The Southland Development Authority (SDA) is a non-profit business organization designed to recover and grow the economy of the Southland. Launched in 2019 by business, civic and political leaders across the Southland, the SDA brings the resources and capacity necessary to achieve transformative and inclusive economic growth for our region. 

The Southland is home to nearly 700,000 people, over 42,000 businesses and produces over $51B in economic output. It is also an area that has experienced severe disinvestment and declines in jobs and household incomes in the last several decades and that is being hit disproportionally hard by the pandemic. In response, the SDA, with its Small Business Development Center (Illinois SBDC @SSEGI), launched the Equitable Recovery Stimulus Program (“Stimulus Program”) – including two components, found here: SDA Stimulus Program Overview 9.29.20.pdf