Northeast Region

Regional Hubs

Counties

Key Industries

Major Employers and Headquarters

Large Employers:

Corporate HQ:

Higher Education

Unique Facts

Population 7,655,490+; Workforce of almost 4,000,000
Home to several Fortune 500 companies; 275 digital startups launched annually; over two-thirds of Illinois’ manufacturers are located in the Northeast Region, with 10,000+ manufacturing facilities (2020).
3rd largest container hub in the world
4 hours or less flight times to all North American destinations
Northeast Region is home to the United State Navy Boot Camp which serves as a major economic driver to the State
Home to the Illinois Medical District (IMD), which is made up of over 560 acres of medical research facilities, labs, a biotech business incubator, and two universities. The IMD is anchored by four major hospitals.

Chicago facts

#1 metro for Big Ten Alumni & #1 city for Recent Grads (2020)
Ranked “Top Metro” for corporate expansions 7 consecutive years (2020)
416 business expansions/relocations (Chicago MSA); $5Binvestment (2020)
#1 in Foreign Direct Investment (2019)
1,800+ foreign based companies accounting for $140B+in FDI (2020)
Home to many of the world's leading stock exchanges, including the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange, making the Chicago area a leader in the financial services industry

Region Specific Assistance

Renee Wott, MPA
Northeast Senior Region Manager
312-305-1892
Renee.Wott@Illinois.gov

Joe McKeown
Northeast Region Manager
312-814-1457
Joseph.Mckeown@illinois.gov

Sacella Smith
Northeast Region Manager
312-639-4029
Sacella.Smith@Illinois.gov

The Illinois Department of Commerce is Your One-Stop Resource

Illinois Northeast Region