Kencor Ethnic Foods, a Wisconsin-based fish processing plant, is likely to move to Beardstown, IL this summer. A preliminary Beardstown city council straw vote showed that the city would be in favor of the move. An official city proposal will be made to Kencor, and the council will vote officially at its next session on February 17. The company was set to move to Havana, IL but had to change plans when a funding program from Illinois Ventures for Community Action (IVCA) was suspended and Havana location challenges arose. The company had plans to move from their current location to the new facility by summer of this year. The Beardstown location will likely be a former glove manufacturing plant located in a TIF district. The move will create 50 new jobs over the next two years. According to Mayor Steve Patterson, “securing the Kencor plant would be an excellent opportunity for the community.”

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