LCEA carries strong momentum into 2026 during Annual Meeting

The Lake County IN Economic Alliance (LCEA) welcomed local business leaders, community officials, and economic catalysts to Innsbrook Country Club on March 19 for the group’s Annual Meeting. The meeting recapped a successful 2025 economic year and looked forward to even more growth in 2026.

“Last year, Lake County announced $26 billion worth of projects that are underway in some form or fashion, which is fantastic,” LCEA President and CEO Chris Salatas said. “I think we’re going to continue to see some large-scale projects moving forward in Lake County. We’re pretty excited about that.”

Throughout 2025, Lake County welcomed billions in capital investments, including a $35 million expansion to Daifuku Intralogistics America Corporation’s Hobart facility, $70 million in various projects throughout Hammond, and several data center investments in Hobart, Hammond and Lowell totaling $26 billion.

These projects represent a growing trend of businesses looking to join the Lake County community thanks to Lake County’s proximity to Chicago and business-friendly environment.

“Indiana’s got a great tax environment, but our proximity to Chicago is huge,” Salatas said. “Lake County has a nearly 4 million-person labor force within an hour’s driving distance, which is attractive to businesses that need a lot of employees. We have major rail lines, an airport, the ports, major interstates – we’re within about 24 hours of anywhere in the continental United States. We’re basically the middle of America; you can get to anywhere from here.”

In addition to celebrating last year’s successes, LCEA also used the meeting as an opportunity to welcome newly elected members of the board to the organization and members to LCEA. All are looking forward to serving Lake County and the Region as 2026 progresses.

“This is an incredible time for Lake County,” incoming Board Chairman Gary Warfel said. “I’m feeling very optimistic because there’s a lot of opportunity; the sky’s the limit. I don’t think there’s any better time than now to see the prosperity and investments that are coming into the Region.”

LCEA is already providing support to projects from both its members and developers in the community in 2026. These include developments with John Deere, Jewel-Osco, and more. While these are exciting developments, the true strength of Lake County has been the collaborative effort put forth by many throughout the Region.

“None of this happens without partnerships on the local level and the work LCEA is doing to attract people to Lake County and Northwest Indiana,” Spencer Summers, NIPSCO Economic Development Manager, said. “We haven’t always been the focus of attention in the Chicago MSA, so being able to really look at Northwest Indiana and say, ‘Hey, this place has some energy,’ is fantastic.”

Salatas feels that, without that collaboration, LCEA and its members could not have been as successful in 2025 as they were.

“We’re very fortunate to have a lot of yeasayers in Lake County,” he said. “There are a lot of people here who are very invested in Lake County and want to see good things happen. It’s nice to see a lot of people getting behind these projects, whether that’s Dutch Bros Coffee in Crown Point, new hospitals, or warehousing developments. There are a lot of people cheering on these projects.”

LCEA is hoping to continue expanding its presence throughout Lake County by connecting with new businesses and organizations ready to support growth throughout the Region. Parties interested in learning more about LCEA membership should get in touch with the organization via phone call or email. There will also be opportunities to meet LCEA representatives at upcoming events such as the upcoming May luncheon with U.S. Representative Frank Mrvan hosted by LCEA and Crossroads Chamber.

“Anyone who wants to be involved, we’d love to have you, because it really does take a team,” Salatas said. 

To learn more about becoming involved in LCEA, visit lcea.us.