Chicago and its surrounding counties are also at the forefront of an impressive biomedicine, biotechnology and pharmaceutical cluster thanks to strong partnerships with the state's leading medical centers and research universities. Among these is the 640-acre (260-ha.) Illinois Medical Center, anchored by the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago.

Fostering activity in biotech and biomedical research is the Chicago Technology Park. Located on 56 acres (2.5-ha.) west of Chicago's Loop, its tenants are in the vicinity of Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago.

To help make the state competitive in the New Economy, Gov. George Ryan recently introduced VentureTECH, a five-year, US$1.9 billion comprehensive strategy for investing state resources in education and advanced research and development, health sciences and biotechnology, and cutting-edge information technology programs.

VentureTECH's intention is to strengthen partnerships with private industry and the federal government. It will directly result in nearly $3.9 billion in technology-related infrastructure improvements in Illinois.

In addition, the state recently committed $50 million to build the DuPage County Research Park. The park is being built on a parcel of the DuPage Airport property in West Chicago. Already the Univ. of Illinois, in partnership with the U.S. Dept. of Defense, plans to research and develop the next stage of the Internet at the park.

Tellabs announced late last year that it was expanding along Illinois's high-tech corridor west of Chicago. Plans called for creating as many as 2,300 new jobs and investing about $75 million in the Naperville area. Tellabs designs, manufactures, markets and services data, voice and video transport switching/routing and network access systems.

"Tellabs is committed to helping communications service providers build and migrate to next-generation, multi-service networks," says Tellabs president and CEO, Michael J. Birck. "To do that, we must expand to meet our customers' growing and evolving needs."

To accommodate the expansion, the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) provided a comprehensive package of incentives. For Tellabs, DCCA and the City of Naperville provided Economic Development for Economy Growth (EDGE) tax credits, municipal sales tax rebates and a High Impact Business Designation.

EDGE tax credits were created to ensure that Illinois's tax structure is competitive with neighboring states. The tax credits are awarded to eligible businesses creating new jobs to claim a state income tax credit equal to a portion of the incremental income tax generated from new jobs created in Illinois.

EDGE tax credits helped retain Starbelly.com in Illinois. In addition, this e-commerce company was awarded $425,000 in job-training assistance over two fiscal years through the Industrial Training Program (ITP). Businesses receiving funds through ITP must match the state grant.

ITP assistance, EDGE tax credits as well as tax credits for locating in one of the state's 92 Enterprise Zones helped convince one of the state's mainstay manufacturers, Quaker Oats, to retain its Danville plant. The company was taking a serious look at its inbound commodity and ingredient transportation costs. The company expects to add employees to its current work force of 540. Allstate decided to expand its Village of Woodridge facility by building a new 77,000-sq.-ft. (7,100-sq.-m.) facility, thanks in part to EDGE tax credits. The facility was scheduled to open in September and provide 700 new professional jobs. The center will assist customers by telephone.

Other projects will include work with the Argonne National Laboratory, home of the nation's most powerful source of x-rays, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, home of the world's most powerful particle accelerator and a leading center of research into the fundamental nature of matter and energy.

Illinois first, a program to improve the state's aging infrastructure and transportation system, is attracting and retaining business in the state. Gov. Ryan recently increased the size of the multi-year public transportation program by 150 percent over the previous five years.

In keeping with the state's efforts to improve its tran sportation networks and facilities, the U.S. Army transferred approximately 2,000 acres (810 ha.) of the former Joliet Arsenal for the development of the new Deer Run Industrial Park and an Intermodal transit hub by CenterPoint Properties.

The project in-volves a $265 million investment for a 600-acre (243-ha.) Intermodal railroad hub that will employ 300 people. Long-term development will include a $1 billion investment by CenterPoint Properties in the 1,700-acre (688-ha.) Deer Run Industrial Park, which will cover 17 million sq. ft. (1.6 million sq. m.) and create 8,000 new jobs in 10 years.

Over the next seven years, the re-development of the Joliet Arsenal is expected to create an estimated 20,000 union construction jobs. To make the project possible, the Illinois Dept. of Transportation is allocating $51 million in Illinois FIRST funds over the next three to four years for needed transportation improvements, including $27 million for the relocation and improvement of the interchange of Interstate 55 and Arsenal Road.