Economic benefits

The LaSalle County Mining Coalition and the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers commissioned a study of the economic impact of the LaSalle County mining industry by the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies. The study found that mining employment is a large contribution to the economy of LaSalle County with 83% of the employees living in LaSalle County. LaSalle County Mining companies were responsible for generating $61.8 million in employee compensation. For every 10 LaSalle County mining industry jobs, 14 jobs are created or supported in LaSalle County. The mining industry directly generates approximately $1.1 billion of product sales, and another $193.1 million in indirect and induced economic activity. The LaSalle County mining companies paid an estimated $42.1 million in Federal Taxes and another $35.3 million in state and local taxes in 2013. The complete report can be found by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.

The economic activity of an industry is linked with other industries in the general economy. Sales, employment and payroll figures only illustrate a portion of the importance of an industry or individual facility to the local economy. Indirect effects in the regional economy result from businesses-to-business purchases of goods and services such as machinery and equipment, fuel, electricity, office supplies, and accounting and other services. Induced effects result from the Company’s employees spending a portion of their income in the local economy for food, housing, furniture and appliances, transportation and entertainment (see figure to the right).

Economic multipliers help predict the “ripple effects” of new and expanding, as well as declining, industry. A new or expanding company can have economic impacts beyond the jobs and income generated by the company itself. A multiplier is a single number which summarizes the total economic benefits resulting from a change in the local economy. For the publication Economic impact analysis: The LaSalle County Mining Industry, the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University calculated four multipliers: employment, output, value-added and employee compensation.