Several steps have been taken in producing district or area-wide organizations for bringing economic development to the North Central District. One of the first steps was the creation of the North Central Illinois Council of Governments in 1979. This regional council, located in Princeton in Bureau County, provides planning and grant administration services to the primary counties of Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall, Putnam, Stark, and Grundy, along with member communities within those counties. 

The Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development in LaSalle has been assisting district counties and communities since 1911. The Illinois River Area Chamber of Commerce combines the efforts of Seneca and Marseilles in LaSalle County and has been in Operation since 1969. Many communities have their own local Chambers of Commerce to assist local businesses and residents. Some major local chambers that have contributed to this plan include the Princeton, Ottawa, and Streator Chambers of Commerce. 

The Main Street Illinois Program is currently providing their downtown revitalization program services to the city of Princeton and Mendota. Ottawa was previously a Main Street city. Other district-wide improvements have been in the form of Community Development Application Program (CDAP) grants for the improvement of infrastructure and facilities, tax-increment financing (TIF) districts (Table 2), and community-based revolving loan funds (Table 3). 

This enterprise zones brings state and local incentives to growing businesses and industries within the district. An enterprise zone called the Illinois Valley Area Economic Development zone brings the same incentives to Peru and LaSalle. All of the Enterprise Zones are identified in Table 1A. Four of the five counties in the North Central District are Community Development Corporations (CDCs), which assists with economic development issues within the counties. Stark County is not currently a part of the CDC effort, which is controlled by the Upper Illinois River Valley Development Authority.

The Illinois River Road recently received its designation as a scenic byway. This byway covers 291 miles on both sides of the Illinois River from Ottawa to Havana. This designation and the funding made available as a result of the designation will bring much attention to the Region for tourism possibilities.

The Economic District Designation received for the North Central Illinois Region in in February 2005. A Planning Grant was received from EDA for the implementation of the District in October 2006. The Region Developed is first CEDS document in 1998 and had been working together for economic development since then.

The District is covered by 2 Workforce Investment Board regions; they are the Central Illinois Workforce Investment Board and North Central Illinois (NCI) Works. It is very important to collaborate when possible with these two organizations. Not having a sufficient well-prepared workforce will hinder economic development in the District. NCI works is in the process of updating their 2003 State of the Workforce Report. A preliminary report is already completed and the final should be done in the near future. NCI works has started a logistics council in the District to respond to the increasing number of distribution centers.

Bureau County Efforts

LaSalle County Efforts

Marshall County Efforts

Putnam County Efforts

Stark County Efforts