News & Events

The RESearch Kankakee County, IL, Conference & Expo is a focused opportunity for commercial, industrial and residential developers and others to learn more about our major active projects; prime Metro Development Zones, properties and plans; and relevant incentives and financing opportunities.

New position created to coordinate transportation and economic development projects related to major expansions of industrial and commercial enterprises within the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) planning area to ensure technical competence and compliance with all current local, state, and federal policies, standards, guidelines, and criteria.

Global air filtration leader AAF Flanders recently increased the capacity of its Momence, Illinois, operation by taking occupancy of 260,000 SF of additional space in neighboring Kankakee. The expansion accommodates the growing warehouse distribution needs of AAF Momence, which produces 110,000 air filters per day to serve 6 states in the Midwest market.

Area Development magazine has ranked the Kankakee, IL, Metropolitan Statistical Area first among 394 MSAs nationwide for year-over-year growth in its “Leading Metro Locations” Q2 2018 report. The foremost site and facility planning publication determined the ranking by reviewing 21 economic and workforce indicators pulled from seven data sets originating from three sources – the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census American Community Survey and Emsi.

The Economic Alliance is working in partnership with CGI Communications Inc and the County of Kankakee to produce a series of videos highlighting leading growth in the community’s industrial market along with local quality of life amenities, including in-demand education, recreation and housing opportunities.

Cybersecurity defense is now a concentration in the computer science major offered by the Department of Computer Science in the Martin D. Walker School of Engineering at Bourbonnais’ Olivet Nazarene University. Reed Hall of Science is the home for the university’s new cybersecurity lab. Enrollment is now open for fall 2018 to students who want to enter this demand discipline.

CSL Behring, an Australian-based global biotherapeutics firm, plans to expand its operations center in Kankakee, Illinois. The company will begin with a reported 1.8 million-square-foot addition to its campus called CSL South.

The Economic Alliance tracks industrial growth in the Greater Chicago community of Kankakee County, Illinois, releasing the numbers annually to partners, investment prospects, the media and other community stakeholders. From 2014-2017, the community saw $1.5 billion in major capital investment.

Silva International has announced a new expansion that will nearly double its 190,000-square-foot footprint in Momence. It recently started an $8 million, 180,000-square-foot expansion — the bulk of which will be used as a zero-oxygen warehouse.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that it will build a full-range merchant bar quality (MBQ) mill at its existing bar steel mill located in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The MBQ mill will have an annual capacity of 500,000 tons and is expected to cost $180 million. The project will take approximately two years to complete.