Amedeo: DeKalb County ‘next frontier’ for business growth

DeKALB – Despite unexpected wrinkles in a year of transition, members of a countywide group that advocates for economic development said Friday that they believe DeKalb County is poised for growth.

Melissa Amedeo, the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp.‘s executive director, has only been on the job for about three months, and she said she’s impressed by what she’s heard northern Illinois professionals say about DeKalb County’s potential for business growth.

Recently, Amedeo attended an event filled with industrial and real estate professionals, and she said she left the event feeling really excited. She spoke to a crowd of local business leaders and community members Friday at the organization’s Annual Breakfast at Faranda’s Banquets in DeKalb.

“DeKalb County is known throughout Chicago and the collar counties,” Amedeo said, “which was great to hear, not just for our significant growth, but for the strengths and the reasons we’ve seen this growth.”

Some of those factors include the area’s workforce. More than 800,000 workers live within a 40-minute drive of DeKalb County, Amedeo said. She also touted the county’s access to transportation networks and utility infrastructure.

The Chicago West Business Center, on DeKalb city’s south side, soon will expand in regions to the south and west of the current industrial park, and that growth will add to the size of the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone, Amedeo said.

The enterprise zone – an economic tool used by governments to designate geographical areas for development by offering tax breaks and other local incentives – has been key to DeKalb County’s recent industrial growth, she said.

The area has seen major corporations such as Meta’s DeKalb Data Center, Ferrara Candy Co., Kraft Heinz and Amazon develop properties in DeKalb. City and county officials have long maintained that these additions will be a boon for government coffers, job growth and could potentially offer relief to area taxpayers as new mega properties become taxable.

The recent growth isn’t expected to slow, at least considering how Amedeo describes DeKalb County.

“DeKalb County is the next frontier,” Amedeo said. “We have been recognized by our peers in Chicago and collar counties. ... To hear that they see DeKalb County, that we are on the map and we are the next frontier, makes me super excited to be leading this organization today.”

DeKalb County Conventions and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Cortney Strohacker became the vice president of the DCEDC Executive Board during a quarterly board meeting held immediately after the organization’s annual program Friday.

Strohacker said there’s a reason she’s lived in the area since 1996. She said she also wasn’t surprised to hear that DeKalb County is viewed as northern Illinois' next frontier for business growth.

“It’s about time that everyone realizes how amazing we are,” Strohacker said. “It’s exciting to see just all of the things that are happening. And really, this year of transition has not been seamless – it’s been challenging.”

Strohacker said she has confidence in the agency’s new executive director, Amedeo.

Amedeo replaced former Executive Director Paul Borek, who returned on an interim basis after his own replacement, Mark Williams, stepped aside shortly after starting the job.

In 2023, ahead of his retirement, Borek was championed as one of the key figures central to the creation of the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone. On Friday, he said he was happy to still be able to help the community in his retirement, and has recently joined the Egyptian Theatre’s board of directors.

He and his wife Mary still have a chance to enjoy leisure time, however.

“I’ve enjoyed, very much, traveling with my wife, Mary,” Borek said. “We just got back from a river cruise in Europe, on the Rhine River. And in Florida I joined the Coast Guard auxiliary to serve as a volunteer to assist the Coast Guard in boater safety and public relations and search-and-rescue and all things Coast Guard.”