Illinois Site Readiness Best Practices
Client: Illinois Economic Development Corporation | Partner: Crowe
Opportunity
Illinois Economic Development Corporation (Illinois EDC) is dedicated to attracting jobs and investments to the state and has established clear priorities across key industries, including advanced manufacturing, agribusiness, clean energy production and manufacturing, information technology, life sciences, quantum, and transportation, distribution and logistics.
Under its new leadership, and as part of Team Illinois, which includes the Governor’s Office and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Illinois EDC has achieved notable successes in Pro-Illinois decisions.
Team Illinois recognizes that site readiness—and the speed with which a project can “put shovels in the ground”—is a decisive factor in business investment decisions. Sites that are infrastructure-ready consistently rise to the top in competitive selection processes. That understanding has elevated site readiness to a central priority. This year, Illinois committed a record $500 million to site readiness, including $200 million dedicated to planning, infrastructure, and industrial site development through the Site Ready Illinois program.
Competing states have adopted effective policies and practices to advance site readiness, giving them a competitive edge. To learn from these best practices, Illinois EDC partnered with Civic Consulting Alliance to identify strategies from peer organizations in other states and apply these lessons to its own efforts.
Action
Earlier this year, with pro bono partner Crowe, our team researched site readiness best practices adopted by other states to inform Illinois EDC’s approach to refine Illinois EDC’s existing site readiness strategies, enhancing the state's competitiveness in attracting investment and development.
Our work was completed across two phases:
Landscape scan: Identified market factors, success stories, lessons learned, and other insights to help Illinois improve its competitiveness in attracting new investments and relocations.
Program review: Benchmarked Illinois against competitor states, identifying evidence-based best practices.
“Civic Consulting Alliance brings not only deep expertise but also access to the right partners, like Crowe, to support our initiatives quickly and effectively. Their ability to mobilize pro bono resources and convene the right teams has been critical as we work to advance site readiness and attract strategic investment to Illinois.”
Impact
In October, Governor JB Pritzker, DCEO, and Illinois EDC announced $31.5 million in funding as part of the Regional Site Readiness Program. Now equipped with a comprehensive landscape scan and a clear understanding of national best practices, Illinois EDC is better positioned to support communities and developers in making informed, strategic decisions about how to invest these funds to prepare and market sites in ways that attract private investment and drive sustained economic growth.