Alliance History

Our Funders

Alliance for Illinois Manufacturing (AIM) services are made possible by Alliance (AIM) partners, funded in part through

cooperative agreements with the:

   U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

   Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO)

   U.S. Department of Defense

   City of Chicago

   and corporate and foundation partners

Our Mission

The Alliance for Illinois Manufacturing is a collaboration of taxpayer supported and non-for-profit organizations that
leverages, coordinates, and focuses their collective resources into integrated solutions that transform Northeast Illinois
manufacturers into globally competitive companies. AIM impacts low income, economically disadvantaged communities
in Northeast Illinois through the retention and growth of a high wage manufacturing employment base.

Our Challenge

Northeast Illinois is losing well-paying manufacturing jobs because the manufacturers with the greatest need fail to
access existing resources that can help them transform into competitive businesses. While more than 100 taxpayer
supported financial and technical assistance programs are available to manufacturers in Northeast Illinois, manufacturers
are either not aware they exist or view them as too burdensome to use. Our challenge is to create an effective
public/private partnership to align and implement these programs to produce measurable change in a regionally
focused, efficient, and transparent manner.