The Illinois Department of Commerce — with the Illinois Economic Development Association, Ameren, ComEd, Intersect Illinois, and Nicor — has launched the CORE (Creating Opportunities for Retention and Expansion) Coalition to create a statewide, holistic approach to economic development with the goal to remove barriers to business growth and increase investment in Illinois. Coalition members will work directly with local businesses to identify and address their needs, while collecting data to identify statewide and local trends. CORE is the first statewide initiative to bring together economic development partners from across the state to create a unified business retention and expansion strategy.
CORE will empower members to use Synchronist software to conduct predictive comparative analysis in order to identify key trends and issues affecting local businesses and to advise community and State leadership on competitive public policy and resources to support business growth.
“It essential to understand the needs of the business community in order to promote economic growth in Illinois,” stated Acting Director Sean McCarthy. “The CORE Coalition creates a platform to coordinate services for businesses and increase the efficacy of our existing economic development tools. This collaboration will help us identify future business trends, need for resources, and how to develop policies that encourage job creation in Illinois.”
For more information, visit http://coreillinois.org/, or contact Agnes Masnik at Agnes.Masnik@Illinois.gov, or call 312-814-3540.
