Doing Business in the 13th District

The 13th District has a rich commercial history, beginning with the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The I&M Canal, a man-made waterway connecting Lake Michigan to the Illinois River (which feeds into the Mississippi), is one of the most important waterways in our nation’s history and runs through the heart of the District. Its completion in 1848 formed the crucial link between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, bringing to life thousands of port towns in the process. Without the Canal, it is unlikely that Chicago, occupying its present site, would have become the continental metropolis it has, and equally unlikely that northern Illinois would have developed as early and richly as it did.

Today, our tradition of commercial ingenuity remains just as vibrant. Commerce and industry of all shapes and sizes call our area home, and new businesses move to the 13th District or are born here every day.

The Village of Oak Brook, located in the northeastern part of the District, boasts a thriving corporate center. McDonald’s, Kodak, Ty (makers of Beanie Babies), Ace Hardware, Molex, and Federal Signal are just a few of the multinational corporations with headquarters or major branch offices in Oak Brook.

But the commercial sector in the 13th District lies far from the worlds of Big Macs and Beanie Babies. At the heart of Chicagoland’s high-tech Research and Development Corridor, the 13th District plays a major role in bringing to America the technologies of tomorrow. Argonne National Laboratory (birthplace of atomic power) and Tellabs are some of the more well-known 13th District technology-developers breaking new ground in their respective fields.  The 13th District also boasts some of the nation’s leading research and development firms focused on groundbreaking alternative and renewable energy technologies, including Packer Engineering, Coskata, and Elevance Renewable Sciences

Other major area employers include those in the health care industry. Among them are Edward Hospital in Naperville, as well as Bolingbrook and Hinsdale Adventist Hospitals.

Businesses of the 13th Congressional District also benefit from the area’s status as a major hub of commerce.  It is advantageously located near to Chicago’s metropolitan region, and supported by four major interstates, national freight and commuter rail, and key navigational waterways.

In addition to its central location, the 13th District provides robust economic opportunities thanks to its rapid population growth, as well as the availability of financial assistance through tax credits, tax abatements, TIF districts, and significant economic development organizations.