Chamber Welcome

Dear Visitor,

Our rich sense of history that influences Champaign County today ensures that as a community we have always been destined for success. Since 1833, when Champaign County was founded, it has been a welcoming guidepost on the Illinois prairie. In the 1850s, it was a stopping point for a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln, who frequently visited friends in Champaign and Urbana as he traveled the circuit from Springfield for the Eighth Judicial District.

Throughout the years, Champaign County has continued to be both a final destination and a stopping point. As the home to the world-renowned University of Illinois, our community has attracted scientists and senators, teachers and trades people, Nobel Prize winners and many other notables. Many stay for a lifetime, enriching the community; some receive or contribute to world-class teaching before moving on to influence others in different communities. Regardless of the amount of time people spend here, they develop a unique relationship between this region and the rest of the world. While many of our residents will not receive world accolades, they are the fiber of our community and they are the primary reason that Champaign County is a great place to call home.

What is it that draws and keeps people in Champaign County? In a phrase, its "quality of life." The 998 square miles of the county include the communities of Champaign, Urbana and Savoy, which make up the commercial hub of the county and the largest population center with over 100,000 residents. In these tri-cities, homes for every family size, income level, and lifestyle are available. Bolstered by outlying areas, which claim some of the world's richest farmland, the county offers unique opportunities in agriculture and related businesses. The rural nature of the smaller communities has attracted specialty businesses and sole proprietorships, as well as significant new residential growth.

A vibrant business community provides the backdrop for encouraging new commerce and industry. As the home of the world-renowned University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), Champaign County is recognized as a center for computing and technology, attracting and retaining a diverse group of traditional and high-tech companies and becoming a leader in building the national and global information superhighway.

An assortment of cultural resources and facilities abounds in the area. From museums and performing arts centers to a planetarium and botanical gardens, the offerings are matched only by those in the nation's largest metropolitan centers.

Choices continue in education where public, private, and parochial school systems strive for excellence in every aspect of staff, facilities, technology and curricula. Nationally and internationally recognized city and county park systems provide recreation opportunities for all ages.

The spires of more than 100 churches rise above the Champaign County skyline, reflecting a variety of religious beliefs.

Much of the area's business growth is attributable to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Several high-tech firms are spin-offs of University research efforts. Even the area's agriculture potential substantially benefits from the school's ongoing crop experimentation, including efforts to cultivate disease-resistant crop strains through biotechnology and the development of precision farming methods and information systems. Recent building projects include the University's South Research Park, the new One Main building in downtown Champaign, the redevelopment of Lincoln Square Village in Urbana, the schools built by the Village of Tolono and its citizens, the aquatic center in Urbana, and the new pork processing plant in Rantoul. These are all 'concrete' examples of people and government entities working together to build for our future.

It's the blending of these facets that produces Champaign County's unique qualities. The combination of visitors and residents adding their substance to the area is evident in the many cultures present here, from turn-of-the-century German immigrants, who settled in the northern and eastern parts of the county, to more recent arrivals including a large number of students, faculty, and researchers from other parts of the globe.

Champaign County has built on ample resources and true to its history, it continues to be warm and welcoming, a comfortable mix of technology and tradition.

Champaign County Chamber of Commerce
Chamber Web site: www.champaigncounty.org