Looking to build and grow your business in Morton?
We’re here to help!

Office Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Wednesday & Friday: 9:00am – 1:00pm

Program Overview:
The Morton Mentor Program matches Morton CUSD 709 High School students with
business leaders willing to share professional knowledge, skills, contacts, and
resources. Through these matches, mentors share their experience, guidance, and
encouragement for students to develop their career pathway.

Morton High School Students 2023 – 2024 School Year Application:
Student 2023 – 2024 registration form here

Returning Mentor RSVP:
2023-2024 School Year – Mentor RSVP

Recruitment of NEW Mentors application: Click Here

SmartStart Morton is an initiative of the Morton Economic Development Council.

Our goal is to match small businesses, startups, and innovators to the resources they need to succeed.

SmartStart Morton is enhanced by the Morton Chamber of Commerce with local member businesses ready to support your business needs & growth.

If you own a small business or have a great idea for a business in Morton, we want to connect with you!

AgTech Connect Session Invite!

When: Tuesday May 2, 2023, from 10:00am – Noon
[Doors Open at 9:30am]
Where: USDA Ag Lab, NCAUR Research Facility at 1815 N. University Street, Peoria, IL
RSVP to reserve your seat, coffee and pastries – no cost. 

Session will include updates about advancing the AgTech Ecosystem, opportunities of innovation and research resources at the USDA Ag Lab, various subject matter experts highlighting their AgTech solutions for collaboration and knowledge to share and time to build relationships as you cultivate purposeful collisions with people and resources.

AgTech Mission: Promote Economic Opportunity & Sustainable Growth and Stimulate Innovations

AgTech Vision: A regional collaboration to advance the AgTech Ecosystem with Shaping the Future of Agriculture to grow economic opportunity, sustainable growth and stimulate innovationsWe look forward to cultivating this key industry for our region, to bridge the connections and fuel the ecosystem to explore solutions and collaborative innovation.

AgTech Sessions: During quarterly AgTech Connect Sessions that generate “purposeful collisions” creating greater yields for people, products, innovation and crop production. 
Connect to plan today for your yields of tomorrow!

AgTech Connect Sessions Investor Support

Earlybird
Thank You for Morton buildings for hosting our 2023 EDC Symposium!

Congratulations Mark and Kim Johnson
2023 Venture Award Recipients!

New Funding Opportunities Available

Tourism Attractions & Festivals Grant Program

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced $15 million in funding to support tourism sector across Illinois, through the second round of the Tourism Attraction and Festivals Grant program offered by the State.

$5 million will be reserved for festivals, which serve as economic drivers while bringing communities together, and $10 million will support a broad range of other tourism-related project such as attractions, museums, live performance venues and more.

The Tourism Attractions and Festivals Grant program is made possible with the support of federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and is part of a broader effort to help reinvigorate tourism in Illinois and to put the industry on a path to economic recovery from COVID-19.

Mission Morton 2026

Mission Morton is a five-year initiative to continue the Morton Economic Development Council’s (EDC) core vision to maintain a strong and sustainable local economy. The focus of the next five years is to assist local businesses, support job growth, expand business opportunities and enhance entrepreneur ecosystem. These initiatives will be coordinated with the Village of Morton along with key organizations within the community, region and beyond as we strengthen the effectiveness of our organization to inform our network and be a resource hub to help Morton advance into the future.

Our Mission

The mission of the Morton Economic Development Council is to help build a strong and sustainable economy for the citizens of Morton by promoting and supporting existing businesses and attracting new businesses to the community. The Morton Economic Development Council strives to help DEVELOP new and existing businesses so that we can GROW Morton’s tax base, workforce and residents and help Morton ADVANCE into the future.  

Resources

FINANCIAL RESOURCES
DATA CENTER
BUILDINGS & SITES

Recent News

Morton by the Numbers

1

people call Morton “home”

1 %

of world’s canned pumpkin is processed here

1500

people travel to Morton every day