Announcement!

The Greater Southwest Development Corporation is excited to announce a new partnership with the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) starting July 1, 2023.

This program will provide resources that help manufacturers in our service area grow and expand. IMEC provides manufacturers with a variety of resources, grants, and opportunities to help promote growth. IMEC has a staff of over 50 industry experts with the knowledge and ability to help lead these improvements and help manufacturers obtain their full potential. IMEC has shown their work to be impactful, as they report a return on investment that exceeds 19:1. These results are possible with the collaboration of both the manufacturer and IMEC in determining areas to grow and capitalizing on those opportunities.

Manufacturers can take advantage of this initiative for free through 1-on-1 meetings with GSDC & IMEC staff. These meetings can be customized to your needs. Topics could include leadership, strategy, customer engagement, operations, workforce, and measurement and results.

Over the next six months, GSDC will reach out to manufacturers in our service area with more information about this new pilot program.
GSDC also plans to hold an event or workshop with IMEC to benefit manufacturers in our region. Stay tuned to learn more about this upcoming event.

For more information or to answer any questions that you may have, please contact Jim Longino at GSDC at j.longino@greatersouthwest.org.

Local Industrial Retention Initiative

Since the inception of the program, GSDC has been designated a Local Industrial Retention Initiative (LIRI) agency by the City of Chicago. As a LIRI agency,  we work directly with manufacturing and industrial businesses to assist them in being a valuable partner in our community.

We work directly with industrial business owners through programs such as:

  • Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
  • TIFWorks and TIFWorks 50/50
  • Small Business Investment Fund (SBIF)
  • Chicago Development Fund
  • Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF)
  • Enterprise Zones
  • Industrial Corridors
  • Cook County Special Assessment Properties Programs 
  • And other sources

Historically a hub for industrial companies and workers supporting them, the industrial areas of GSDC East, West, Harlem, and Midway Airport are still the job centers for the Southwest Side, home to nearly 6000 industrial and manufacturing jobs with over 120+ industrial and manufacturing firms. Benefiting from its proximity to rail, air, highway transportation and geographic location means businesses are ideally located to provide last mile transportation ,distribution and logistics (TDL),  to hire City of Chicago residents and take advantage of additional opportunities throughout Illinois.

GSDC has been working to retain and attract various companies in this area to maintain and revitalize the Greater Southwest Industrial Corridor to again become a leader in meeting 21st century needs. One more aspect of a viable community plan where businesses, residents and the community can thrive. 

Contact Jim Longino at j.longino@greatersouthwest.org and see  how we can work together! 

Resources for LIRI

Community Job /Resource Board