Signature of Author: Certified by Accepted by: Deparment of Urban Studies and Planning

This report examines the problems associated with plant closings in Illinois and various attempts to mitigate the negative consequences of disinvestment and economic dislocation. The study first compares nineteenth and twentieth century industrial development in Illinois to illustrate the areas of continuity and change in the development patterns and structure of the economy. This history demonstrates that plant closings, far from being a recent occurrence, have recurred throughout the past century under similar circumstances as today. Plant closings have received increasing public attention in recent years because of their high incidence and concentration in industries and communities that once constituted the foundation for economic strength of entire regions. An investigation of these plant closings leads directly to underlying structural shifts in the Illinois, U.S. and world economies. These shifts are geographical, with U.S. corporate investment shifting away from the Northeast and Midwest toward th