Kirchhoff Recognized as Fellow Member of International Economic Development Corporation

Fewer than 160 people worldwide hold the designation “Fellow Member” from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Mike Kirchhoff, President & CEO of the North Central Illinois Economic Development Corporation – and Effingham native – just became one of them.

“I am honored, humbled, and thrilled to be recognized as a Fellow Member (FM) of the International Economic Development Council. What a nice way to celebrate my 31st year in the economic development profession and the 20th anniversary of attaining the Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) designation,” Kirchhoff said.

According to IEDC, the elite status is conferred on members who have “attained unusual stature in the field of economic development.” In the course of his more than 30 years of economic development experience, Kirchhoff led the successful response for more than 120 site location projects representing nearly $2 billion in corporate investment and the creation or retention of more than 15,000 jobs. Having worked in metro, rural, utility and state government settings in four states, his background includes substantial experience in business retention and expansion, marketing, industrial attraction, downtown redevelopment, tourism, and entrepreneurship.

At the North Central Illinois Economic Development Corporation (NCIEDC), Kirchhoff is solely focused on creating shared prosperity and economic opportunity in LaSalle, Bureau, and Putnam Counties by aggressively marketing the region’s locational advantages for business investment. Founded in 2016, NCIEDC is supported by hundreds of investors in both the private and public sectors who collectively recognize that the regional approach is the best strategy for attracting quality jobs, additional business investment, and new tax revenue for the benefit of the three counties’ more than 150,000 residents. During his time as an economic development consultant, Kirchhoff advised state, regional, metro, and rural organizations in multiple states on a wide array of projects such as industrial base analysis, real estate development and reuse, economic development streamlining, target sector identification and analysis, and other topics. He also authored multiple publications, articles and guides for economic development, including the business retention manual for the International Economic Development Council and articles for Economic Development Review, the Economic Development Journal, and other publications and has been a frequent speaker at conferences, workshops, and professional education programs.

Kirchhoff’s background includes leadership positions in several states’ economic development associations and local downtown redevelopment, regional marketing, tourism, chambers of commerce, and industrial development groups. At the national/international level, Kirchhoff completed three terms as a board member of the International Economic Development Council, twice serving as chair of the board’s Performance Oversight and Monitoring Committee and as a member of the Governance Committee, having also served as a member of the IEDC Education and Certification Committee for more than 20 years.

Kirchhoff is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), holds degrees in economics and business management from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL, where he was a triple major, and is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. He also holds a Chancellor’s Certificate from the University of Missouri St. Louis. He and his wife Lynn reside in Ottawa, IL and are parents of two daughters: Amy, a medical researcher in Kansas City; and Cari, a senior pre-law student at the University of Denver.

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization serving economic developers. With more than 5,000 members, IEDC is the largest organization of its kind. Economic developers promote economic well-being and quality of life for their communities by creating, retaining, and expanding jobs that facilitate growth, enhance wealth, and provide a stable tax base.