Greater Freeport Partnership reports Q1 business wins, seeks enterprise-zone expansion for Savencia

Andrea Schultz Winter and Nicole Hass of the Greater Freeport Partnership gave a quarterly update to the Stephenson County Board and requested that the board approve expanding the Northwest Illinois Enterprise Zone to include three parcels owned by Savencia, a cheese manufacturer, to support a planned expansion.

The presentation outlined business retention and expansion work, new-business leads and marketing and tourism efforts. "Tonight's presentation will cover the highlights of our work in key focus areas in the first quarter," Andrea Schultz Winter said, noting materials were included in the board packet.

The request to add three Savencia parcels to the enterprise zone is tied to an announced expansion by an existing food manufacturer in Stephenson County that organizers say would create an additional 40 jobs and is slated to begin construction this summer. The presenters said expanding the zone would enable incentives for the project.

Why it matters: county enterprise-zone designation can affect tax incentives and site readiness for manufacturing expansions; county approval is one step in a state-administered process. The expansion would support a private-sector project the presenters described as creating about 40 new jobs and would restore parcels that were included in a prior version of the zone but were left off when maps were redrawn in 2020.

Details from the presentation

- Business retention: the partnership reported 33 business visits in the quarter and assistance to nine entrepreneurs on business plans. Presenters said geopolitical uncertainty and tariff changes are creating hesitancy in some…