1. The Role of Local Government in Economic Development
Economicdevelopment: Ithappensat the local level. The final locationdecisionbetweenabusiness
and itsphysical location,orservice area,isverymucha phenomenonrootedinlocal regulation,
planningandpeople. Whetherornotthe local jurisdictionorregional stakeholderstake anactive role in
the processis oftendetermineshowefficient,effective,cohesive andsustainable the developmentwill
be for the community.
What IS economicdevelopment? The classicdefinitionscaninclude: “Addingwealthtoyour
community”, “Commercial andindustrial investmentof new and/orexpandingbusiness”,Jobcreation
and/orjob retention”.
Creatingthisconsensusof definitionandwhateconomicdevelopmentwill meanforyourcommunityis
the firststepin the planningphase whichwill thenbe the foundationtoperformance measurements.
Statutoryauthoritycan give Countiesaregulatoryrole ineconomicdevelopment
Tax IncrementFinancing(TIF) Districtsare aneconomicdevelopmenttool usedbymunicipalitiestopay
for the costs of the improvedinfrastructure inthe redevelopmentarea(i.e.roads,sewers,wateretc). A
tax incrementisthe difference betweenthe amountof propertytax revenue receivedpriortothe
adoptionof the tax incrementfinancingredevelopmentplanandthe amountof propertytax revenue
receivedafternewdevelopmentoccursinthe redevelopmentarea. The Countyisresponsiblefor
calculatingthe propertytax revenuesthatare generatedbythe economicdevelopmentinthe TIF
district. The CountyTreasurerdistributesthe propertytax revenuestothe local municipalityandtothe
trust fundestablishedtoreceivethe tax incrementthatisgeneratedbythe economicdevelopmentin
the TIF district.65ILCS 5/11-74, 4.1
Enterprise Zone Actwasestablishedtostimulate economicgrowthandneighborhoodrevitalizationin
economicallydepressedareasof the State. Anarea maybe eligible (i) entirelywithinamunicipalityor
(ii) entirelywithinthe unincorporatedareasof a county,exceptwhere reasonable needisestablished
for suchzone to coverportionsof more thanone municipalityorcountyor(iii) bothcomprisesall or
part of a municipalityandanunincorporatedareaof a county.55 ILCS 90/1 Sec.1
EconomicDevelopmentTax-A Countywithapopulationunder100,000 may levyanannual tax on all the
taxable propertyinthe county,asequalizedorassessbythe Departmentof Revenue,forthe purpose of
promotingeconomicdevelopment,uponapproval of the tax ata referendumheldinaccordance with
general electionlaw. 55ILCS 5/5-1035.2
Accordingthe national league of cities(NLC),local officialscanplaya keyrole inbuildingconsensusfora
visionandgoalsthat provide acleardirectionforlocal economicdevelopment.
A strategicapproachmeanslinkingeconomicdevelopmentgoalstospecificactivities,allocatinga
budgetandstaff to these activitiesandevaluatingperformancebasedonmeasuredoutcomes.

2. Whencraftingeconomicdevelopmentpolicies,itisessential toconsiderhow otheragencywide policies
affectyoureconomicdevelopmentgoals.
For more informationaboutotherkeycomponentssee http://www.nlc.org/Documents/10things-
EconDevelop.pdf
One approach to local economicdevelopmentisacounty wide economicdevelopmentcouncil. The
advantagesof thisapproachare:
 One stopresource for statistical anddemographicdataaboutthe Countyandall the
communitiesinthe County
 Listingof all available propertysitessuitable fordevelopment
 Liaisontothe IllinoisDepartmentof Commerce andEconomicOpportunity,The Chamberof
Commerce andWorkforce DevelopmentBoard
 AdministersEnterpriseZone andrevolvingloanfund
 Eliminatesorcreatesamore levelsthe competitionbetweenmunicipalitiesfornew investment
 County wide economicdevelopmentcouncil representsthe entire Countytoprospective
developers,businesses,investorslookingtolocate/orexpandinthe County.
 County wide economicdevelopmentcouncil canpresentacomprehensiveproposal tailoredto
specificneedsof the client.
 County wide economicdevelopmentcouncil bringstothe table the key playersinvolvedin
economicdevelopmentwithinthe Countyincluding Business,Local Government,Labor,&
Education
 County wide economicdevelopmentbroadensthe base of supportforinvestmentthroughout
the County
 The keyplayerscommitto make a financial investmentandapersonal investmentinthe county
wide economicdevelopmentcouncil
Local governmenthasanimportantrole toplayin economicdevelopment. The more proactive and
deliberateeffortsare thenthe more sustainable projectswill be forboththe publicandprivate sectors.
Contact Aimee Ingalls,Community&EconomicDevelopmentEducator,aingalls@illinois.edu