On May 27, the Illinois Industrial Biotechnology Partnership Act was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker and establishes the Industrial Biotechnology Public-Private Partnership as a state-sponsored board consisting of specified members to promote and market Illinois as a destination for research, development and commercialization for industrial biotechnology. 

The bill was passed unanimously by both the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate with bipartisan support. 

The partnership will consist of 12 members, including the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois Department of Labor, National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center and several other Illinois-based research organizations and companies that serve the biotechnology sector. 

The members of the partnership will lead in leveraging Illinois’ existing assets and building incentives to attract new companies to the state to perform research and establish manufacturing facilities.

“The passing of Illinois Senate Bill 1693 is a significant step in the right direction for providing the support and incentives companies need to bring their biotechnology businesses to the state of Illinois,” said John Caupert of Waterloo, who is executive director of the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center. “Now, centers like NCERC will be part of a network with a singular mission to attract more economic growth for our state. This activity will bring in more tax dollars, jobs and other critical components to establish a burgeoning industry in Illinois.”