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Illinois

Overview

Illinois is located in the Midwest, sharing some of its northeast border with Lake Michigan. Illinois’ capital is Springfield and its largest city is Chicago, which has Chicago O’Hare International Airport, a destination for Qatar Airways for both passengers and cargo. It is only the 25th largest state in land mass but has the sixth population at an estimated 12.67 million people. Illinois’ gross domestic product in 2019 was $885,583,000,000.

In 2019, Illinois imported $630,292 from Qatar. The top three imports into Illinois are: special classification provisions, miscellaneous articles of base metal, inorganic metal, precious and rare earth metal and radioactive compounds. In 2019, Illinois exported $74,498,249 to Qatar with its top exports being: electric machinery, sound/tv equipment, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, pharmaceutical products. Qatar has a number of investments and partnerships in Illinois. Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (ARTIC) has one of its five US hotels in its portfolio located in Chicago: the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago. Also, Northwestern University has a branch campus in Education City in Doha.

Illinois raised its corporate tax rate to 7% from 5.25% for income received after July 1, 2017. The state also has eight free trade zones across the state. These are located in Chicago, Granite City, Peoria, Rock Island, Evansville, and Rockford. The Underground Storage Tank Fund, the 501(c)(3) Lease Program, the Young Farmer Guarantee Program and the State Revolving Fund are just a few of the 36 incentive programs that Illinois has to offer.