Please read our headings below to find out more
- Why Invest in IllinoisOur Unparalleled Infrastructure and Transport linksThe Illinois Workforce and Illinois EducationInternational Business EnvironmentStarting a business in IllinoisHow we can help you start your Illinois BusinessLinks to Illinois Business and other organisations.
1. Why Invest in Illinois
Strategically best placed for access to Markets and Customers
Illinois is strategically located in the heart of the USA and has built up an unparalleled transport infrastructure. Four major transport networks converge in Illinois : road, rail, waterway and air. Your goods will get to your customers in the fastest and most cost effective way.
A Vibrant and Diverse Economy
Illinois Gross State Product was $529 Billion in 2004. This ranks it 5th among the 50 US states. The economy is strong in manufacturing and services. Key manufacturing industries include industrial machinery, plastics, chemicals, food and food processing, computer and electronics and transportation equipment. Strong services sectors include Financial Services, technology, warehousing and distribution services. Illinois' growing economy is attractive to investors worldwide, and the state currently ranks fourth in the U.S. in foreign direct investment.
International Connectivity
Illinois and the Chicago metropolis are world class locations. Regular flight connections through O’Hare airport link Illinois globally - there are some 18 schedules services to Europe. Seventy International Banks and sixty-five Foreign Consulates/Trade Consulates are based there. It is the Number 1 state in the mid-west for attracting Foreign Direct Investment.
Distribution and Warehousing Centre of the US
The superb transport infrastructure means that Illinois and especially Chicago has become the warehousing and distribution centre of the USA. 300 of the Fortune 500 have their regional or national distribution centre in Illinois. In Illinois you will fi nd quality warehouse space and distribution companies to help you move your product cheaply and quickly
Competitive Financial Incentives for Foreign Investors
Illinois is aware of the contribution foreign owned firms make to its economy, and it welcomes foreign companies to its state. It provides favourable financial incentives to investors depending on project type. The tax environment is also business friendly. Corporate tax is 7.3 %, sales tax 6.25 % and personal tax is 3%.
Vibrant Export Economy
International trade is an increasingly important part of Illinois’ economy. As of 2007 the state had over 48.7 billion dollars in exports. Exports grew by over 15% from 2006, making Illinois the fifth largest exporting state in the US. Exports constitute about 6.4% of Gross State Product and support over 500,400 jobs. The top 5 countries for Illinois exports are Canada, Mexico, Germany, Australia and The United Kingdom.
2. Our Unparalleled Infrastructure and Transport Links
A Natural Transportation Centre
Most strategic locations owe their origin to historical advantages. Illinois is no different. Its central location where the Mississippi river flows into the Great Lakes meant that the state and particularly the city of Chicago has always acted as a trading and transportation center between eastern and western States and between northern and southern States.Illinois has build on these advantages to create a world class transportation network and has positioned itself as the distribution and logistics centre of the USA.
Air Transport Links
Chicago’s O Hare is the second busiest airport in the USA. Its daily services include flights to almost every major city in the USA as well as a full service to 18 European cities Flights to Europe.xls. One of the reasons companies choose Chicago as their headquarter is that return flights are possible to most USA destinations within one business day : flight info 2.xls A second large airport – Midway- is also located in Illinois which has a daily service to most north American city destinations. Midway is situated app 50 miles east of Chicago. In total Illinois has 137 public use airports, 270 heliports and over 840 aviation facilities.
Road Transport Links
Illinois is served by three “coast to coast interstate highways (I70, I 80 and I 90).North /south transportation is served by a further 3 interstate highways (I 39, I 55 and I 57). Only two other states in the USA have more interstate highway than Illinois. Augmenting the interstates are over 16,000 miles of state highways, making the interstate routes accessible from every region of Illinois.
Rail Transport Links
Illinois is the center of the nation's rail network. Chicago is the largest U.S. rail gateway, and another major rail center is located in East St. Louis. In all 52 railroads are able to provide service from Illinois to every part of the United States. The recent addition of the Union Pacific’s new Global III Intermodal Facility in Rochelle is the industry’s finest state-of-the-art terminal. This new facility offers customers multiple business advantages, including direct interstate highway routes with easy access to major east-west and north-south markets, the efficient interchange of shipments to and from rail connections, and expedited operations of over 25 trains and 3,000 containers daily.
Waterways and Ports
Illinois has 1,118 miles of navigable waterways bordering or passing through the state. These waterways provide Illinois with a link between the Atlantic Ocean (through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes) and the Gulf of Mexico. They function as cost-effective highways to move Illinois's products to consumers around the globe.The Port of Chicago offers terminals that handle ocean and lake vessels, as well as barges. Owned by the Illinois International Port District, the Lake Michigan port is served by 12 railroads and has direct access to Interstates 90 and 94.
There are also 12 other port districts in Illinois. Both the Illinois International Port District and the Tri-City Regional Port District near St. Louis are Foreign Trade Zones, providing low-cost production and warehousing facilities for imported and export-bound products.
3. The Illinois Workforce and Illinois Education
The Illinois Workforce.
Illinois has an estimated workforce of 6 million and moreover this is one of the largest and most diverse workforces in the country. Nearly one-half of the work force are professionals, skilled technicians, craftspeople or machine operators. The Chicago metropolitan area is home to more than 4 million of the state’s workers. The top five occupations in the area are office and administrative support; sales; service workers; management; and professional workers.
- 17.1% of the state's workforce are employed in goods-producing industries.
- Almost 12 percent of workers are employed in manufacturing.
- Illinois workers are known for their productivity. Worker productivity exceeds the U.S. average by $0.35 per hour.
- Illinois workers are well educated – 56.2 percent have gained education beyond high school.
Illinois Training and Education
Few states can offer the diverse, high quality educational opportunities that Illinois provides. 56.2% of the state's workforce have gained education beyond high school.
Community Colleges serving the needs of Business and Industry
The Business and industry sector is supported by 48 community colleges, which provide instruction and workforce preparation in more than 240 occupational specialties. Through these colleges customized training is provided to approximately 3,400 companies, serving approximately 130,000 employees each year. As a guarantee of quality, 37 Community Colleges offer “educational guarantees”, which ensure that program graduates will have the necessary skills to perform the work. If not, the college will provide re-training at no cost.
NB : More than 90% of community college students remain in Illinois to work.
Third Level Colleges and Universities
Illinois has 9 public universities on 12 campuses, which include 700 baccalaureate degree programs, 550 masters degree programs, nearly 200 doctoral programs, and professional degrees in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, and law. It is ranked 5th in the nation in the number of institutions of higher education. Well known universities in Illinois include The University of Chicago, Northwestern and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. These universities are regularly highly ranked by the different surveys of university rankings.
Two of the top-10 business schools in the nation – the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign boasts one of the top graduate engineering programs in the nation.
International Schools
British school of Chicago : www.britishschoolchicago.org
Lycee Francais of Chicago : www.lyceechicago.org4. International Business Environment
Illinois is a centre for USA and European Global Companies
The following Fortune 500 Companies are located in Illinois:
In fact the Chicago Metro area has the second highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the USA according to Fortune Magazine April 2007. The following are examples of European Companies have chosen Illinois for their US subsidiary :
Country |
Examples of large firms |
Examples of Firms assisted by State of Illinois European Office |
United Kingdom |
BP |
Dyson USA Inc |
|
Unilever |
Gripple USA Inc |
|
British Airways |
Raven USA Inc USA |
Germany |
BMW |
Richard Wolfe USA Inc |
|
Siemens |
Schliefering Inc |
|
Robert Bosch |
FKW Inc |
France |
Air France |
Roquette Frere |
|
Aventis |
GL Trade |
|
Air Liquide |
Cory Tess |
Italy |
Barilla |
Cosmed |
Denmark |
Bang and Olefsun |
Danfoss |
Sweden |
|
Nefab |
Spain |
Cintra |
Mecalux |
Belgium |
Solvay |
Xeikon |
International Financial Services
Illinois is a leader in the financial industry and Chicago is the largest Financial Centre in the US outside New York. The Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange are world leaders in the “Futures” markets. Over thirty International Banks have established branches or representative offices in Chicago.
International Organisations
Over 40 nations maintain consulates in Illinois including from 17 from Europe. Full contact details of European Trade consulates in Chicago are provided in European Trade commissioners in Chicago.xls
International Centre for Trade Shows
McCormick Place is the largest convention center in the United States, and welcomes more than 3 million visitors annually. The facility is comprised of four state-of-the-art buildings with a combined total of 2.7 million square feet (250,830 meters2) of floor space. Also housed within the complex are the Arie Crown Theater and the Hyatt-McCormick Place Hotel. Located only minutes from downtown Chicago, McCormick Place hosts numerous trade shows and exhibitions every year, including the Chicago Auto Show (the largest expo of its kind in North America) and GraphExpo. The facility has an excellent relationship with local labor groups as well as an experienced and helpful staff and offers flexible service options to exhibitors along with an excellent online system for managing them.
For More Information See:
http://www.mccormickplace.com
http://www.mccormickplace.com/calendar.html
http://www.mccormickplace.com/exhibitor/how_to_exhibit.html
Only five minutes away from O’Hare International Airport and close to downtown Chicago, another option for large events is Rosemont, Illinois. Rosemont boasts the 840,000 sq ft (78,000 m²) Donald E. Stephens Convention Center along with an adjacent conference center and grand ball room. Also nearby are hotels run by nearly ever major operator with a presence in the US (including Global Hyatt Corporation, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Marriott International, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Accor, and Intercontinental Hotels Group, among others).
For More Information See:
http://www.rosemont.com/meeting/meet_desc.shtml
5. Starting up a business in Illinois
Our step by step guide will give you the information you need to get started : http://business.illinois.gov/step_by_step_guides.cfm
6. How we can help to start your business in Illinois
About Us
The State of Illinois West European Office is one of eight overseas offices operated by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The office, situated in Brussels has been set up since 1968, and is the second oldest office of an American state with representation in Europe.
We provides confidential advice and free services to European Firms seeking to invest in Illinois (by way of a sales office, warehouse /distribution or a manufacturing plant). We are there to assist you from the beginning of your project until its completion. We look forward to assisting you expand your business in the USA.
The Types of Services we offer
• Detailed information on the State of Illinois for the foreign investor including its economy, infrastructure, industries, business climate, real estate costs, costs of business set up and costs of running a business.
• Planning assistance to allow you select the best possible location in Illinois
• Travel advice and arrangements for touring green-field sites, industrial buildings, warehousing and offices in the Chicago area as well as throughout the state, including industrial locations with special tax or business incentives.
• Setting up of appointments with business contacts with international experience. Our network of partners have extensive experience in assisting foreign investors set up in Illinois, and include :
Legal, Accounting, Real Estate, Financial, Human Resources, Government resources , Personnel Relocation and more.
• Advice on financial incentives and grants that may be applicable for your business start up in Illinois.
7. Links to Business and Industry organisations in Illinois and useful sites
General
The State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCE0) - www.commerce.state.il.us/dceo/
The State of Illinois busines portal : http://business.illinois.gov/default.cfm
World Business Chicago - Organisation to promote Chicago to Foreign Investors - http://www.worldbusinesschicago.com
Illinois photo gallery - http://www.illinois.gov/gallery
Chicago Tribune - up to date news on Chicago - http://www.chicagotribune.com
Crains Chicago Business News - http://chicagobusiness.com
World Trade Centre Chicago - http://www.wtcc.org
Illinois Manufacturers Association - http://www.ima-net.org
Illinois Tourism web site - http://www.enjoyillinois.com
Chemical Council of Illinois - http://www.cicil.net
Illinois Ports of Entry - http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/ports/il/
Tax Information
State of Illinois Business Portal - http://business.illinois.gov/taxes.cfm
Information on Illinois taxes - http://www.illinois.gov/living/taxes.cfm
Information on Illinois business taxes - http://www.revenue.state.il.us/
The US Internal Revenue Service - http://www.irs.gov/businesses/index.html
IRS information for international businesses - http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/bustaxstats/article/0,,id=131609,00.html
Visa and Immigration Information
State Dept. visa website - http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/
Getting a US Visa - http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/pdfs/gettingavisa.02.03.pdf
Visa Services (London) - http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/index.html
Visa Services (Brussels) - http://belgium.usembassy.gov/consular.html#
Visa Services (Berlin) - http://germany.usembassy.gov/germany/visa/index.html
Visa Services (Vienna) - http://vienna.usembassy.gov/en/embassy/cons/index.html
Visa Services (Paris) - http://www.amb-usa.fr/consul/visas/default.htm
Visa Services (Stockholm) - http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/Consulate/index.html
Visa Services (Copenhagen) - http://denmark.usembassy.gov/visas.html
Legal Issues
US Dept. of Commerce, International Trade Administration - http://trade.gov/mac/index.asp
US Customs - http://www.customs.gov/