Doing business withe the city of McHenry, presented at the INternational Trade Fair held on 12/7/12

1. CITY OF MCHENRY BUSINESS
ATTRACTION AND RETENTION
CITY OF MCHENRY BUSINESS
ATTRACTION AND RETENTION

2. City of McHenry
• 50 miles northwest of Chicago, 50 miles south of Milwaukee and
45 miles east of Rockford
• Full-time City Administrator-Council form of government
• Mayor (Susan E. Low) and seven aldermen
• Aldermen represent different areas of the City ( 7 wards)
• Municipal sanitary sewer and water service
• Population 26,992 (2010)
• 5 industrial/business parks
• Approximately 100 manufacturers
• 1,000,000 square feet of new retail since 2000

3. City of McHenry
• Major employers in the City include:
• Centegra Hospital/Northern Illinois Medical Center,
• Follett Library Resources (warehouse/distribution of
books)
• Follett Software (computer software development)
• Medela (Breast Pumps and Health Care)
• Affinia Group (Warehouse/Distribution, brake and
chassis, automobile after market)
• Fabrik Industries (Plastic Molding)

4. Role of the Municipality
• Facilitator (real estate community, business,
local, state and federal agencies)
• Link businesses with
suppliers/complementary businesses
• Foster the creation of value chains
• Promote development of economic clusters
• Adaptability to changing market trends
• Business attraction and retention

5. Role of Municipality
• Provide a pool of locally-available trained
workforce
• Site location assistance
• Ensure utility and technological
infrastructure is readily available
• Promote need for additional workforce
housing
• Providing accurate data (workforce,
socioeconomic, etc.)

6. Role of Economic Development
• Work with State of Illinois Department
of Community and Economic
Opportunity (business retention,
incentives, grant programs, etc.)
• Collaborate with McHenry County
Economic Development Corporation
and McHenry County College Small
Business Development Center (utilize
professional assistance-international
trade, educational training, etc.)

7. Role of Economic Development
• Work with federal, state, local elected
officials (lobbying
transportation/infrastructure
improvements)
• Streamline development review process
• Promote City’s Economic Development
Plan and Economic Development
Strategy)