December 17, 2023
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Will County among state leaders on development, housing construction

County leads Illinois in economic growth

By Bob Okon
Doug Pryor, Vice President of Economic Development for the Will County Center for Economic Development, speaks to the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a luncheon held at the Holiday Inn in Joliet. Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Joliet.

Doug Pryor, president and chief executive officer for the Will County Center for Economic Development (Gary Middendorf - gmiddendorf@shawmedia.com/Gary Middendorf)

The Will County Center for Economic Development’s end-of-year report offers a perspective on how big a role the region plays in the state’s economy.

Will County, according to the CED, leads the state in industrial development and single-family home construction, ranks second among Illinois counties in new manufacturing jobs and is the biggest producer of energy among Midwestern counties.

Doug Pryor, president and chief executive officer for the CED, this month reported the 2023 numbers at a meeting for members of the organization that promotes economic growth in Will County and provides assistance to companies looking to move into the area.

Pryor on Friday said one area of continued growth is likely to come from the push for environmentally friendly energy and development.

“That’s an industry that is evolving quickly, particularly as automotive companies move to make more electric vehicles,” he said. “Those industries are going to continue to expand and evolve.”

Dozens of buses are assembled at the Lion Electric manufacturing facility on Friday, July 21st, 2023 in Joliet.

School bus assembly at the Lion Electric manufacturing facility in Joliet seen in July. (Gary Middendorf – gmiddendorf@shawmedia/Gary Middendorf)

The opening of the Lion Electric factory in Joliet for production of electric school buses and trucks was listed among the major developments in Will County in 2023.

The list for Will County milestones also includes

• Ranking among the top Illinois counties for new home construction

* Ranking first in Illinois for industrial development

• Ranking second in Illinois for new manufacturing jobs after adding 1,900 jobs since 2019

Five communities in Will County or expanding into Will County were in the top 10 in Illinois for new single-family home construction, according to the CED. They included Plainfield at No. 1, Lockport at seventh and Joliet at eighth. Naperville and Aurora, which are expanding into Will County, also ranked fourth and 10th respectively,

“You don’t have to go far down that list to find New Lenox, Frankfort and Manhattan,” Pryor said. “They’re all in the top 25.”

Will County is the top energy producer among counties in Midwestern states in large part because of the Braidwood Generating Station nuclear power plant run by Constellation Energy Corp., which is the biggest energy producer in Illinois, according to the CED.

Pryor said Will County’s rating as the top energy producer among Midwestern counties does not include the Exxon Mobil refinery in Channahon Township and the Citgo refinery in Lemont, which are put in another category in which Will County does well.

“We’re also the second biggest refiner in the Midwest,” Pryor said. “They’re bigger than you think, and they’re incredibly important for Midwest fuels.”

The biggest refinery in the Midwest is the BP plant in Whiting, Indiana.