Momentum Powering Progress

In 2025, Lake County built on its reputation as a hub for innovation, investment, and opportunity. Businesses expanded, communities invested, thousands of jobs were created and retained, and leaders worked together to create new pathways for talent and growth.

Lake County Partners played a central role in bringing together public and private sector leaders to support business retention/attraction, strengthen key industries, and champion initiatives that enhance vitality. With the support of our partners, we harnessed energy, collaboration, and vision to shape Lake County’s future and reinforce its position as a leading destination for economic growth and success.

Advocate Condell Medical Center
Libertyville, Healthcare

AHEAD
Libertyville, Information Technology

Bosch Rexroth
Lincolnshire, Manufacturing & Distribution

City of Hope
Zion, Healthcare

ECHO, Inc.
Lake Zurich, Equipment

Eagle Family Foods
Waukegan, Snack Foods

Endeavor Health
Highland Park, Healthcare

Jardins and Broch
Waukegan, Food Ingredient Manufacturing

Learning Resources
Vernon Hills, Educational Tools

Northwestern Medicine
Lake Forest, Healthcare

Pactiv
Lake Forest, Packaging

Quill
Lincolnshire, Office Supplies

Siemens Building Technologies
Buffalo Grove, Technology

Smalley Steel Ring Co.
Lake Zurich, Manufacturing

Synergy Flavors
Wauconda, Food Manufacturing

Vantive
Deerfield, Helathcare

Vista Health System
Waukegan, Healthcare

Visual Pak
Waukegan, Packaging

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Deerfield, Drug Stores

Woodland Foods
Waukegan, Food Manufacturing

Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Park, Medical Products

AbbVie, Inc.
North Chicago, Pharmaceuticals

Amgen
Deerfield, Pharmaceuticals

Baxter International
Deerfield, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Products

BD
Vernon Hills, Medical Products

Brunswick Corporation
Mettawa, Recreational Products

Capital One
Riverwoods, Financial Services

CDW Corporation
Lincolnshire, Technology

Flex
Buffalo Grove, Manufacturing

Fortune Brands Innovations
Deerfield, Building Products & Equipment

Fresenius Kabi USA
Lake Zurich, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Products

Medline Industries, Inc.
Mundelein, Manufacturing & Distribution

Packaging Corp. of America
Lake Forest, Packaging

Pfizer, Inc.
Lake Forest, Pharmaceuticals

Reynolds Consumer Products
Lake Forest, Packaging

Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
Bannockburn, Pharmaceuticals

Trustmark Insurance Company
Lake Forest, Financial Services

W.W. Grainger
Lake Forest, Equipment Distribution

Zebra Technologies Corporation
Lincolnshire, Technology Services

Rosalind Franklin University

Rosalind Franklin University's Helix 51 biomedical incubator helps scientists make the leap from discovery to commercialization of urgently needed new therapeutics and diagnostics.

In its 7 years of operations, Helix 51 has ushered in 30+ startups from a wide variety of institutions including:

University of Chicago
Lurie's Children's Hospital
Endeavor Health
Advocate Aurora Healthcare
GE Healthcare
Northwestern University

In addition to leveraging local talent pipelines, Helix 51 also welcomed its first international company, from Mexico. It is the home of 6 disease research centers, a clinical immunology laboratory and two larger commercial tenants: Tolmar (originally from Colorado) and the Chicago Clinical Research Institute.

College of Lake County

In 2025, CLC continued development of its Urban Farm Center, a first-of-its-kind facility designed to advance sustainable agriculture education, workforce training and community engagement. The center is expected to open in the fall of 2026.

CLC also expanded apprenticeship opportunities through a partnership with Advocate Health, celebrating the launch of a criminal justice apprenticeship program that creates new career pathways into healthcare security and public safety. Advocate apprentices join a growing network of students who have participated in CLC apprenticeship programs across multiple industries.

As a key partner in Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), CLC provided training and career pathways that prepared 146 residents for emerging opportunities in the clean energy sector.

Further strengthening the talent pipeline, CLC reached record levels of dual credit enrollment, providing more than 5,600 high school students with access to college coursework and career-focused learning opportunities.

Lake County Tech Campus

The Tech Campus proudly served 2,300+ students during the 2025-2026 school year. The school recognized 300+ students at a Student Awards Night, and celebrated the accomplishments of students who competed at SkillsUSA. Tech Campus had nearly 450 students qualify for National Technical Honor Society, a prestigious honor based upon skills and academic process throughout student tenure.

This school year, 300+ students completed a 60-hour internship with a business partner, completing real-world hands on experiences in local business throughout Lake and McHenry counties. These opportunities reflect the Tech Campus' ongoing commitment to being one of the Midwest's premier career and technical education training facilities. Guided by its "Teach, Establish, Connect, and Honor" framework, the Tech Campus continues to connect industry leaders with students, especially with the continued growth of its Give Me TEN+ TECH 50 work-based learning program.

Moving into 2026-2027, the Tech Campus plans to expand its robust internship experiences and program engagement.

Lake County Partners is building the foundation for long-term regional competitiveness by advancing many of the priorities identified in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). Through initiatives focused on workforce development, housing attainability, business attraction and retention, innovation, infrastructure, and cross-sector collaboration, LCP is taking a proactive approach to strengthening the region’s economic future. By convening municipalities, employers, educational institutions, developers, and community organizations around shared goals, LCP is helping ensure that Lake County remains economically resilient, talent-ready, and positioned for sustainable growth. These efforts are not only supporting today’s business climate, but also creating the conditions necessary for future investment, opportunity, and high quality of life across the county.

Fueling Housing Growth

In order for Lake County to attract and retain both talent and businesses, it must have more available housing, including a diversity of housing types that provide options for households at different life stages, ages, incomes, and sizes. Our 2023 Housing Study showed that by 2027, Lake County will be short over 11,000 market rate homes, and 7,000 income qualified affordable homes.

LCP is taking a proactive approach to fueling housing growth by supporting several initiatives, including Housing Lake, which convened more than 175 stakeholders — including municipalities, developers, employers, and nonprofits — to create a collaborative roadmap for expanding attainable housing across Lake County.

Building on that effort, LCP also hosted a multifamily networking session that brought municipal leaders together with developers to discuss ready-to-build sites and accelerate real development opportunities. By breaking down silos, fostering public-private partnerships, and aligning housing development with workforce and economic needs, LCP is helping create the conditions for sustainable growth, stronger talent attraction, and long-term regional competitiveness.

Maximizing Homegrown Talent

Lake County’s long-term economic strength depends on its ability to cultivate and retain homegrown talent, and local educators are working alongside other workforce ecosystem partners to build one of the most collaborative training pipelines in the region.

Local leaders are at the forefront of a career pathway strategy that connects students directly with high-demand opportunities in manufacturing, healthcare, life sciences, and skilled trades.

Programs like Navig8 Lake — which now engages 6,000+ students and 140 companies — are giving young people hands-on exposure to local business leaders earlier than ever before, while platforms like SchoolLinks are streamlining connections between employers and educators.

At the same time, initiatives like the Lake County Manufacturing Alliance and workforce grant programs are helping businesses actively participate in training, mentorship, internships, and career development. Together, these efforts are creating a scalable, regional model for workforce development that positions Lake County to grow and compete for decades to come.

Creating Space to Grow

Working alongside educators, nonprofits, employers, and public-sector leaders, LCP is helping advance solutions around affordable childcare, early childhood education, and long-term talent development — recognizing that economic competitiveness starts with strong communities and access to opportunity at every stage of life.

Recent milestones like Start Early’s launch of Educare Lake County in Zion represent a transformational investment in early learning and family support, expanding access to high-quality education for young children while strengthening the county’s future workforce pipeline.

At the same time, organizations like Reading Power and initiatives like the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, led by the Regional Office of Education, ensure that children collective efforts like these are creating a stronger foundation for families, preparing the next generation for success, and reinforcing Lake County as a place where residents can build long-term futures.

LCP joined Lake County, the City of Chicago, Cook County and five other counties across metropolitan Chicago in launching the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership (GCEP), a first-of-its-kind united effort to attract business and strengthen the area’s economic force in a fiercely competitive global market. With LCP president and CEO Kevin Considine serving as Chair of the group, LCP has played a leading role in transforming GCEP from a pilot initiative into one of the Midwest’s most impactful regional economic development collaborations.

The results have been significant: over the past three years, the partnership has supported 228 pro-Chicagoland business decisions and helped generate 16,000+ new jobs across the region. GCEP has also expanded international outreach through trade missions to countries like Japan and Germany, while also elevating the region through programs like SelectCHI, which brings international companies to explore Chicagoland’s strengths in sectors such as clean technology, food innovation, and advanced manufacturing. By fostering unprecedented regional collaboration and presenting a unified economic identity to the global market, GCEP is accelerating investment, strengthening competitiveness, and driving long-term economic growth throughout Lake County and the greater Chicagoland region.

Big Event

LCP hosted another sold-out crowd of 500+ business and civic leaders, with insights from County Board Chair Sandy Hart and Keynote Speaker Dr. Josh Harris. LCP honored outgoing Chair Steve Madden and welcomed new Chair Dan Joyce.

LCP presented the "Community Investment Award" to Fortune Brands Innovations for the company's decision to locate its headquarters in Deerfield, and the "Talent Advancement Award" to Dr. Michael Karner, Superintendent at the Lake County Office of Regional Education.

Municipal Meeting Series

LCP continued to build on its longstanding meeting series for public sector partners, made possible by the support of Libertyville Bank & Trust, N.A. The meetings continue to reinforce LCP's strong ties with community leaders.

In addition to the meetings, municipalities receive back-end support from LCP in a variety of ways, including through quarterly data reports that help them in their business attraction efforts, and ribbon cutting and groundbreaking logistics to celebrate the big wins.

Invested Together

LCP hosted its annual "Invested Together" investor event at Independence Grove to encourage networking, strengthen local connections, and celebrate Lake County's booming economy. Remarks were made by LCP President Kevin Considine, new LCP Board of Governors Chair Dan Joyce and Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart.

The evening was a celebration of Lake County's spirit of collaboration, and a testament to LCP's appreciation for its investors.

Lake County Partners transforms economic opportunities into business realities by facilitating public and private collaboration to improve the local business climate. We fuel growth by strategically nurturing the business climate on three fronts:

Attracting & Expanding Business: We encourage investment, expansion and relocation to Lake County. From new developments to facility expansions, we connect real estate, development, utility and public sector partners to find solutions and help businesses grow in Lake County.

Attracting & Developing Talent: We facilitate innovative partnerships and initiatives to strategically deepen the talent pool for targeted industries. By building an in-demand workforce pipeline, starting in Lake County middle schools and extending through graduate schools, we join our partners in cultivating, upskilling and attracting the people that businesses need.

Convening Business Leaders: We are the only entity in Lake County that is positioned to build coalitions of public and private sector partnerships to drive economic development.

David Alexander
Managing Member
Alexander Law, LLC

Marah Altenberg
Lake County Board Member
Lake County Government

Christopher R Blaylock, CPA (Treasurer)
Partner
Wipfli, LLC

Derrick Burress
Principal
Lake County Tech Campus

Carissa Casbon
Lake County Board Member
Lake County Government

Kevin Considine
President & CEO
Lake County Partners

Daniel Cronin
Senior Partner & President
Power & Cronin, Ltd.

Frank Deuel*
Senior Manager of Government Affairs
Comcast

Lisa Dziekan
Vice President, Economic Development
Clayco

Ari Egan*
Government & Regulatory Affairs Manager
Comcast Cable

Lawrence W. Falbe (General Counsel)
Principal
Miller Canfield

Nikki Fernandez*
President
Endeavor Health Highland Park Hospital

Trent Gordon
Vice President, Business Development, Northern Illinois Patient Service Area
Advocate Aurora Health

Sandy Hart
Lake County Board Member
Lake County Government

J. Kevin Hunter
Lake County Board Member
Lake County Government

Thomas Hutchinson
Commercial/National Accounts Executive
Nicor Gas

Kevin Johnson
Associate Director, State Government Affairs
Amgen

Michael "MB" Johnson
Vice President, Operations
Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital

Daniel J. Joyce (Chair)
Chief Financial Officer
BCI Acrylic, Inc.

Sara Knizhnik
Lake County Board Member
Lake County Government

Richard Korengold
Senior Managing Director, Wealth Advisor
Mesirow Wealth Management

Charles Lamphere
President & CEO
Van Vlissingen & Company

Connie Lavin
Market President & Commercial Group Head
Old National Bank

Joseph Luna
Executive Director, Middle Marketing Banking, Commercial Banking
JPMorgan Chase

Steve Madden (Past Chair)
CEO at Libertyville Bank & Trust Company, N.A.
North Region Market Head, Wintrust Financial Corporation

John McCann
Economic and Business Development Manager
ComEd

Michael Murphy
Senior Vice President
Byline Bank

Dr. Kevin Myers*
Superintendent
Mundelein High School Districts #75 and #120

Donovan Pepper*
Senior Director, Government Relations & Civic Engagement
Walgreen Co.

Dr. Wendy Rheault*
President & CEO
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

Cheri Richardson
Executive Director
Gorter Family Foundation

Clint Sabin
Senior Manager, Public Affairs
Medline Industries

Adam Schlick
Lake County Board Member
Lake County Government

Jackie Slaatts
Vice President for Career Advancement
Lake Forest College

Lori Suddick, Ed.D.*
President
College of Lake County

Patrice Sutton
County Administrator
Lake County Government

Jim Terman
Owner
Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications

Jessica Vealitzek
Lake County Board Member
Lake County Government

Kimberly Wimer
Human Resource Manager
Laser Precision

*Outgoing board member

"LCP became partners in our endeavor to grow our business in Lake County. It has been a partnership built on commitment, can-do mentality, and trust. No matter where or when, LCP was always available to assist in our decision-making, which is why we will always rely on them for our business needs."

Jan Polka

President, RealWheels Corporation

“LCP has unlocked the essential doors to insight and communication between education and workforce development. The organization has the ability to bring Lake County companies to the table with other-sector partners to learn, collaborate and inspire action. Without this distinct skill, none of our exciting opportunities would be possible".

Cheri Richardson

Executive Director, Gorter Family Foundation

“Our collaborative partnership with LCP has significantly increased CLC’s employer engagement through a consistent flow of referrals. We add to the business development team’s resource list as a talent asset for the region, and in return, LCP offers a direct connection to businesses who need talent to grow or locate in the area. CLC is better at responding to business trends and needs because of LCP."

Ali O’Brien

Vice President of Community & Workforce Partnerships, College of Lake County

“The data provided by LCP allows me to better understand the needs of the future in manufacturing and has brought to light the workforce challenges ahead. Our relationship with LCP helps us reach community members and legislative representatives, and the organization’s connections and diligence are preparing us for long-term growth."

Kim Wimer

Human Resource Manager, Laser Precision

“LCP is committed to improving the workforce and business industry. LCP has been very helpful as a thought-partner to improve the youth workforce system. We will continue to work together to ensure that youth can participate in local industry and have meaningful apprenticeships and internships."

Dr. Michael Karner

Regional Superintendent of Schools

Lake County Partners’ communications strategy has become a critical driver of the organization’s impact by elevating Lake County’s story, strengthening stakeholder engagement, and attracting business interest to the region. Through a combination of thought leadership, blogs, newsletters, SEO, targeted digital campaigns, LinkedIn outreach, and high-profile events, LCP has significantly expanded its reach and visibility among site selectors, business leaders, developers, and community partners.

In 2025, LCP sharpened its marketing strategy with a shift toward owned media and higher-intent traffic, deepening engagement with decision-makers in life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and real estate. The year marked a deliberate move away from broad display impressions toward channels that produce qualified, brand-aware visitors ready for business development conversations.

In 2025, organic social more than doubled, direct traffic rose 50% and LinkedIn referrals climbed 153% as LCP opened a new channel to reach executives and site selectors. LCP's relocation page emerged as the top landing destination with 15,448 sessions — a clear signal of strong interest in business expansion and corporate site selection in Lake County.