Chicago Defense Resiliency Program

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

Cook County leads the Chicago Defense Resiliency Program (CDRP) which focuses on strengthening the defense industry supply chain in the seven counties of Northeastern Illinois: Cook (including the City of Chicago), DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. CDRP supports the Chicago region’s defense and manufacturing firms by delivering resources, sharing business intelligence and offering new insights to businesses and economic development leadership to strengthen the regional economy and create jobs. CDRP analyzes and synthesizes defense industry data as the foundation for conducting regional outreach and education. This allows CDRP to build a regional network of defense industry stakeholders from industry, government and academia and to develop and implement programs that strengthen the Chicago region’s defense economy. As part of the new Illinois Defense Network (IDN), CDRP works collaboratively with our statewide partners to promote the Illinois defense industry: Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, Rockford Area Economic Development Council, the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and the University of Chicago Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement. IDN is the only such statewide initiative which has been created and is supported by the Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment.