Kankakee County Boasts New Ranking Among Manufacturing Hubs

Kankakee County climbs two spots to #3 in the US for manufacturing hubs for small metros, according to Business Facilities Magazine 2023 Metro Rankings Report. The magazine annually recognizes metro areas and cities of all sizes for attracting and retaining businesses from numerous industry sectors.

The Back to Business program’s new round of grants has $175 million available to provide to qualifying restaurants, hotels, and creative arts organizations. All applicants will receive a grant as long as they meet eligibility requirements and submit proper documentation and attestations required by the program.

With a cost of living below the national average, employment opportunities to earn a substantial income and being ranked in the top among small communities for nursing, carpentry, law enforcement and manufacturing hubs, Kankakee County is worth a second look.

Five area high schools will participate in the launch of Kankakee County CEO in August. A select group of students from Kankakee High School, Bishop McNamara High School, Momence Community High School, St. Anne Community High School and Kankakee Trinity Academy will visit local businesses, learn operations, soft skills and entrepreneurial basics as they begin their own business.

ComEd offers increased incentives to help businesses and facilities reduce energy use by improving the efficiency of their equipment.

The meeting, organized by the City of Kankakee Economic and Community Development Agency, in partnership with the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Latino Small Business Partnership, will offer guidance to Hispanic-owned businesses. 

The Illinois Office of Minority Economic Empowerment (OMEE) has created a set of resources to help entrepreneurs as they navigate the process of business ownership. The goal is to share easy-to-follow information on basic business concepts that business owners need to know in order to be successful.

Nicor Gas has embarked on a campaign to promote doing business in Illinois. Kankakee County was selected as an initial focus community. Tim Nugent, President / CEO of the Economic Alliance of Kankakee County and Ladonna Russell, Executive Director of the Grundy Livingston Kankakee Workforce Board are featured here.