Note From CEO
Dear Colleague,
The past fiscal year was a year of progress for Intersect Illinois as we helped advance economic growth and development throughout the state. In this annual report you will find insight into this progress. The report outlines project work, details results, and analyzes the companies and industries that have located in Illinois over the fiscal year.
In FY23 Intersect Illinois closed projects that brought eight companies to Illinois, accounting for 1,061 jobs and nearly $1.4B in capital investment. This year’s projects represent a 246% increase in capital investment, in part due to a concerted effort to attract larger projects.
We’ve made progress within our key industries: advanced manufacturing, agribusiness, electric vehicles (EV) & energy, information technology (IT), life sciences, and transportation, distribution & logistics (TDL). For example, nearly one-third of our active projects involve the EV industry. Other prominent industries we’ve seen expanding include clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
Site readiness is key to landing big projects, and we’ve made progress with our Vetted Sites program, which identifies, evaluates, and markets the best sites in the state. The early work on this initiative is promising, and we will continue to grow the program. Last year we also made great progress in our marketing efforts. We expanded initiatives targeting key industries, generating more followers and leads by showcasing the state’s unmatched workforce, infrastructure and central location as key reasons to locate or expand here. Last year also brought tremendous State support with new and improved incentives such as the new closing fund and the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles act.
Our statewide analysis shows that Illinois continues to be an attractive place for business. More than 382 companies expanded or relocated here last year. Our analysis of these companies shows that key industries including agribusiness and TDL remain dominant. These locations and expansions account for $6.7B in investment and more than 9,300 jobs.
Illinois is open for business and we will continue to demonstrate why our state is the premier location for domestic and global companies in a diverse range of industries. We hope you will join us on our journey to bring economic growth and jobs to Illinois and look forward to collaborating in the year ahead.
Sincerely,
Dan Seals
CEO
ABOUT US
About Intersect Illinois
Intersect Illinois attracts new jobs and investment to the state by promoting Illinois' assets, collaborating with partners, and helping companies find a site to call home. We work with industry, academic, civic and government partners to make it easier for companies to expand in Illinois and provide a range of services that help companies navigate the site selection process.
Intersect Illinois Assisted Projects (FY23)
86 Projects Initiated
(up 6% from FY22)
8 Project Wins
1,061 Jobs
$1.393B in Investment
(up 246% from FY22)
Intersect Illinois Project Examples
Supporting Growth Across the State
With the addition of a Vice President of Downstate Relations in FY22, Intersect Illinois continued to increase its services to downstate communities. More than half of Intersect Illinois’ FY23 project wins were downstate, including Manner Polymers, LG Chem/ADM, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, West Star Aviation (which expanded its MRO facility) and Montabert (which expanded its manufacturing operations).
There was a 22% increase in project opportunities distributed through Intersect Illinois’ RFI submission system that were interested in downstate locations.
Intersect Illinois also increased collaboration with downstate partners and continued working together on research projects, GIS trainings, marketing, site vetting and other growth opportunities.
50%
Intersect Illinois projects in FY23 were downstate
22%
Increase in project opportunities in downstate locations
Making the Case for Illinois
Intersect Illinois is raising awareness of Illinois' position as a premier global business destination, generating an understanding of Illinois’ unique value proposition and shifting the perception among relocation decision makers, consultants and influencers.
New Website
IntersectIllinois.org has a refreshed brand that positions the state of Illinois as a great business location and Intersect Illinois as a forward-thinking, go-to resource for economic development and relocation resources. The website development process included strategy work, branding and content development, ease-of-use updates and accessibility improvements.
Out of Home Ads
Ads at O'Hare International Airport led to:
16M total impressions
454 total scans
6 countries reached
Organic Social Media
42.9% average increase of followers across platforms (including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter/X)
88% average increase in clicks across platforms
Digital Marketing
Search Engine Marketing
225% increase in impressions
93% increase in clicks
Digital Advertising
371% increase in number of campaigns
Email Drip Marketing
1,185% increase in emails sent
1,025% increase in emails opened
338% increase in email link clicks
Quarterly Newsletter
19% average open rate
15,000
copies distributed
5,000 sent to decision makers along with September issue of Site Selection magazine
Digital version used for marketing efforts throughout the year
Media Coverage
61 media mentions
26% increase over previous year
Be in Illinois Campaign
42 original pieces of content published to Be in Illinois site
7.5M+ impressions from media coverage
Specific EV and agribusiness-related materials developed
Presentations & Materials
One-pagers for all target industries
Updated presentations including "Why Illinois"
Specific program documents such as site-specific materials
Trade Shows & Events
Intersect Illinois attended shows including the Battery Show, IMTS, Women in Economic Development, International Semiconductor, EV Battery and Reuse USA 2023, Site Selection Guild Annual Conference, Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (ACTExpo), Clean Power 2023, and Bio International Convention, resulting in numerous meetings and leads.
SelectUSA Investment Summit
Coordinated delegation in partnership with the State’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit, the highest-profile economic summit in the country dedicated to promoting FDI.
Midwest U.S. Japan Association
Hosted the 52nd Annual Midwest U.S. Japan Association (MWJA) Conference, bringing together governors from Midwestern states and Japan, leading international companies, and executives to foster investment opportunities and business relations.
Research & Data
The research team expanded its capabilities and output with new initiatives; efforts include:
Market research
Significant increase in lead generation, with effort to identify contacts increasing by 490% over FY22; continuous improvement through implementation of machine learning analyses
Community research support
16% increase in requests filled to support partner community economic development efforts
RFI training
Increased the number of communities trained to submit RFIs for potential projects; these included extensive group trainings for communities throughout the state
Vetted Sites
Enhanced understanding of state’s real estate assets through site analysis
Continued efforts:
- Cost of Labor Analysis
- Cluster Identification
- Innovation Activity Analysis
- Curated Business Lists
- Industry Briefs
- Interactive Data Visualizations
- Customized Maps/Spatial Analysis
New & enhanced efforts:
- Unionization Rates
- Diversity & Immigration Data
- Completions Data
- Grant Collaboration
- Census Microdata Analysis
- Python Spatial Analysis
- Recycling/Bio-feedstock Data
Illinois Company Expansions and Relocations Throughout State (FY23)
Each year, Intersect Illinois collects expansion and relocation information to track companies moving to - or growing in - Illinois, regardless of whether or not they worked with Intersect Illinois.
fy23 company relocations & expansions brought
382
Projects
$6.7B
Capital investment
9,300
Jobs created
Company relocations and expansions tracked by industry (FY21-23):
Each figure below plots the total investment levels for the last three fiscal years across Intersect Illinois' six focus industries. These figures are representative of investment in Illinois, but do not capture all relocation and expansion activity in the state.
- Advanced Manufaturing
- Agribusiness
- Information Technology
- Logistics (TDL)
- Life Sciences
- EV/Energy
Regional Industry Analysis
Companies that located throughout Illinois were concentrated in target industries. Analysis of top industry locates throughout the state from FY21-23 found:
Agribusiness is the largest source of company relocations and expansions and is the largest source of locates in 75% of the Central regions
The Southwest region is the second largest source of locates in the dataset (behind Northeast), and is led by TDL
TDL and agribusiness lead in the Southern regions; the area has seen growth in EV/Energy
Building Efficiency
Intersect Illinois’ operations department implemented new programs and procedures in FY23 to make the office run more efficiently and effectively. Examples include:
Worked
with building management to secure new lease that resulted in cost savings and more efficient use of space
Implemented
learning management system for all employees
Updated
internal policies resulting in added employee productivity
Reduced
operating cost by 10%
Successfully
passed FY22 audit for finances and procedures
.45%
savings in annual health benefits enrollment
Replaced
firewall equipment to enhance cyber security (also resulting in cost savings)