Economic Alliance publishes 2014 Annual Report
The Economic Alliance of Kankakee County in March published and released its 2014 Annual Report. The document – available online here – recaps the organization’s efforts and achievements in Business Retention & Expansion, Business Attraction, Workforce Development, Regional Development, Local Community Development and Promotion in the January to December 2014 time window.
Results are reported according to their alignment with goals established in Kankakee County’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) 2014-19, the official roadmap for the Alliance’s annual program of work.
Key community outcomes for 2014 included:
- $650 million in major capital investment countywide
- Creation or retention of 1,333 jobs
- Establishment of Catalyst Innovation Center, a research and entrepreneurship collaborative of Olivet Nazarene University, Riverside Healthcare and the Economic Alliance of Kankakee County
- Establishment of the Manufacturing & Industrial Technology Center at Kankakee Community College
- Establishment of the Coalition for Hope & Excellence in Education
- Achievement of the designation of #1 Small Metro for Economic Vitality in the state of Illinois in the Milken Institute’s “Best-Performing Cities” index
- $18 million infrastructure investment by Aqua Illinois
- Groundbreaking for $53.3 million Army Aviation Support Facility and Readiness Center at Greater Kankakee Airport.