CED makes changes to focus on jobs
January 20, 2012 7:20PM
Will County Center for Economic Development CEO and President John Greuling
Updated: February 23, 2012 8:07AM
The Will County Center for Economic Development is switching gears. Last week, the CED eliminated one position, senior vice president for investor relations, to free up money for a vice president for economic development, said CEO and President John Greuling.
“It’s a very strategic move,” Greuling said. “I’m pretty excited, but we cut a position, and that is never good.”
The investor relations post was geared toward assisting investors who donated money to the nonprofit CED.
The new vice president will work strictly on luring more businesses and jobs to Will County, Greuling said.
“We’re focusing more energy on jobs and a little less to just bringing money in the door,” he explained.
Greuling said the move will free him up to spend more time on legislative and infrastructure goals.
Open land
Romeoville Mayor John Noak has had some good business news to announce lately for his village, including the new $37 million FedEx facility that is coming to town.
So what is it about Romeoville that makes it so attractive to companies?
First, Noak explained, the village is in the popular Interstate 55 corridor, which taps into the huge Chicago-area population base. The village has something else that is very enticing, too.
“Romeoville is one of the only communities with a substantial amount of space available with land to be developed for these types of projects,” he said.
Noak said the 250,000-square-foot FedEx building will provide construction jobs at first then 275 distribution and 125 contractual delivery driver jobs once it’s open. The company will be submitting plans soon to the village board for the project.
Dumpling hotline
A fax number was incorrectly listed as the telephone number for Aisha’s Southern Cuisine in my column last week.
The correct number is 815-741-2800.
But the wrong number didn’t stop Herald-News readers from inundating owner Annette Mathis with chicken and dumpling orders!
“The people started coming as soon as I opened saying they read the article in The Herald-News and didn’t know that I was here,” she wrote to me in an e-mail.
Downtown treats
Downtown Joliet workers take note: The Red Goose Bakery and Cafe is slated to open in a couple of weeks at 56 N. Chicago St.
Hours will be from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and other times for special events, according to owner Ray Wesley.
The bakery’s morning selection will feature cinnamon rolls, muffins and other breakfast pastries and coffee.
The lunch menu will offer a selection of “grab and go” gourmet sandwiches, soups and salads.
Cupcakes, cookies and other “tasty treats” will be available all day, Wesley wrote in an e-mail.
Mmmmm. Sounds like a story I should investigate personally.
Contact business reporter Cindy Wojdyla Cain at ccain@stmedianetwork.com.
