Illinois Department of Commerce

What Illinois Department of Commerce does

The Illinois Department of Commerce (also known as DCEO — Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity) is a state government agency of Illinois, founded in 1965 and headquartered in Springfield, operating under the executive authority of Governor JB Pritzker. With 10,000+ employees, it leads statewide economic development, workforce development, agricultural industry support, gaming regulation, and state fair operations. Its portfolio of services spans the Illinois.gov government services portal, community job kiosks, Illinois Gaming Board licensing and oversight, agricultural inspection and licensing programs, the Illinois State Fair and DuQuoin State Fair, interactive budget reporting, and international marketing offices in Hong Kong and Mexico.

The agency delivers its services through a digital infrastructure that includes online permitting systems (notably the entrypermit.agr.illinois.gov animal import permit system), the Illinois Interactive State Budget Reporting platform, and dedicated gaming-revenue and casino monthly reporting dashboards. Distribution is hybrid: a central digital portal serves the entire state, supplemented by a network of 15 community job kiosks across Kane, Kendall, and DeKalb counties, regional offices in DeKalb and DuQuoin, international marketing offices, and county-level workforce partners such as WorkNet Batavia. Its primary customer segments are Illinois job seekers, gaming industry operators, farmers and agricultural producers, Illinois food and agribusinesses, and Illinois employers.

As a publicly funded state entity, the Department does not operate under a commercial revenue model. Funding flows from state appropriations and federal grants, with select services operating under statutory fee structures set by Illinois state law. Licensing, permitting, and regulatory compliance are administered under statutory authority rather than market-based pricing. Strategic activity is anchored to grant deployments, regulatory enforcement actions, public-private partnerships for workforce delivery, and the biennial operation of the Illinois and DuQuoin State Fairs.

Name

Illinois Department of Commerce

Legal name

Illinois Department of Commerce

Website

https://illinois.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The Illinois Department of Commerce is a 1965-founded Illinois state agency headquartered in Springfield that leads statewide economic development, workforce development, gaming regulation, agricultural programs, and state fair operations, serving Illinois residents, employers, farmers, and regulated industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

State Economic Development and Regulatory Services

NAICS

Administration of Economic Programs (926), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615), Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and Commodities (92614), Amusement and Theme Parks (71311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Racing, Including Track Operation (7948)

akta.pro primary industry

State/Provincial Labor, Employment Standards & Workforce Development Administration (BPAIABAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Licensing & Permitting Authorities (General) (BPAIAOAB), Licensing Application Preparation & Management (MPAEAOAB), Labor & Employment Administration (Workforce Regulation & Programs) (BPAIAAAM)

Keywords

• Economic development services
• Workforce development programs
• Gaming regulation services
• Agricultural regulatory oversight
• State licensing permits

Headquarters

HQ city

Springfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Illinois Department of Commerce is the State of Illinois agency that leads economic development, workforce development, employment services, agricultural program oversight, and gaming industry regulation. It administers grant programs, operates permitting and licensing systems, runs the Illinois State Fair and DuQuoin State Fair, and provides digital services through the Illinois.gov portal including unemployment benefits certification, professional license look-up, driver's license renewal, and online animal import permits.

Product overview

The Illinois Department of Commerce operates through a portfolio of government services delivered via illinois.gov and associated agency portals. The primary offerings include the Illinois.gov portal providing access to state services (road conditions, unemployment benefits, professional licensing, state employment), community job kiosk networks across Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties, Illinois Gaming Board services regulating casino gambling, video gaming and sports wagering, and Illinois State Fair events. Additional services include agricultural programs through the Department of Agriculture, racing board oversight, and interactive budget reporting systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Job Kiosks A network of 15 job kiosks installed across Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties that provides residents direct access to job listings, career coaching, and training services through WorkNet Batavia, connecting job seekers with local employers.
• Illinois.gov Government Services Portal The State of Illinois digital portal providing online access to state government services including road conditions, weekly unemployment benefits certification, professional license look-up, state government jobs listings, driver's license renewal, and registered sex offender location services.
• Illinois Gaming Board Services Regulatory services for casino gambling, video gaming, and sports wagering in Illinois, including license applications, compliance oversight, and problem gambler resources provided by the Illinois Gaming Board.
• Independent Gaming Testing Laboratories Licensing Licensure of independent testing laboratories providing testing services for gaming equipment, including Gaming Laboratories International LLC (GLI), BMM Test Labs, and Eclipse Compliance Testing.
• Illinois State Fair Services The Illinois State Fair in Springfield (August 13-23, 2026) and DuQuoin State Fair (August 28-September 7, 2026) featuring competitive events, entertainment, agricultural exhibitions, and related state fair operations.
• Interactive Budget and Performance Metrics Illinois state budget reporting system providing interactive budget data, budget books, economic and fiscal policy reports, and performance dashboards.
• Illinois Gaming Revenue Reports Monthly casino revenue reports providing receipts, admissions, and tax allocation information for each Illinois casino, available in PDF and CSV formats.
• Casino Monthly Reports Compilation of each casino's receipts, admissions, and gaming data as submitted to the Illinois Gaming Board, including cumulative totals for multiple periods.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,112 user sessions logged over six months through community job kiosks network

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WorkNet BataviacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkNet Batavia provides the platform and services for the community job kiosk network across Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties. The project is funded by a $167,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce secured by Kane County, with WorkNet Batavia delivering job listings, career coaching and training services through the kiosk infrastructure.
• Kane CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKane County secured a $167,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce to fund the community job kiosk network project. Kane County leads the initiative in partnership with neighboring Kendall and DeKalb counties.
• Aurora Packing CompanyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal employer participating in the job kiosk network that is expanding operations and plans to add 15 positions. Aurora Packing Company represents the employer-side connection in the workforce pipeline being built through the kiosk system.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Illinois Gaming Board: The Illinois state agency that issues gaming licenses, conducts independent testing, and publishes gaming revenue reports; one of the specific regulatory functions within the Illinois DCEO portfolio and an adjacent peer for the gaming regulation segment.
• Illinois Department of Agriculture: Sibling Illinois state agency administering agricultural licensing (meat/poultry, grain, pesticide), state fairs, and animal-health regulation. Operates adjacent to DCEO and serves as the natural counterpart for the agricultural programs in the DCEO portfolio, including the international marketing offices in Hong Kong and Mexico City.

Direct peers

• Ohio Department of Development: Ohio's state-level economic development agency, leading business attraction, workforce, and community-development programs; a close structural peer to the Illinois Department of Commerce.
• California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz): California's lead state-level economic development agency, comparable as a peer state-level commerce and economic opportunity department administering workforce, business, and trade-promotion programs with a headquarters in Sacramento.
• Texas Governor's Office of Economic Development: Texas's state-level economic development office, with comparable scope in business recruitment, workforce, and trade promotion for a large state economy.
• Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED): Pennsylvania's state economic-development department, administering workforce investment, business assistance, and community/economic programs — directly comparable in mandate and structure to Illinois DCEO.
• Indiana Department of Commerce (Indiana Economic Development Corporation): Indiana's state economic development arm — handles business recruitment, workforce development, and trade promotion; adjacent Midwestern peer with a similar scope to Illinois DCEO.
• New York State Department of Economic Development (Empire State Development): New York's primary state economic development authority — runs workforce, business-attraction, and international trade programs; functionally comparable in mandate to Illinois DCEO.

Emerging players

• Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC): Public-private partnership that delivers economic development, business attraction, and workforce programs for Michigan — comparable in scope and structure though built on a quasi-public PPP model rather than a pure state agency.

Others

• Workforce Investment Boards / American Job Centers network: Federally funded local workforce development infrastructure that complements the Illinois DCEO job-kiosk program by providing job-seeker services and employer connections; the broader ecosystem in which the DCEO's community job kiosks operate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IllinoisDCEO
• Facebookfacebook.com/illinoisdceo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3361941

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Illinois Department of Commerce