CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM I APRIL 15, 2024
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Pritzker leans into role as Illinois’ CMO The governor and his economic development team are making a long-overdue pitch for the state to site-selection leaders
Gov. J.B. Pritzker
STEPHEN J. SERIO
By John Pletz
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February invited a couple dozen site-selection consultants to a River North restaurant to get better acquainted. Pritzker and his economic team were feeling good about some big wins, such as Stellantis and Gotion's electric vehicle and battery plants, respectively, and wanted to tell the state’s story. Mingling regularly with site-
selection consultants is a routine act for most states. Not so much for Illinois. Those gathered in the room guessed it hadn’t happened since the late Jim Thompson was governor more than 30 years ago. Pritzker is leaning into the promise he made when running for governor that he’d be the state’s chief marketing officer. Illinois needs to rev up its economic development game to reverse stubborn population and
job-growth trends that have been a drag. The state’s population growth has been minimal, and job growth has lagged the nation. “We have a good story to tell, and the time is right,” says Kristin Richards, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Development, who made the pitch alongside the governor and John Atkinson, chairman of Intersect Illinois, a See PRITZKER on Page 26
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