Mexico City: It was an honor to join “Team Illinois” on a trade mission to Mexico City earlier this week. Led by Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, we had the opportunity to learn about Mexican manufacturing and agriculture and share with business and government leaders why Illinois is such a great place to do business. I could tell that the ties were already tight, but these three days helped to strengthen them. One particular highlight was joining a small meeting with leadership from Orbia, a Mexican company focussing on sustainability solutions that owns and operates the Vestolit PVC plant in nearby Henry. Some coverage of the mission here.
Thanks to the folks at Intersect Illinois and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for creating such a great itinerary. It was also great to attend the mission along with other members of the Mid-Illinois Collaborative. Of the seven economic development organizations invited to join the delegation, five were from Central Illinois. Individually awesome but collectively even better. So great to represent our part of Illinois together.
Team Illinois with Gov. Pritzker in New Mexico!
Epic Win: As we went to press with Weekend Update last week, I was attending a ceremony in Pekin’s city hall to celebrate Epic Medical of Singapore purchasing 66 acres of land to construct a factory to make, fill and seal IV bags that will be used by health care facilities across North America. It was a true team win with all the state, regional and local partners working together to recruit and secure this investment. You can read more about the effort here.
IRCTI: In February, GPEDC helped organize and participated in the inaugural meeting of the Illinois River Cities and Towns Initiative (IRCTI). The primary objective of IRCTI is to enhance the influence of our riverfront communities at both regional and national levels, leveraging this influence to attract much-needed funding to our region. IRCTI has the potential to amplify the collective voice of area small-town and city mayors. This week, IRCTI held its second meeting. Dr. Anshua Singh, IRCTI Executive Director, and Ottawa Mayor Robert Hasty summarized their attendance at a Washington DC “Fly-In” coordinated by the two affiliated organizations, the Mississippi River Cities and Town Initiative and the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway Cities Initiative. The DC trip allowed them to communicate about IRCTI directly with key legislators. Singh provided draft By-Laws for mayors’ review and input before the next meeting in April. You can follow IRCTI on LinkedIn here. News coverage of the meeting here.
Goodbye, Thank You, Congrats: Friday is the last day for Jeffrey Inman serving as our Director of Workforce Solutions. Jeffrey joined Team GPEDC in 2023 and has helped lead, advance and advocate for programs such as Career Spark, the Regional Workforce Alliance and Choose Greater Peoria. But Jeffrey isn’t going too far – he’s moving within our building to be the new (and first) program director for Distillery Labs. It will be nice to have him as a close-by resource, and he will be excellent in his new role. And an additional congratulations: Jeffrey and his startup concept Enter-N (a technology platform that replaces resumes for “early talent” with data that matches to employer needs) was selected as one of five startups in the latest cohort of the gBETA Distillery Labs accelerator program. Make sure you check out his website and follow along on his journey.
Midwest Madness: Well, our run came to an end. In our Elite Eight match up with #1 Fargo, Peoria came up just shy in a round of voting that saw 1,020 people make a choice. (The next closest contest saw just 544 votes cast.) The vote was 50-50 with just one hour to go and then Fargo turned on the jets. Last year we made the Sweet 16 and this year the Elite 8, so that must mean a Final Four in our near future.
SpringBoard 2025: A reminder that the Illinois Soybean Association will be hosting SpringBoard 2025 at Distillery Labs on April 15-16. This is ISA’s premier event, uniting researchers, industry leaders, and investors to spark innovation in non-food products and bio-based materials derived from soybeans and other crops. This dynamic gathering is designed to fuel collaboration, accelerate commercialization, and expand market opportunities for ag-based products. Register here.
Have a great weekend.
Chris