Area Career Center
      • Kankakee Area Career Center report available here
    • Lesley Cooper, Director,  Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment, HLC Accreditation Liaison, Kankakee Community College
      • Career Coach report Available Here

• June 2023 Economic Alliance Board Report, June 8, 2023
  • Additional remarks by:
    • Abner Garcia-Delgado, VP Manufacturing & Site Head, CSL Behring, Kankakee
    • Amanda Kitchen, Division Director of New Center Operations, CSL Plasma

• Q3 2023 Economic Alliance Board Report, September 14, 2023
  • Additional remarks by:
    • State Attorney Jim Rowe, Kankakee County
      • Rowe’s presentation is available here.
    • Sheriff Mike Downey, Kankakee County
      • Sheriff Downey’s presentation is available here.

• Q4 2023 Economic Alliance Board Report, November 9, 2023
  • Additional remarks by:
    • Phil Kambic, President / CEO, Riverside Healthcare shared about the history of the Hoover building and growth of Riverside Healtchare. The Hoover building is one of the first manufacturing sites in Kankakee County, and at one time the largest manufacturing site in the nation, employing more than 4,000 people. Built in 1907, the building served as the headquarters for the Hoover Brothers and Company, which was a manufacturer of automobiles and later vacuum cleaners. Today, Riverside Healthcare houses various services and departments at the site. See the Riverside Healthcare report here.

Contact:

Tim Nugent, President / CEO, tnugent@kankakeecountyed.org

Angela Morrey, Vice President, Business Development, amorrey@kankakeecountyed.org

Ben Wilson, Special Projects, bwilson@kankakeecountyed.org