News & Events

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.

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.

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.

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.

Restoration Works Inc. of Bradley, Illinois, a leading company in the field of restoring and remanufacturing windows and other wooden components of historic buildings, has been named winner of a 2017 Illinois Sustainability Award.

This summer Brickstone Brewery is installing two new 300-barrel stainless steel fermentation tanks and a 150-barrel stainless steel bright tank into their production facility. To put that in perspective, a half-barrel of beer is 15.5 gallons, 124 pints or 165 12-ounce cans. These things hold a lot.

The Economic Alliance, in partnership with the Village of Bourbonnais and Kankakee County Convention & Visitors Bureau, kicked off the 2017 7UP Chicago Bears Summer Training Camp at Olivet Nazarene University with DIG BOURBONNAIS on August 2. Attendees included Greater Chicago industrial real estate brokers, site selectors, utility reps and other development partners along with local business leadership. Special thanks to celebrity guest, 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl champ and WBBM Newsradio play-by-play analyst for Chicago Bears Radio Tom Thayer!