1. An Illinois
Community Wealth Building
Action Agenda
Presentation to the Governor’s Task Force on Social
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
Ted Howard
The Democracy Collaborative
April 24, 2013 – Chicago, IL

2. The Prevailing Economic
Development Paradigm
Some of its characteristics and elements include:
• Subsidies and tax breaks to entice corporations to relocate ($80B)
• Workforce training not linked to actual jobs ($37B)
• Regional trickle down strategies that do not reach low- and
moderate-income neighborhoods
• Growth & GDP – toward what end?
• Low-wage (non-living wage) job creation, often without benefits
• Exclusion of ex-offenders and others with barriers to employment
• Gentrification and dispersal of traditional residents
• “Throwaway cities” and their infrastructure
• Privatization of publicly owned goods

3. What is the Community Wealth
Building Paradigm?
A New Approach to Economic Development that:
• emphasizes democratization of wealth
• focuses on place & local economy
• promotes broader ownership of capital
• anchors jobs locally
• stops the leakage of dollars from communities
• supports individual & family wealth building
• reinforces stewardship over capital
• generates revenues to finance public services
• leverages anchor institutions for local benefit
• contributes to local economic stability
• total cost accounting of economic decisions

6. An Integrated Community Wealth Approach
Key Components
Putting the Pieces Together
 Help individuals build wealth
and savings
 Create community-owned
businesses and other entities
that provide living wage jobs
and root wealth in communities
 Link community businesses with
anchor procurement needs and
public expenditures
Family
Wealth
Building
Broader
Ownership
Anchor
Institutions

7. Retaining Jobs and Building Wealth
through Employee Ownership
Action Agenda:
• Develop an Illinois Employee Ownership Center to retain existing jobs
• Assist Illinois banks to refinance employee ownership

8. Deploying State and Other Public Assets to
Reinvest in Illinois
Action Agenda:
• Leverage Hospital investment
• Promote greater community investment by universities in Illinois
• Invest state pension fund dollars in Illinois

9. Investing in Resident-owned Affordable
Housing
Action Agenda:
• Convert manufactured housing into resident-owned communities
• Redirect housing dollars to support permanently affordable
housing.

10. Supporting Cooperative Business Development
Action Agenda:
• Reform Illinois’ Cooperative Statute
• Support cooperative development in rural Illinois
• Catalyze cooperative job creation strategies in low-income
communities

11. Promoting a New Paradigm of Economic
Development for Illinois
Action Agenda:
• Convene Community Wealth Building Roundtables in key Illinois
cities

12. For more information:
thoward1@umd.edu
www.Community-Wealth.org