Why hasn’t there been an economic development group in DuPage before?

In the past, the county sold itself. Many developers and communities created the necessary office parks, industrial parks, and research facilities on their own. But the climate has changed. The county is almost built out and has some obsolete buildings and obsolete environments. Our economic development policy will be to strategically select the right employers that will match up with our current workforce resources, infrastructure capabilities, and housing.

What are the most immediate issues facing DuPage right now?

  The immediate issue is dealing with the difficult economic times that the Midwest is going through now, which includes reductions in the workforce - especially in the telecommunications and manufacturing industries.  We are still losing jobs in the financial services sector because of the effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and this is cascading into some of the other service sectors. But there is a very strong element to the local economy in terms of the number of companies that are headquartered here and the emerging opportunities that O’Hare International Airport is going to create with new international and domestic travel options. 

What is unique about the DuPage business environment?

The DuPage business environment is unique because of the high quality, highly educated workforce.  The infrastructure that exists here to support the business environment is also superior. Examples are ample fiber optics for telecommunications and two airports that service nearly every international and domestic destination.  We also have an outstanding variety of office and industrial options for companies that want to relocate into DuPage. They can recruit a workforce here that is well equipped to manufacture or service products and engineer concepts into reality.  Because businesses here are supported by local governments that realize the value of business and are willing to partner, and because of low local and state taxes, all of this comes at a very low cost.

How has DuPage County traditionally fared during economic downturns?

DuPage County has generally fared better than most of the Midwest. With its strong base of reliable jobs – it is not nearly as vulnerable to the effects of recessions, layoffs, and slowdowns. DuPage usually runs about 1 percent to 2 percent better than the state and national averages in terms of unemployment.  The economy stays strong here because it’s diverse in terms of the number of industries that it serves.  There are about 40-50 industrial sectors, a number which far exceeds the national average.  In most communities, you will find the dominance of maybe five industries – or they are tilted toward durable goods and things that are vulnerable to recession.  Here there is such a diverse economy that even if five or six industries are impacted by the economy, there are five to 10 others that are stable and 20 others that are still growing. 

Which DuPage business sectors are doing well and which are not?

The ones that are having problems right now are in financial services – especially those that have had to deal with the mortgage market. Another area of concern is the capital goods sector. Businesses that are still going strong are in food processing. The companies in consumer products, the companies that are in the health care business – they are doing fairly well and growing.  Other thriving businesses are in emerging technologies or in established high-end technology.

What kinds of businesses do you want to attract and why?

The top priority is domestic and international headquarters operations. They generate the highest wages.  We’ve got the resources here to staff those companies. We have well-educated business executives that represent a diversity of occupations. We also have the educational resources in the region – whether they are big business schools in the metro area or satellite MBA programs and engineering and technology schools. We also want to attract information technology and engineering-oriented companies.  They historically have some of the highest wages.  Then we want to attract companies in the financial services area. We believe we have a good base of high technology manufacturing capabilities for a variety of sectors – whether it’s metal fabricating, transportation equipment, or building technology.  We also have strong machinery-making capabilities. Food processing and the logistics industry have always been strong here for a number of reasons including our central North American location.

What does DuPage have to offer as far as quality of life?

DuPage County is one of the most beautiful business and residential areas in the Midwest. The abundance of trees and inspiring green space are things that make DuPage stand out. Whatever we do, however we grow business, we’re dedicated to maintaining the natural beauty here. We have one of the most well developed park and forest preserve, hiking trail and bike trail programs around, many of which link into regional systems. We have a great family environment, which includes award-winning local school districts and we have great secondary education and higher education programs.  In addition to the many fine cultural opportunities that exist in DuPage, residents can get to Chicago’s museums and cultural and sporting events in as little as 30 minutes.

Is there a “green” component to Choose DuPage’s strategy?

An environmental consciousness has to be part of our responsibility. The business community recognizes that in order to recruit employees, it has to demonstrate environmental stewardship. You could call this a trend, but I prefer to think of it as the way we will all do business from now on - DuPage has always been a green community and we plan to keep it that way.

What is not attractive about the DuPage business climate right now?

The least attractive thing about DuPage is rush hour congestion; although I think DuPage County has a better transportation system than many other areas in the Chicago region. Rather than starting from scratch, we can improve the system over time – we can work with some of Chicago’s mass transit resources, which could serve more suburb-to-suburb commuters in the future. Affordable housing is the other issue.  Affordable housing exists here, but it’s often in a location that is quite distant from where the highest paying job opportunities are.

What has Choose DuPage accomplished so far?

So far, Choose DuPage has made a careful assessment of the county’s economy in order to better identify our strengths and weaknesses and what our primary initial target market should be. We are marketing the county by supporting existing economic development efforts. That means working with local community development resources, educators, and county officials and then helping them operate more effectively with private developers, and office and industrial companies. We are also creating a brand/identity awareness for the DuPage County name.  Then we want to extend that name recognition and brand awareness to all of the communities in DuPage County.  Everyone has a local community identity right now and we are trying to merge that into a complete county identity that will benefit everyone. We are also assuring people that we are not duplicating or taking over local and county activities that area already in place – rather we want to extend them by creating both national and international marketing programs. We want DuPage to become a first choice business resource to companies that are expanding into the United States and the Midwest.

What are your goals for the next year?

We want to create jobs and attract companies.  We want to stem the outflow and loss of manufacturing jobs from the county.  We are losing 2 percent to 4 percent of our manufacturing jobs each year.  Some are going overseas and some are being lost because of productivity gains that are occurring in the manufacturing sector generally. We plan to work creatively with struggling companies to keep them in DuPage. We will also work to reduce vacant office and industrial properties. In the next year, we will help existing employers identify, recruit, and retain local residents in a variety of higher income jobs. 

What does success look like in 10 years?

In 10 years, with out help, some of the older areas of the county will become success stories as they transition from older small industrial building bases; to homes for those companies who can still operate successfully, newer corporate headquarters, engineering companies, and research companies. We want to create new transportation options that allow people to get to work more easily, and we want to sustain a 2 percent to 4 percent rate of growth as opposed to seeing a decline in any of our communities. In addition to maintaining a stable tax base and relatively low unemployment, we also want to have the highest household income of any county in the Chicago region.

Why are you the best person to head Choose DuPage?

Most important is my fundamental belief that you have to create a relationship with your constituency. I want to foster relationships that create the kind of business environment that will be successful in the future. I’ve had experience marketing the Chicago region for almost 25 years.  During that time, I’ve been aware of what the resources are in Illinois and the region - I recognize the issues, opportunities, and difficulties. 

How is Choose DuPage different from DuPage Biz?

Choose DuPage will be more of a public-private partnership with public sector leadership. DuPage Biz was the formative stage of a non-profit economic development organization.  Choose DuPage evolves that concept into an operating organization. While we will still focus on maintaining the county’s industrial base – trying to attract and grow industrial and office companies - we will be getting more involved in government and business issues such as retail development, workforce development, and some elements of residential development.  The workforce is a major issue for many companies in DuPage. How do you find affordable housing for your employees in a location that is close to their jobs? Or if you can’t find close affordable housing, how to do structure transportation options for them? We also want to increase the wealth of the county – not simply bring in new employers and jobs just for the sake of adding new companies and new jobs. Rather we want to bring in companies that provide long-term financial benefits. Our ultimate goal is a very vibrant business environment.