PEORIA, Ill. – The leader of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council sees potential for even closer business relationships between Illinois and Mexico, as President Trump imposes tariffs on many U.S. trading partners.
Chris Setti recently returned from a trade mission to Mexico led by Gov. JB Pritzker. Setti says it was his job on the trip to promote Greater Peoria.
“So, when I get an audience with business leaders from other countries that don’t have a presence in Central Illinois, I want to tell them how great it is here. And, that was my goal of going, was to help showcase my community, my region and our state, who are in a position to make a decision where their next factory might go,” Setti says.
Greater Peoria Economic Development Council’s Chris Setti. (25 News)While in Mexico, Setti says the Illinois delegation of 70 individuals got to meet many Mexican leaders in business, agriculture, and government to learn about business opportunities and challenges there could be in working together.
Setti says people work with people they know.
“If you’re a foreign national, and you think about the United States, and you think about Illinois, you’ll often think of Chicago, right? Because you might not have ever heard of a ‘Peoria’, but now you get a chance to meet with a guy from Peoria, then now you know another town, another city in our state. And, that was one of our goals..to raise awareness that there are places like Peoria that are good for doing business,” Setti says.
During the trade mission, Gov. Pritzker signed a cooperation agreement with Mexico state Gov. Delfina Gómez Álvarez that emphasizes the strong ties between Illinois and Mexico and encourages cooperation on key industries like manufacturing, agriculture and finance.
Illinois has had a long relationship with Mexico, dating back to when Gov. Jim Thompson signed the first bilateral agreement between Illinois and Mexico in 1990, which was reaffirmed by Gov. Pat Quinn in 2013.
Mexico was Illinois’ second-largest export market in 2024 with $32 billion worth of goods being sent there. Another $19 billion worth of Mexican goods were shipped into Illinois in 2024, making the country Illinois’ third-largest import market.
On Monday, Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi sent an email to potential GOP donors criticizing the governor’s trade mission to Mexico.
“Pritzker left Illinois—where crime is rising, taxes are crushing families, and illegal immigrants are flooding into our cities—and stood in another country to attack America’s Commander-in-Chief. And if that weren’t bad enough? He did it while Mexico continues to refuse to help stop the massive illegal immigration pouring across our southern border,” Salvi says.
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