LCP and College of Lake County Co-Host June 11th Event
More than 120 Lake County Partners investors and friends attended the 2nd Annual "Gather in the Grove," held on June 11 at Independence Grove. The event was part picnic, part outdoor networking opportunity with special guests of honor Warren Ribley, Director of the Illinois Department Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and Dr. Jerry Weber, President of the College of Lake County. The weather didn’t exactly cooperate (cloudy, windy and 50s), but there was no rain and lots of camaraderie!
Read full press release and see photos from the event here.
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On June 16th, LCP's Chairman Marvin Bembry made a quarterly presentation to the Lake County Board. The full presentation and notes are included here but if you'd like to see Marvin's performance live, go here and click on Agenda Item #3.
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As we all know, Lake County is a great place to locate a business and have a career – and Forbes Magazine agrees with us! Lake County made the Forbes List of Top Places for Businesses and Careers 2009 and we ranked 44 out of 200 metro areas from around the country.
Metro areas were ranked on several measures including number of colleges, cost of doing business, cost of living, crime rate, culture & leisure, educational attainment, income growth, job growth, and net migration. Lake County scored especially well on measures of low crime, the educational attainment of its residents, and access to culture and leisure venues, and projected job growth. Not surprisingly, Lake County was the highest ranking large metro area in the State of Illinois.
To go directly to Lake County’s page on the Forbes list of Top Places for Businesses and Careers, click here.
It's always nice to see the national media take notice of what a great location Lake County is!
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New Loan Program To Assist Businesses Affected By The Recession
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the details on a new loan program that could offer great help to many businesses that have been adversely affected by the 2008-2009 economic recession. The program called "America’s Recovery Capital" (ARC), offers business owners interest-free, deferred-payment emergency loans for up to $35,000. The loans must be used to repay existing debt service from non-federal institutions and do not have to be repaid until 12 months after funds are dispersed. Read more here.
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Companies continue to expand, grow, win contracts and relocate to Lake County.
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ComEd recently received an award for its commitment to economic development in Illinois. The Edie Award (Economic Development in Illinois) is an award given out jointly by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Development Council to recognize significant economic development projects that were completed in Illinois during the last year.
ComEd won for a project that it completed last year. The company had invested $345 million and eight years of construction to build a new substation in Chicago’s West Loop that adds greater flexibility and redundancy in terms of bulk power flow and allows ComEd to better manage its transmission grid and network of substations that serve the city and surrounding area.
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Construction has begun on a new 21,044 sq. ft. office/manufacturing facility for ID Label Inc., a company that specializes in providing custom, preprinted bar code labels. The new building is being constructed on a 1.2 acre land site that is adjacent to its current location at 461 Park Avenue, Lake Villa.
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Thanks to Paine Wetzel Oncor International, Santa’s Best, a manufacturer of Christmas ornaments, is relocating to Deerfield from Northfield. The company is moving into 9,600 sq. ft of space at 3750 Deerfield Parkway in the Village of Deerfield.
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Baxter International announced plans to acquire certain assets of CA-based Edwards Lifesciences Corporation’s hemofiltration product line, also know as Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT). The products are used to aid patients with kidney ailments by gradually filtering out waste and fluid from kidneys.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2009 and about 60 Edwards’ employees will join Baxter as part of the deal that is valued up to $65 million.
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Jimmy Johns, the purveyor of gourmet sandwiches, is opening a new store location in Lake Zurich this summer. Despite the economy, Jimmy Johns continues to grow and prosper. The company plans to open 200 new stores nationwide this year alone, adding to the 900 locations that aleady exist.
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Deerfield-based Fortune Brands acquired the Effen Vodka brand from Sazerac Inc. As part of the deal, Fortune Brands sold its Old Whiskey brand to Sazerac. Effen Vodka has annual sales of $10 million with distribution concentrated in Chicago, Southern California and Florida. Fortune Brands has plans to expand into other US markets and internationally.
The vodka is produced and Holland and “Effen” is Dutch for smooth.
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Abbott Laboratories announced that European regulators approved a new, more flexible version of its Xience drug-eluting stent that is designed for easier placement in the diseased coronary artery. Abbott will begin selling the Xience Prime stent in Europe this year and hopes to introduce the product to the US market by 2012.
Abbott’s current version of the stent, Xience V holds a 27% market share in Europe and the introduction of the new version, could increase that market share due to its broader range of sizes.
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Deerfield-based BioSante Pharmaceuticals announced plans to purchase CA-based Cell Genesys for $38 million. BioSante specializes in developing products that focus on sexual health including LibiGel, a testosterone gel intended to treat sexual dysfunction in women.
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Lake County's communities and organizations are undertaking plans and projects that will keep them at the forefront of economic development.
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The North Chicago Veterans Affairs Medical Center transferred 85 acres of land to Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Rosalind Franklin had been using the land under a lease agreement with the VA.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs determined that the land would not be needed by the VA in the future and that real cost savings could be realized by transferring the land to the university.
Rosalind Franklin expects to use some of the 17 unused buildings for learning facilities, student support services and classrooms.
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The Village of Wauconda will receive federal stimulus money for a new well and to construct a new water treatment plant. The $1.5 million is part of a revolving loan fund that is administered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agencey (IEPA) and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
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The Mundelein Village Board approved a contract with Houseal Lavigne Associates of Naperville for an update for the village’s comprehensive plan. Houseal Lavigne will also work with Gewalt Hamilton Associates for the transportation planning portions of the document.
This will be the first major revision to Mundelein’s comprehensive plan since 1990.
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Illinois’ Senator Dick Durbin introduced legislation that would provide the authority for the Navy and the Department of Veterans Affairs to jointly operate the James A. Lovell Federal Health Center in North Chicago. The federal health center will be a combination the VA Medical Center and Naval Hospital into one facility.
The legislation was forwarded to the Senate Armed Services Committee to consider for inclusion in the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.
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The Village of Lincolnshire is exploring setting up a task force that will explore and serve the needs of the businesses within the community. The proposed task force would meet monthly to discuss issues impacting them with the village administration. While no action has been taken, a draft plan is being developed and will be submitted to the village board for review in July.
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Round Lake Park officials are using a downtown planning grant from IDOT for $112,000 to improve the appearance of their community. More importantly, the voters of Round Lake Park approved the issuance of $1.5 million in bonds during this year’s April elections. The bonds would be used to upgrade and improve the appearance of the village’s Grand Ave. entrance.
Plans include moving electric utilities to the rear of buildings, installing new lighting and replacing/adding sidewalks.
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Do you or your employees need an educational tune-up? The College of Lake County’s Workforce and Professional Development Institute (WPDI) is offering an array of new courses and seminars for Summer 2009 that might help. To visit the Workforce and Professional Development Institute’s website, click here.
To see how the Continuing Professional Development Division can help your business or employees, click here. To get more information about the courses and seminars that the WPDI is offering this summer, click here.
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago collects, analyzes and disseminates some of the most relevant economic information and indicators around. This is an invaluable resource for everyone. Check out their “Latest News" section to see what research is available.
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LCP’s President Letter will be distributed on the first of each month (depending on whether the first lands on a weekend or not). Based on recent discussions with LCP’s Operation Committee, it became clear that sending out the newsletter twice a month was too much. Our Marketing & Communications Committee, which is just now being formed, is looking at better ways to keep investors and interested parties informed through social media and e-blasts on an as needed basis. We are also looking at tailoring messaging pieces to specific audiences rather than using the “one size fits all” approach. If you have suggestions, we’d love to hear them! Contact Russell Medley, Marketing & Research Director at (847) 247-0137, ext. 227 or via email at rmedley@lakecountypartners.com.
In the meantime, I wish everyone a wonderful July 4th Holiday Weekend and for those of you taking summer vacations over the next month – enjoy!
Sincerely,
Frank Brisbois, Interim President
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