Illinois Office of Trade and Investment Sister Cities in Illinois

1. Illinois Office of Trade and Investment Sister Cities in Illinois Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Jack Lavin Director Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Rod R. Blagojevich Rajinder BediGovernor Managing Director Office of Trade and Investment

2. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentSister Cities International • Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that seeks to strengthen relationships between communities in the U.S. and abroad through the promotion of sister city relationships. • These relationships provide the foundation for cooperation between communities through cultural, educational, municipal, business, professional, and technical exchanges and projects.

3. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentSister Cities International • Sister Cities International was initiated in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower with the aim of fostering understanding and tolerance between American citizens and citizens of other countries. • Today, 694 U.S. communities have sister city agreements with 1,455 communities in 128 countries worldwide. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories maintain sister city relationships. • Among communities abroad, Japan has the most sister city programs with 228 communities and 239 partnerships. Sources: DCEO website and www.sister-cities.org

4. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentSister Relationships The Illinois Office of Trade and Investment promotes three types of sister relationships, each of which has a positive economic impact on Illinois: • Sister Cities • Sister Chambers of Commerce • Sister Universities / Universities Active Abroad

5. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentSister Cities in Illinois • The sister cities program is a vehicle for promoting international trade, economic development, and exchanges of culture, education, medicine, environment, technology & social service. • 61 Illinois communities are engaged in sister city relationships with 108 communities in 39 countries worldwide. Chicago alone has relationships with 27 cities, including Amman, Jordan; Athens, Greece; Mexico City, Mexico; Moscow, Russia; Osaka, Japan; and Paris, France. • The Chicago Sister Cities International Program was honored with the ‘Best Overall Program’ award for cities with populations greater than 500,000 in July 2007. 126 events attracted more than 112,000 people in 2006.

6. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentSister Cities in Illinois: Past Events • Prague Days in Chicago: Spanning the month of June 2007, the event was the largest celebration of Czech culture in the U.S., highlighting Czech film, fine arts, history, business, and tourism. Guests included the Czech ambassador to the U.S. and the mayor of Prague. Business workshops on growth opportunities in the Czech Republic and the importance of the international non-profit sector demonstrated the positive economic impact sister city relationships can have. • Chinese Delegation to Rockford: A delegation from the Chinese city of Changzhou visited Rockford in 1999 to sign a sister cities agreement, tour local machine shops, and explore trade opportunities for both cities. Their business relationship has remained close, with delegations from Rockford reciprocating and exploring trade opportunities in Changzhou.

7. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentSister Chambers of Commerce in Illinois • Sister chambers of commerce encourage business relationships and economic growth on a wider, more regional basis than sister city agreements, and tend to focus more on business issues. • Illinois chambers of commerce with sister chambers abroad include: • The Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce and the Coventry-Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom • The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Australian New Zealand American Chamber of Commerce • The Greater Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the United Kingdom

8. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentForeign Students in Illinois • Many Illinois universities are active abroad – administering degree and study abroad programs, running branch campuses, and coordinating research with foreign institutions. The relationships Illinois universities maintain with their overseas counterparts can help bring foreign students to study in Illinois, where they have a significant impact: • Illinois ranked 6th in the U.S. with nearly 25,000 foreign university students. • Foreign students spent an estimated $617 million in Illinois in the 2002/2003 academic year.

9. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentIllinois Sister Cities • Addison: • Belleville: • Belvidere: • Bridgeview: • Bloomington/Normal: • Carbondale: • Carol Stream: • Champaign/Urbana: • Charleston: • Chicago: Triggiano, Italy Brovary, Ukraine; Paderborn, Germany Schwieberdingen, Germany; Vaux-le-Penil, France Szcyntno, Poland Asahikawa, Japan; Canterbury, United Kingdom; Vladimir, Russia Nakajo-Niigata, Japan; Simla, India Capri, Italy Tartu, Estonia Fengshou, Taiwan Accra, Ghana; Amman, Jordan; Athens, Greece; Belgrade, Serbia; Birmingham, United Kingdom; Busan, South Korea; Casablanca, Morocco; Delhi, India; Durban, South Africa; Galway, Ireland; Gothenburg, Sweden; Hamburg, Germany; Kiev, Ukraine; Lahore, Pakistan; Lucerne, Switzerland; Mexico City, Mexico; Milan, Italy; Moscow, Russia; Osaka, Japan; Paris, France; Petach-Tikva, Israel; Prague, Czech Republic; Shanghai, China; Shenyang, China; Toronto, Canada; Vilnius, Lithuania; Warsaw, Poland • Chicago Heights: • Columbia: • Crystal Lake: • Decatur: • Deerfield: • De Kalb: • Des Plaines: • Dixon: • Elgin: • Elk Grove: • Elmwood Park: • Evanston: • Fox River Grove: • Frankfort: • Galva Cedral, Mexico; San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy; Wadowice, Poland Gedern, Germany Holzerlingen, Germany Seevetal, Germany; Tokorozawa, Japan Ludinghausen, Germany Tamworth, Australia Cremona, Italy; Nailuva, Fiji Islands Dickson, Russia; Herzberg, Germany; Uganda, Africa Helgorod, Russia Termine Imerse, Italy Frosinone, Italy Belize City, Belize Koksy, Czech Republic Weidhausen, Germany Galva, Sweden

10. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentIllinois Sister Cities • Glenview • Hanover Park: • Harvey: • Highland: • Highland Park: • Hoffman Estates: • Joliet: • Lake County: • Lake Park H.S.: • Lake Zurich: • Midlothian: • Millstadt: • Mount Prospect: • Naperville: • Niles: • Northbrook: • Oak Park: • Palatine: • Park Ridge: • Peoria: • Quincy: • Rockford: • Roselle: • Schiller Park: • Shelbyville: • Schaumburg: • Springfield: • Tinley Park: • University Park: • Waterloo: Fontenay-le-Comte, France Kinver, United Kingdom Benxi, China; Clonmel, Ireland; Friedrichshafen, Germany Herford, Germany; Jiaxing, China Borgholm, Sweden; Brovary, Ukraine; Cluj-Napoca, Romania;Changzhou, China; Ferentino, Italy Bochnia, Poland Capurso, Italy Ohkuwa, Japan Namericawaka, Japan; Schaumburg, Germany Ashikaga, Japan; San Pedro de los Colonias, Mexico Budingen, Germany Clay-Ashland, Liberia Porta Westfalica, Germany Dounty Down, Northern Ireland Cape Coast, Ghana Dowa District, Malawi Sursee, Switzerland Ferrara, Italy Angouleme, France Liaoyang, China Ferrara Province, Italy Hamburg, Germany Nittenau, Germany Midlothian Region, Scotland Gross-Bieberau, Germany Sevres, France Nitra, Slovakia Leixlip, Ireland; Naphion, Greece; Pisa, Italy Diegum, Belgium Pamplona, Spain

11. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentIllinois Sister Cities • Waukegan: • West Chicago: • Wilmette: • Western Springs: • Wheaton: Rueley, United Kingdom; Wheaton-Aston, United Kingdom Karlskoqa, Sweden Kiyotake-Cho, Japan Taufkirchen, Germany Mona Vale, Australia

12. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentIllinois Sister Cities • The Office of Trade and Investment can offer assistance to communities in Illinois that are interested in pursuing a sister city relationship with international cities. Assistance can include: • Identifying the criteria for selecting a sister city. • Assisting in the process of formalizing a sister city relationship. • Acting as a mentor to facilitate the initial steps of program development. • Offering guidance on established programs.

13. Illinois Office of Trade and InvestmentOTI Contacts and Resources OTI: IwonaBochenska, International Trade Specialist email: iwona.bochenska@illinois.gov Resources: • Sister Cities International: http://www.sister-cities.org • Study Illinois: http://www.studyillinois.org/ • Chicago Sister Cities: http://www.chicagosistercities.com/. Contains several descriptions of past events.