The Issues
- No economic growth
- Since 2008 our sales tax has revenue has grown at an annual rate of less than 0.6%
- In the past decade we lost our largest employer, Andrew Corporation, and with it over 900 jobs
- The two largest employers in Orland Park are the Village of Orland Park and School District 135
- Little to no development of I-80 Corridor in the last decade
- The property in Will County was annexed in 1998 and Orland Parkway built in 2002
- Since then we have added a few non-taxpaying entities – Mokena Fire Department, two churches, Smith Crossing senior living, and St. Xavier University
- Otherwise, we relocated Horton Insurance here in 2004 and added American Technical Publishers in 2009
- Compare Orland Park to Tinley Park’s I-80 corridor
- Property values are down, neighboring communities are doing better
- Our economy is too highly concentrated on restaurants, retail, and car dealerships. The only category with measurable growth is car dealerships.
- External threats to our retail base – Internet shopping and the potential for another mall off of Interstate 355 are significant threats to Orland Square Mall
- Focus on multi-family rental properties over the last 10 years which tend to be transient in nature
- Main Street Triangle – 296 rental units added in 2013
- Orland Park Crossing – 231 rental units added in 2015
- Single family homes since 2009 – 188 Total
- The percentage of multi-family permits is increasing consistently. The number of units permitted has increased from 28% of permits (2003 to 2007) to 64% of permits (2013-2015), including a whopping 77% in 2015.

Source: Village of Orland Park Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports 2008-2015
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-11-19/news/0511190178_1_andrew-corp-jobs-coaxial




My Solution
Make it clear to the business community that Orland Park is open for business. I will work to make it easier, faster, and less expensive for businesses to upgrade, expand, or re-locate to Orland Park. It is the Village’s job to create the environment for our businesses to thrive.
ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION
Focus on diversifying our economy by:
- Prioritizing development of the I-80 Corridor
- Partner with neighboring communities and business groups to attract STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) industries to the region
CAPITAL RE-INVESTMENT
- Work with Simon (owners of the mall) to encourage expansion and/or new formats to revitalize the Village’s largest asset, Orland Square Mall
- More aggressively encourage business retention/expansion program
- Work with existing retail and office centers to encourage capital improvements and help them attract new industries to their locations
SMART INCENTIVES
- Use tax incentives wisely to attract businesses that other businesses follow
- STEM businesses and headquarters spaces that bring a large number of jobs
- High end retail stores & restaurants
- Alternative format retail that attract customers and other businesses
- Encourage businesses to use existing incentive programs
- Will County Tax Abatement program
- Cook County Property Tax Incentives
- State of Illinois incentives (e.g. EDGE Tax Credits, ETIP)