Ms. Frizzle and her magic school bus can make way, Illinois has made a new, impressive bus to take students to and from school. Lion Electric announced on Nov. 2, 2022 that they had produced their first American-made LionC zero-emission electric school bus at their factory in Joliet, located in Will County.

Lion electric selected Joliet in May of 2021, providing new job opportunities to the area. Over the first three years of its presence in Will County, Lion Electric will create over 800 new jobs, and then a total of 1,400 jobs with in the first six years. Lion Electric is in Will County to stay and provide permanent jobs to many residents. Now, they are providing environment friendly transportation to our students. Lion Electric has always been dedicated to moving towards electric vehicles, sustainability and decreasing the overall environmental impact transportation has. This dedication has paid off as they put over 700 electric vehicles on the road, supporting commuters and students as they traveled over 10 million miles. Joining that number is the new, electric school bus thanks to the manufacturing site in Joliet. Illinois is devoted to the fight against climate change and helping our environment, and Joliet is a foreground in that fight.

Lion Electric expects the Joliet factory to have an annual production capacity of 20,000 buses and trucks after scaling their manufacturing operations. Joliet will first focus on manufacturing electric school buses, as there has been a nationwide surge in demand for electric buses. Several cities and states have committed to transitioning to electric school buses. The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, passed in Illinois General Assembly in 2021, increased support for electric transportation, aiming to put 1 million battery-powered cars and trucks in Illinois by 2030, and included incentives for electrifying Illinois school buses. One step towards Illinois’ goal has been made as this LionC zero-emission electric school bus will be used at Troy Community Consolidated School District 30-C in Illinois. Joliet has been a key player in meeting this goal, and will serve a vital role in the future of Lion Electric and the future of sustainability in the nation.

School districts in Illinois and around the nation are looking to decrease their impact on the environment by moving towards electric school buses. Lion Electric has committed themselves in helping school districts in that transition. The first LionC zero-emission electric school bus is a positive step towards achieving that goal. The buses may not contain real magic like Ms. Frizzle’s, however the impact Joliet’s electric school buses will have on the environment and economy almost seems magical.

To learn more about Lion Electric and their LionC zero-emission electric school bus click here. 

Corn dogs, cotton candy, ferris wheels and carnival games. Nothing brings out fond memories like the smell of fried food and shouts of joy at local state fairs. The Du Quoin State Fair recently had its 100^th annual fair, with attendance levels reaching an all-time high in the fair’s history. This marks a historic occasion for the fair, having its centennial anniversary coincide with record attendance. Over 170,000 people attended the Du Quoin State Fair this year, which was a 13.5% increase from attendance in 2021. Attendance in 2021 was 150,186 people. 2022 is the third year in a row that the fair has seen a steady increase in attendance numbers. The Du Quoin State Fair is growing in notoriety, which is a welcome benefit to the residents and businesses of the city. The Du Quoin State Fair this year generated over $320,000 in profit.

In addition to games and food, the fair also had a number of live music shows. Du Quoin was host to seven concert performances, which drew in over 11,500 people. One such artist was Cole Swindell, a country artists, who had over 3,500 tickets sold for his performance. Swindell’s performance was the fourth largest attended show in the Du Quoin State Fair’s history since 2012. It was lucky Swindell’s performance was so popular, as the fair had an unfortunate last-minute cancellation from country artist Randy House this year, making the grandstand stage to sit empty for the first times in years.

Despite that hiccup, this year’s Du Quoin State Fair was still a raging success filled with plenty of fun times for families and individuals. If anyone wants to add to the growing number of attendees to this famous and enjoyable State Fair, the 2023 Du Quoin State Fair will run Aug. 25 – Sept. 4.

Illinois created more new manufacturing jobs in July than any other state, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The news came on the heels of the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s announcement last month that the statewide unemployment rate continues to drop, ending July with slightly lower unemployment than in June. Non-farm industries added more than 31,000 Illinois jobs in July, including 6,300 in manufacturing – more than any other state during the same time period.

Manufacturing is the state’s largest industry by contribution to state GDP, but also to local economies’ growth. For example, manufacturing occupations in Rock Island County, which borders the Mississippi River on Illinois’ western border, generate almost $5 billion in total annual economic output for the county through three major manufacturing subsectors: farm machinery and equipment manufacturing, fluid milk manufacturing, and meat processing.

A study conducted by the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina found the Illinois manufacturing industry brings in over $580 billion a year and supplies 30% of jobs in Illinois. The Quad Cities feel the impact of the manufacturing industry the most with it producing $6 billion in revenue. Manufacturing jobs make up 19% of the economy in Rock Island and Henry County, and makes up 28% of the economy in Mercer County.

The manufacturing industry is the largest industry in Illinois in terms of Gross Domestic Product, as it supplies over 1.7 million jobs statewide and produces $150 billion in labor income each year. Statewide, the manufacturing industry supports 30% of jobs in Illinois. Regionally, the manufacturing industry supplies 13,050 jobs in Rock Island County, and 16,484 jobs in the Illinois Quad Cities and surrounding areas. 

“An important takeaway from this study is the sheer size of manufacturing’s economic presence in Illinois,” said research economist Joseph C. Von Nessen. “Every job created by a manufacturer spurs additional hiring and spending across multiple industries in the state.” 

A Northwestern University professor will soon get a chance to monitor a part of the sky for a project studying ‘adolescent galaxies’ using the James Webb Space Telescope.

Allison Strom, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University, will use the telescope – which originally launched on Dec. 25, 2021 – to harvest data for 40 hours before her team will begin analyzing the results.

They’re using the telescope’s pioneering abilities to study the chemistry of galaxies so distant, they haven’t been explored yet. Strom and her team are hopeful that the data will demystify the process of galaxy formation, especially in the context of the early universe.

While the Northwestern team eagerly awaits use of the Webb, another Illinois astronomer’s project is fully underway. Jacob Bean, professor of astronomy at the University of Chicago, is co-leading a team of more than 100 scientists whose project just finished using the new probe to collect exoplanet data. His team will review the data for information about the composition, temperature and potential habitability of exoplanets, which may provide new insights into solar systems beyond our own.