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Each year, Illinois businesses
spend billions of dollars on goods and services. One of the key
components of Opportunity Returns is to encourage companies to "Buy
Illinois" by spending more money in-state. Just a slight shift in
spending would boost the state's economy by hundreds of millions of
dollars, resulting in the creation of more jobs.
"Because Illinois is a state
that is driven by agriculture, we need to remain aggressive in
keeping up with market trends and technology," Blagojevich said.
"It's a proven fact that more people are shopping from their homes.
As a part of our Opportunity Returns initiative, I want to make sure
that, with the click of a mouse, they have access to all the
fantastic products our agriculture industry has to offer. Buying in
Illinois will not only help your businesses get the best products
and services around, but it'll also help us jump-start our economy.
It's an opportunity you don't want to miss."
Gov. Blagojevich's Opportunity
Returns regional economic development plan is the most aggressive,
comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois' history. Since
a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn't
work, the governor has divided the state into 10 regions, finding
areas with common economic strengths and needs and developing a plan
with specific actions for each region. This grassroots effort is a
product of significant outreach over several months throughout each
region, with business, civic and labor leaders and elected
officials. These economic initiatives are designed to be flexible
and effective. Each plan is tailored to deliver real results that
local businesses will see, feel and, hopefully, profit from.
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, Department of Commerce, 2003 third-quarter retail sales for
online companies generated $13.291 billion. That's an increase of 27
percent, compared with an increase of only 6 percent for total
retail sales. And projections by Jupiter research predict online
retail sales are expected to double in the next five years.
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"During this day and age,
people expect companies, no matter how big or small, to sell their
products online," Department of Agriculture Marketing Manager Gib
Frier said. "In light of the great Internet opportunities for small
businesses, the Illinois Department of Agriculture has undertaken
the ambitious task of developing this website specifically designed
for vendors of Illinois products."
The Illinois Products site
offers participating companies a variety of features including:
--A unique Web address for each
business, which can be used for promotional material.
--Login and password to a
secure member site.
--Website statistics and update
capabilities through the secure member site.
--Search functionality on the
Illinois Products home page to allow customers to search for a
business or specific product.
--Businesses listed by product
categories.
--Businesses listed by region.
--Contact information for each
business.
--A link to existing websites
associated with the business.
--A Web page that contains
business and product information, as well as pictures of the
product.
Participants will have three
membership options to choose from with annual fees ranging from $30
to $80.
"We're making it simple for
people to support the local economy. And if agriculture thrives in
Illinois, the rest of the economy is sure to follow," Blagojevich
said.
Illinois food or agriculture companies interested in being listed on
a Web page on the new site can contact Larry Aldag
at (217) 524-3012 or by e-mail at
laldag@agr.state.il.us.
[News release from the
governor's office]
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