High-Tech Manufacturing is Flourishing  

The Illinois Manufacturers' Association (IMA) recently joined Lake County Partners and other leaders in celebrating the impressive results of a new economic impact study. The study found that precision manufacturing supports nearly 100,000 jobs in Lake County – among the largest concentration in the state. The industry creates $48.4 billion in economic output each year, which is approximately 31% of the county’s economy. The jobs are highly lucrative and rely on Lake County’s tremendous talent pipeline, which is being nurtured by educational institutions like the College of Lake County and the Lake County Tech Campus.

Crain's Chicago Business Names Kevin Considine Among Top Leaders in Region

Crain’s Chicago Business has recognized LCP’s president and CEO Kevin Considine as one of the year’s notable leaders in community development. Under his leadership, Lake County Partners has fueled nearly $500 million in direct investment, driving the creation of 3,560 jobs and the retention of 4,195 jobs over the last four years alone.

With a federal grant, LCP recently completed a five-year Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy that represents the views of a diverse set of stakeholders and ensures that equity is at the heart of local priorities. This plan addresses topics often seen as social service issues - like affordable housing, early childhood and college access - as economic issues and provides a framework for action. 

Lake County is the Home of Heroes

Lake County is the proud home of Naval Station Great Lakes - the US Navy’s only Recruit Training Command and its largest training facility. Since World War I, it has trained more than 2 million new sailors through the Recruit Training Command (RTC) and nearly an equal number through its technical schools.

Operations, along with area military retirees and educational aid payments, increased Illinois’ gross domestic product by $4.6 billion. The station provides a host of services for military members and family from a surrounding 16 state area. A new "Fisher House" proposed in North Chicago is set to be a game-changer for providing support to those members and their families.

Fueling Top Talent in Lake County

Meet a Partner

Maureen Riedy

President
Visit Lake County

Illinois' new tourism numbers are very promising. What do you see happening in Lake County?

The summer season was strong in Lake County. The pent-up interest in travel was clearly evident. Consumers were willing to spend more on their vacations. 

Our major tourism attractions, and abundance of festivals and outdoor recreation, helped boost the county to the highest hotel occupancies levels in three years - topping 70% in July 2022.

We also witnessed notable rebounds in corporate travel as the year progressed, and are anticipating an acceleration in the return of in-person meetings and events this fall which is good news for our hotels and restaurants that rely on business travelers for weekday demand. Our sales team has been on the road attending in-person tradeshows in recent months to recruit group business for Lake County. The return of more structured events will help us continued to gain hospitality jobs. Get additional insights in this new blog post.  

What is Visit Lake County doing to boost tourism?

Visit Lake County conducted a marketing campaign this summer promoting road trips to the county. We capitalized on people’s eagerness for spontaneous getaways close to home by featuring itineraries along major routes through Lake County with suggested stops at community festivals, forest preserves, local farmers markets and other seasonal attractions.

This fall we will be promoting our branded “Spooks and Spirits” campaign which will include a media mix of radio, TV and digital ads in the Chicago market highlighting Fright Fest and other Halloween and autumn experiences throughout the county.

How has LCP impacted what you do?

The missions of VLC and LCP are interconnected, and our collaboration is vital to enhancing the public image of Lake County as a dynamic place to live, work and visit. Our organizations have a shared vision and play critical roles in supporting the economic well-being of our county and its communities.

Our work to drive economic development in Lake County would not be possible without the leadership of our Board of Directors & the support of our investors.