Jacksonville, Illinois

JACKSONV I LLE , I LL INOI S School for the Deaf was founded in 1839; the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired was founded in 1849; and MacMurray College, which just closed its doors this past May, was one of the oldest institutions in the United States created for the education of women. Today, this town of approximately 20,000 is a proud community that, surprisingly, tends to punch well above its weight, hosting a thriving industrial sector while also offering its residents many cultural, educational, and recreational amenities. “We have two facilities that are well-known,” says Kristin Jamison, President of Marketing and Communications for the Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation (JREDC), an investor- based organization that works to spur economic development in the region. “One is Reynolds Consumer Products – they make garbage bags and serve as a distribution center. And Nestlé has a Coffee-mate plant here; all of the non- dairy coffee creamer manufactured by Nestlé is made here in Jacksonville.” Jacksonville is also the home of the Eli Bridge Company, a legacy manufacturer of Ferris Wheels and other amusement rides such as the Scrambler. W.E. Sullivan founded the firm with the introduction of his first portable “Big Eli” Wheel on the Jacksonville Square on May 23, 1900. “So, we do have a strong manufacturing base and we continue to look to see how we can bring in new opportunities,” Jamison notes. One new firm in Jacksonville is CCK Automations, which specializes in electronic circuit board manufacturing and panel building. “It’s a homegrown company that moved out of the founder’s garage and now employs over 100 people,” she adds. According to Mayor Andy Ezard, Jacksonville is also continuing to revitalize its downtown. “We’ve accomplished three different phases – in the middle, the north, and the south – and now we’re going to do the east leg: new utilities, new