East St. Louis Opportunity Fair a Success

Opportunity Returns Opening Doors to Small Business

East St. Louis —Hundreds of small business owners participated in the fifth State of Illinois Opportunity Fair held in East St. Louis , Tuesday, January 13, 2004 . Due to the success of the Opportunity Fairs Governor Blagojevich is directing the Illinois Department of Transportation to continue its efforts in reaching out to small businesses.

“We are pleased with the interest shown in East St. Louis by individuals and businesses that want to work with the state,” IDOT Secretary, Timothy W. Martin said. “We look forward to continuing the Governor's vision of demystifying the process of dealing with bureaucracy and moving our economy forward.”

In East St. Louis , almost 200 potential new vendors attended the Opportunity Fair, building upon the success of the previous four events that drew hundreds more in Peoria , the Quad Cities , Rockford and Chicago . The Opportunity Fairs are part of Governor Blagojevich's economic development plan for Illinois , “Opportunity Returns.”

The Opportunity Fairs offer new and existing companies a chance to get information on how to do business with state agencies. Exhibits and workshops are hosted by IDOT, as well as other state agencies including; Central Management Services (CMS), Capital Development Board, the Department of Revenue and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.