Midwest Star Brightens: Illinois' Invigorated Industry Initiatives -- Site Selection magazine, November 1999

Midwest Star Brightens(cover)

Illinois' New Weapons: Incentives, Infrastructure

Chicago's Big Shoulders Getting Even Bigger

Indiana Wins Lilly's
$1 Billion Expansion

Pella Opens New
Doors in Iowa

$500 Million GM Plant
Drives Into Michigan

Medtronic's Big
Minnesota Move

MCI WorldCom
Connects with Missouri

Auto Projects Revving
Up Across Ohio

Historic Tax Cut
Readied in Wisconsin

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Midwest Star Brightens:
Illinois' Invigorated Industry Initiatives

b y T I M V E N A B L E

The U.S. Midwest's constellation of business stars, including Michigan and
Ohio -- two of the nation's top states in attracting corporate facilities -- is getting even brighter. Illinois, already not far behind the leaders, is illuminating the location universe even more these days, owing to a newly invigorated emphasis
on business and industrial development.

Gazing across the Midwestern United States, site seekers today are identifying several bright stars.

They're definitely pinpointing Michigan, currently the nation's No. 1 state in attracting new and expanded corporate facilities (see the March 1999 Site Selection for more details). And they're also paying a lot of attention to Ohio, 1998's No. 3 state in attracting facilities and the top performer for several years in the 1990s.

As noted below, many positive developments are taking place in those and other Midwest states. Stretching from Minnesota to Missouri and eastward to Ohio, the region includes eight states, covering almost 448,000 sq. miles/1.2 million sq. km. (see map). The Midwest's population is some 57 million.

But yet another star seems to burning particularly bright of late: Illinois.

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