Macon County is the beating heart of manufacturing in Illinois, but we need to do more to spur economic development and the creation of good-paying jobs in our region. As we work to create more good paying jobs, I’m focused on bringing manufacturing back home and investing in a 21st century Heartland economy.
- I was proud to help establish the White House Made in America Office to ensure that American companies and manufacturers get top priority in federal projects.
- In Congress, I launched a Climate Jobs Task Force to focus on building our clean energy economy with good-paying union jobs in places like Central and Southern Illinois.
- Since World War I, a shoe manufacturing company in Belleville has been equipping our military service members with combat boots. During my first term in Congress, I was thrilled to announce nearly $20 million in contracts for Belleville Boots and work on a bipartisan basis to support American military equipment manufacturing in the National Defense Authorization Act.
- Our region is also a national leader in the development of cutting-edge agricultural technology. I was proud to advocate for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (IFAB) Hub to receive designation as a national Tech Hub. This designation further establishes the Decatur to Champaign region as America’s Ag Tech Corridor and will help to attract additional federal investment to our region.
