Growing Our Regional Economy: Kane County Idea Boosts Exports Initiative
Kane County’s efforts to sweeten the pot on a regional exports-growth initiative was one of the sparklers of a seven-county regional planning summit held Thursday, July 9, in Lake County.
The “Growing Our Regional Economy” forum is the brainchild of Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, but it’s the teamwork of seven counties, the city of Chicago as well as regional economic development organizations and public-private partnerships that makes the regional collaboration a success. Formed in 2013, the collaboration has launched the Metro Chicago Exports and Chicago Metro Metal Consortium initiatives and streamlined truck permitting in the seven-county region.
Kane County will host the next event in January 2016, when the leadership from the seven counties and the city of Chicago will monitor progress and explore new opportunities for collaboration.
Among the buzz at Thursday’s meeting was Kane County’s efforts to boost the exports initiative. Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen said he was proud of the leadership by example provided by Kane Count Jobs Committee co-chaired by Becky Gillam and Theresa Barreiro and implemented through the Kane County Development & Community Services Department headed by Mark VanKerkhoff.
“If you encourage folks through your actions, that brings out the best in others,” Lauzen said. “You could tell all the other counties were thinking, ‘We should do that, too.’ ”
Kane County is the only county to date to “sweeten the pot” by proposing to award up to $5,000 in additional funding to companies in Kane County that receive grants from the Metro Chicago Exports Grant Program. While giving an update on the MCE Grant Program, MCE Executive Director Tom Hulseman stated that “applications from Kane County companies have spiked in the past several weeks.”
Applications for the grants are due by July 31, 2015. Information is available at metrochicagoexports.com or by contacting VanKerkhoff at (630) 232-3451.
Companies located in Kane County which apply for, and are awarded, a grant from Metro Chicago Exports, would be eligible for up to an additional $5,000 in funding from Kane County. The total amount allocated for the Kane County Exports Micro-Grant Program is $50,000.00 from Elgin Grand Victoria Riverboat funds set aside for economic development.
Kane County representatives at the event included: Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen, County Board members and Jobs Committee Co-Chairs Rebecca Gillam and Theresa Barreiro, volunteer advisor Dick Hawks, Carl Schoedel, P.E., County Engineer / Director of Transportation and Mark VanKerkhoff, AIA, Director, Kane County Development & Community Services Department.
Read More
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- Kane, Collar Counties Join Forces to Juice Up Exports
- Counties to Announce ‘Unprecedented’ Exports Initiative Monday
- Help Kane County Metals Businesses Go Global
Thursday’s Agenda
Updates on 3 Initiatives
- Chicago Metro Metal Consortium — Michael Jasso, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Economic Development, Cook County & Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, EPA
- Metro Chicago Exports — Tom Hulseman, Managing Director, Metro Chicago Exports
- Truck Permitting — Doug Whitley, Executive Director, SINC
Special Guest
- Jim Schultz, Director, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
Panel Discussion: How Foreign Owned Enterprises (FOEs) View the Chicago Region
- Moderator: Susan Comstock, Managing Director, Multinational Corporations, Commercial Banking, J.P. Morgan
- Steve Kermisch, National Director, State Govt Affairs, Takeda
- Martin Lu, Ph.D., President, Polymax Thermoplastic Elastomers
- Dan Olsen, Director of New Business Development, Sunstar Americas
Panel Discussion: Regional Approaches to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
- Moderator: Joseph Luna, Chair, Lake County Partners
- Deb Scherer, Director of Global Markets, Columbus 2020
- David Griggs, Vice President, Business Investment and Research, Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Partnership
Regional Collaboration History
Beginning in December of 2013, under the leadership of President Toni Preckwinkle and for the first time in decades, leaders from the region’s public and private economic development sectors gathered to discuss how they can work together to promote a stronger regional economy. County board chief executives from Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Will counties and the city of Chicago’s deputy mayor discussed opportunities for collaboration to further the economic growth of the region. The group meets regularly and has established a multi-county working group to manage the ongoing initiatives.
As a result of these efforts, the region has launched the following initiatives:
Metro Chicago Exports (MCE) is a pilot program designed to increase opportunities for small and medium sized businesses in the Chicago region. Despite being the nation’s fourth largest exporting region by volume, only six percent of the region’s small and mid-size firms currently export. Already, JPMorgan Chase, MacArthur Foundation and CMAP have joined us as partners in this effort and have provided substantial funding. MCE recently hired an Executive Director to begin working directly with local businesses looking to expand their international sales. On April 30, 2015, Metro Chicago Exports (MCE) today launched a Grant Program to help small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) grow in international trade, specifically through export initiatives. The $225,000 program, funded by JPMorgan Chase, will award grants up to $5,000 to businesses throughout Northeastern Illinois. Click here to apply for the program online. For more information about Metro Chicago Exports (MCE), please visit the website.
The Chicago Metro Metal Consortium (CMMC) is an initiative designed to support, strengthen and grow the region’s 3,700 metal manufacturing firms. This cluster represents $30 billion of annual revenues and 100,000 employees. CMMC offers metal manufacturers tools, services and resources to improve and grow their businesses through collaboration and networking, market intelligence and the promotion of the region as the national’s leading center for metal manufacturers. Members of the CMMC include all seven counties in northeastern Illinois, the City of Chicago and over 45 partners including research institutions, workforce agencies and training colleges, businesses and private member organizations. For more information or to get involved, please visit the Chicago Metals website.
Streamlined Truck Permitting — The Chicago region is the nation’s freight and logistics capital of North America, handling over $650 billion of goods annually. Yet, there are more than 220 municipal size and weight ordinances impacting trucks. These regulations add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of goods and frustrate shippers, truckers, and customers. To maintain Chicago’s preeminent position and support our business community, the region has begun an effort to streamline the truck permitting process. As a result of this effort, CMAP has recently issued an RFP to recommend improvements to serve the needs of the region. For more information, please go to the Supply Chain Innovation Network of Chicago (SINC) website.
Kane County Exports Grant Program
Kane County Exports Micro-Grant Program
In May 2015, Metro Chicago Exports announced the launch of a Grant Program to help small and mid-sized businesses grow in international trade, specifically through export. The Grant Program, presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co., will award grants up to $5,000 to businesses throughout Northeastern Illinois. The Kane County Exports Micro-Grant Program provides an additional incentive for Kane County companies to start or increase exporting.
Companies located in Kane County which apply for, and are awarded, a grant from Metro Chicago Exports, would be eligible for up to an additional $5,000 in funding from Kane County. The total amount allocated for the Kane County Exports Micro-Grant Program is $50,000.00 from Elgin Grand Victoria Riverboat funds set aside for economic development.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
Companies located in Kane County which are awarded a grant from Chicago Metro Exports
Small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are Existing Exporters or New-to-Export, with less than 500 employees and located in Northeastern Illinois, are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to the following targeted industries:
- Metals – Fabricated Metal Products
- Equipment – Medical Equipment and Supplies
- Machinery – Engine and Power Equipment
- Plastics – General
- Computers and Electronics – Precision Instruments
WHAT GRANTS COVER
Grant awards up to an additional $5,000 that will support the company’s next steps to going global. Companies may include multiple services and activities in their applications. Awards can be used for services including, but not limited to:
- Marketing
- Compliance
- Business Development
- Education
- Financing
- Consultation
WHERE BUSINESSES CAN APPLY
- Program information and applications are available at www.MetroChicagoExports.com.
- Questions can be directed to Kelsey Schrenk, Program Manager, at 312-589-5773.
WHEN APPLICATIONS ARE DUE
- Wave 1: Application deadline May 31, 2015. Award notifications by June 30, 2015.
- Wave 2: Application deadline July 31, 2015. Award notifications by August 31, 2015.
PROCESS FOR KANE COUNTY COMPANIES REQUESTING ADDITIONAL FUNDS FROM KANE COUNTY
- Companies located in Kane County may request up to $5,000 in additional funding for eligible activities and/or services by including them or amending their application to Metro Chicago Exports (CME).
- CME will review the applications along with other regional applications.
- For applications from companies located in Kane County that are approved, CME will advise Kane County regarding applications which include requests for additional funding from Kane County.
- Requests for funding from Kane County will be additionally reviewed by staff with final approval by the Jobs Committee of the Kane County Board
MONITORING, REIMBURSEMENT AND EVALUATION
- CME will monitor the grants through their established process.
- Requests for reimbursement of eligible activities and/or services from Kane County funds will be initially reviewed by CME and forwarded to Kane County for additional review and payment
- CME will evaluate and report on the effectiveness of the grants through their established process with additional reporting on the effectiveness and results of the additional Kane County funds.
- The Kane County Jobs Committee may develop additional evaluation and reporting criteria, and if so, will report their findings to the Kane County Board and to CME.
ABOUT METRO CHICAGO EXPORTS
Metro Chicago Exports represents an unprecedented collaboration between the City of Chicago/World Business Chicago and the seven counties in Northeastern Illinois (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will) with the goal of increasing exports from SMEs and supporting regional job growth.
CONTACT CHICAGO METRO EXPORTS
- Thomas Hulseman, Managing Director 312-589-5789
- Kelsey Schrenk, Program Manager 312-589-5773
CONTACT KANE COUNTY
- Mark D. VanKerkhoff, AIA, Director,
- Kane County Development & Community Services Department
- (630) 232-3451
- vankerkhoffmark@co.kane.il.us