This Saturday, October 4^th, residents are encouraged to “Shop Illinois” by devoting a portion of their budget to purchasing local Illinois-made products. Shoppers are asked to take the “Buy Illinois” challenge, which calls Illinois residents to devote $10 of their weekly budget to purchasing Illinois-made products.

Participating Illinois businesses will be listed on a new website, www.buyillinoischallenge.com. Consumers who “Shop Illinois Saturday” at any of these participating locations will qualify to receive special discounts. The program seeks to boost the Illinois economy, while raising awareness and supporting local businesses throughout the state.

If every Illinois household dedicated just $10 of their existing, weekly budget towards the purchase of Illinois food products, the Dept. of Ag concluded more than $47 million would be generated for the Illinois economic in just one month—that’s $2.4 billion a year that would be re-invested in the Illinois economy that would benefit both rural and urban communities.

The idea came from Illinois Main Street and the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) as an extension of their current Illinois Products Program. Buy Illinois extends the program by partnering with six Illinois Main Street Communities – Springfield, Carbondale, Alton, Genoa, Pontiac and Canton.

This promotion is unique in that it allows locally owned businesses of all types to participate, not just agribusiness and Illinois food companies.