The Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance will be one of eight organizations in Illinois to partner with the Illinois Economic Development Corporation’s Economic Research Center in the inaugural cohort of the Regional Research Pilot Program (R2P2).
The program will give the Growth Alliance access to the databases, and experts in analyzing these databases, used by site selectors to advise companies about where they should locate.
“You could give a business a free site, a free building, a free warehouse to locate, but if the talent of the workforce doesn’t exist there, they’re not coming,” said Ryan McCrady, president and CEO of the Growth Alliance. “It doesn’t matter that everything’s free if we can’t get the workers.”
Site selectors typically have access to demographic, geographic, labor market and market access data for regions. Companies often rely on them to recommend locations with workers specializing in occupations they need filled.
Throughout the one-year program that began on July 1, the state’s Economic Development Corporation will work with the Growth Alliance to develop strategies for stimulating economic growth in Springfield and Sangamon County.
Abby Powell, the Growth Alliance’s director of business development, said the last time the Growth Alliance did a comprehensive study of the industries and infrastructure that may make the area attractive to businesses was seven years ago – before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our community has added a lot of jobs in the last five years or so since the pandemic,” Powell said. “We’ve had new primary employers enter the market, with REEL Co. and Amazon distribution, with the new data center that’s going to start construction. That’s going to change the landscape for the employment opportunities for people in our community. I think it will also send a signal to other industries.”
The unemployment rate in Sangamon County spiked in 2020 to 8.3% but has stayed steady at around 4.5% since 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An Amazon distribution center opened in Springfield in 2025, and the international crane manufacturing firm REEL USA Corp. moved into Springfield’s west side earlier this year.
Government is the largest employment sector in Sangamon County, followed by healthcare and retail.
Springfield will also likely be home to a new data center, a project the Growth Alliance has supported, despite vocal criticism and even a lawsuit brought by nearby residents. The CyrusOne data center will have a minimum of 25 employees in late 2027, according to the memorandum of understanding between CyrusOne and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The company’s website states the data center will generate 100 permanent jobs.
Amanda Vinicky, the vice president of communications for the Illinois Economic Development Corporation, said the data center was not a factor in the organization’s decision to partner with the Growth Alliance.
The Economic Development Corporation selected the Growth Alliance for a combination of factors, including the age of the organization (eight years), the geographic diversity of Sangamon County and its location in the capital city, according to Robin Ficke, the senior vice president of research, and Kate Lindgren, the director of research and regional analysis.
“Springfield is our capital city, and as you know, they are undergoing remote work changes and things like that,” said Lindgren. “I think there’s also a lot of opportunity there for us to really understand how we can assist with the economic trajectory of the heart of the state there.”
Molly Wallace is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism specializing in investigative journalism. She has a bachelor’s in religious studies and a master’s in philosophy. She is interning at Illinois Times, gaining hands-on experience in a newsroom.
This article appears in August SBJ 2026.