Feb 21st 2020 | Posted in Technology by Government Contracting Pipeline

Illinois – Gov. JB Pritzker recently announced $500 million in capital funding for the University of Illinois’ research and innovation hubs. The investment is part of Pritzker’s vision for state-of-the-art technology, robust higher education, and private partnerships that will spur economic development.

Illinois R D Illinois to proceed with $500M university investmentThe money will go to the university system’s Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI). These hubs will help students and workers prepare for jobs in the technology industry.

The governor’s funding commitment will allow IIN and DPI to attract more funding from private sources, as well as to begin architectural design work for facilities across the state.
In addition, the university has pledged to secure $500 million in private funding, of which $230 million has been raised so far. Another $224 million has been raised by the system’s universities in other parts of Illinois.

A new headquarters for IIN and DPI is planned to be housed on a 62-acre mixed-use development site in downtown Chicago.
Over the next 10 years, the investment will have an estimated economic impact of $19 billion and bring 48,000 jobs.