$31M in Regional Site Readiness Program Grant Awards Announced
Date Posted: January 30, 2025
Posted In: News,
From RiverBender: Today (Jan. 30), Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and local leaders to announce Regional Site Readiness Program awards totaling $31 million to support site readiness activities at 24 sites across the state. The program includes two competitive funding opportunities: Planning grants to support due diligence activities, studies and site plans, and Capital Ready grants to support capital infrastructure improvements.
Through this funding, 13 Planning grantees and 11 Capital Ready grantees will undertake due diligence and development projects to better prepared sites to attract future investment and new job opportunities in the industrial sector across Illinois’ Economic Development Regions.
“Readiness planning, assessments, infrastructure improvements – these things are all the fundamental work that must be done for businesses and investments to flourish and jobs to grow across the state,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “In every corner of Illinois, there are communities that are overflowing with untapped potential but do not have the resources and support they needed to fully realize it. Now, standing in front of you, I’m happy to say a whole lot has changed – we are investing in our sites, we are thinking about the future, and we are growing economic development across the state.”
“These site readiness grants are more than infrastructure projects—they’re investments in people, potential, and the future of our communities,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “When we invest strategically and locally, we create new opportunities, strengthen economies, and drive transformative growth.”
Guided by Illinois’ 2024 Economic Growth Plan, which includes site readiness as a central initiative of the State’s business development strategy, the Regional Site Readiness Program aims to support municipalities, local economic development organizations, and landowners in gathering information and making site improvement necessary to attract industrial businesses to their communities.