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GOV. BLAGOJEVICH
LAUNCHES HOMELAND SECURITY INNOVATION
AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER AT
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Illinois' 15th
Entrepreneurship Center Will Foster
Business Development in the
Vibrant Homeland Security Marketplace
EVANSTON - Continuing his efforts to
grow the homeland security industry in
Illinois, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today
announced the launch of the Homeland
Security Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Center at Northwestern University.
Forged through a strategic partnership
between the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity
(DCEO), the Illinois Technology
Enterprise Center (ITEC) in Evanston and
Northwestern University, the Homeland
Security Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Center (HSIEC) will attract and support
emerging, small and mid-sized businesses
to bring homeland security products and
services to market - specializing in
transportation and logistical security
needs. The Center is being launched with
$350,000 in Opportunity Returns support
as part of Gov. Blagojevich's State of
the State commitment to make Illinois
the nation's homeland security industry
leader.
"Entrepreneurship and innovation are the
most important components of job
creation, and this new Entrepreneurship
Center will be at the forefront of
fostering both. The need for innovation
in the homeland security marketplace
provides immediate and vast potential
for our companies to bring revolutionary
new products to market and produce new
jobs to support Illinois families, "
Gov. Blagojevich said.
Entrepreneurs will receive important
business support at the Homeland
Security Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Center, including management assistance
and coaching, product development and
technology commercialization advice,
market intelligence and access to angel
and venture capital. The Center will
also extend business investments to help
Illinois companies bring more innovative
products to market, and create jobs by
leveraging Illinois Entrepreneurship
Network Challenge Grants. These grants
provide $5,000 in matching funds to help
small businesses - such as today's
grantee, Ohmx Corporation - to achieve
critical business milestones.
The Homeland Security Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Center is well
positioned to offer homeland security
consultation, in addition to
transportation and logistics business
development assistance on both a state
and national level. Gov. Blagojevich's
investment in this Center is based on
Northwestern University's research
excellence in fields related to homeland
security, as well as its transportation
expertise, as evidenced by its
Infrastructure Technology Institute,
Transportation Center, Center for Public
Safety and International Institute for
Nanotechnology. The new center will
enable Illinois businesses and
Northwestern faculty members to
collaborate on research that can bring
homeland security products to the
marketplace. This partnership will lead
to more efficient commercialization of
new technologies and more new products
and services for the homeland security
market.
"Northwestern University is pleased to
be a partner with the State of Illinois
in this initiative to strengthen
homeland security," said University
President Henry S. Bienen. "Building on
the exceptional track record of the ITEC,
the Homeland Security Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Center will be an
excellent vehicle for helping Illinois
companies translate leading edge
research into products for the homeland
security market."
"Job creation has been a top priority
for the Blagojevich administration and
the General Assembly, and the Homeland
Security Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Center being launched today will be an
important tool to support small
businesses and foster new jobs in our
state," State Senator Jeff Schoenberg
(D-Evanston) said.
"There is great opportunity for Illinois
entrepreneurs to create jobs in the
homeland security industry, and Gov.
Blagojevich is giving these companies an
edge by offering business support
through the Homeland Security Innovation
and Entrepreneurship Center," State
Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston)
said.
The HSIEC's specialized focus in
transportation security and logistics is
more critical today than ever before as
international trade increases at an
accelerated pace. Illinois is the center
of an international shipping and
logistics network formed by a
concentration of interstate, rail,
aviation and maritime infrastructure
that is unmatched in North America.
Twenty percent of the U.S. economy is
comprised of transportation, logistics
and trade activity, and Illinois'
distribution and shipping networks
handle an impressive volume of these
goods - 88.5 million tons shipped
annually by rail and 6.1 million tons by
truck. Illinois' strategic location and
growing contribution to global trade can
be evidenced by substantial public and
private investment that has occurred in
this sector under Gov. Blagojevich's
leadership. Many new companies are
building new distribution centers in
Illinois, including Target in DeKalb,
Lowe's in Rockford, SUPERVALU in
Champaign-Urbana, USF Holland in
Edwardsville, PETsMart in Ottawa, among
others.
"Gov. Blagojevich understands that
businesses often need a critical boost
before they can start offering a new
product, and the Homeland Security
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center
will be an excellent resource to help
remove barriers or red tape to make
entrepreneurial dreams a reality.
Whether market intelligence, product
development advice or venture capital
are needed, the Center's experienced
staff can help Illinois entrepreneurs to
overcome these hurdles," DCEO Director
Jack Lavin said.
The $5,000 Challenge Grant awarded to
Ohmx Corporation will help the company
with strategic business development
support as it strives to bring
cutting-edge new products to market,
including a low-cost, disposable
biosensor chip to detect a variety of
targets, including bacteria, viruses,
toxins and mold; and a reusable
biosensor reader, similar in size to a
personal digital assistant (PDA). These
products will allow emergency responders
to electronically detect a wide variety
of targets; providing immediate and
accurate testing results on-site. This
Challenge Grant will help Ohmx bring
this new technology to market more
quickly; thereby strengthening
Illinois's homeland security
effectiveness, while continuing to
create jobs in Illinois.
Today, some of the most rapid
advancements in transportation and
logistics are being made in the biotech
industry as the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security looks to the private
sector for solutions to monitor goods,
both entering U.S. and traveling within
our borders. All levels of government
and companies of all sizes are looking
for new solutions to keep our homeland
secure, especially in the food,
information technology, manufacturing
and transportation sectors.
In August, Gov. Blagojevich announced
the launch of the Homeland Security
Procurement Technical Assistance Center
(HSPTAC) at the College of DuPage in
Glen Ellyn that will specifically help
Illinois businesses compete for public
sector homeland security contracts. The
two new Centers offer an important
synergy to Illinois businesses as the
Homeland Security Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Center will support
business development and the HSPTAC will
play an integral role in finding markets
for Illinois companies to sell their
products and services in the public
sector.
Gov. Blagojevich's Opportunity Returns
regional economic development strategy
is the most aggressive, comprehensive
approach to creating jobs in Illinois'
history. Since a one-size-fits-all
approach to economic development just
doesn't work, the Governor has divided
the state into 10 regions - each with a
regional team that is empowered and
expected to rapidly respond to
opportunities and challenges.
Opportunity Returns is about tangible,
specific actions to make each region
more accessible, more marketable, more
entrepreneurial and more attractive to
businesses. It is about upgrading the
skills of the local workforce,
increasing the access to capital,
opening new markets, improving
infrastructure, and creating and
retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is
about successfully partnering with
companies and communities, both large
and small, to help all of Illinois reach
its economic potential.
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