University of Illinois at Chicago

The UIC UC promotes sustainable economic development in the Chicago region, focusing on applied research and technical assistance to help policy makers, planners, economic development organizations, private industry and community leaders address extreme weather events. Coming out of the pandemic with new opportunities, a key challenge will be making the Chicago region’s economic growth financially beneficial. To this end, the UIC UC will provide expertise and technical assistance to develop, implement, and support regional strategies that result in job creation, high-skilled regional talent pools, and business expansion, including applied research, technical assistance and tools to help regional partners: 1) increase employment in good-paying jobs; 2) increase economic development in communities within our region, particularly southern Cook County and Chicago’s South and West sides; and 3) increase growth in the region’s economy with attention to innovation in clean energy, food production, infrastructure and transportation, distribution and logistics.