Chicago business leader Seretha McField-Gibbs on Thursday launched a community investment group that aims to boost economic development across the region through community partnerships, with plans to eventually scale the nonprofit nationwide.
The nonprofit, Bear Down Community Investment Group, was founded to expand housing options, construct mixed-use developments, strengthen local businesses and build a skilled workforce across Illinois. The nonprofit is based in Chicago, with an initial focus on Chicago Southland.
The Southland includes five counties in Illinois and Indiana, spanning from O’Hare and Kankakee to Valparaiso, Ind.
McField-Gibbs, who leads the nonprofit, said its role is to serve as a “missing link,” forming and facilitating partnerships that will stimulate economic growth in communities across the region. The nonprofit is backed by a multi-million dollar, self-funded investment, but McField-Gibbs declined to share the amount.
“The conversations I’m having with the municipalities is, “How can we help? What are your initiatives? What are your goals?’” McField-Gibbs said. “A lot of the municipalities don’t have the resources, don’t have the staff, so we’re coming in and partnering with those municipalities, with community stakeholders [and] organizations that are already in existence.”
McField-Gibbs founded business consulting and construction management firm McField & Associates, Inc., in 2014. The Plainfield-based company offers construction project management, regulatory compliance and operational consulting services.
McField-Gibbs said the transition to the nonprofit sector builds upon her work at McField & Associates. McField & Associates is helping fund the nonprofit as it grows, she said.
The nonprofit is partnering with Trista Crudup, founder of the nonprofit Urban Terminal, to launch registered apprenticeship programs that are federally certified. The program will help train new carpenters, plumbers, welders and other skilled-trades professionals as the trades face a growing labor crisis.
Of 205 Midwest contractors surveyed in late 2025 by the Associated General Contractors of America, more than 80% said they’re having a hard time filling open positions. Nearly 20% said their subcontractors on projects had workers who left or failed to appear because of actual or rumored immigration actions.
Bear Down will partner and collaborate with businesses and those in the construction industry to train more tradespeople and put them to work on local projects, Crudup said.
“We will be people builders, right alongside with the buildings that we erect,” Crudup said.
In addition to acquiring and rehabbing commercial, mixed-used buildings, Bear Down will focus on affordable housing acquisition and development.
Illinois Chief Homelessness Officer Christine Haley, left, speaks to Aurie Pennick, an attorney and housing advocate, during a media event at the National Public Housing Museum in Little Italy, where Bear Down Community Investment Group NFP announced a goal to invest in business incubation services, mixed-use projects, and advancing skilled workforce training.
“The commitment of Bear Down to expand housing development across the Southland is especially welcome at a time when we know that official measures of homelessness understate the problem,” said Christine Haley, chief homelessness officer for the Illinois Department of Human Services. “Building more housing is key to stabilizing the relentless growth of the price of life.”
McField-Gibbs said Bear Down has already connected with and plans to partner with many municipalities in Chicago Southland, including Park Forest and Rich Township. She plans to grow the model to a larger scale over time.
“This will go out statewide, so not just the Chicagoland area — we’re talking Peoria, we’re talking East St. Louis,” she said. “We’re talking statewide, and then we’re going nationwide. This blueprint works in any area that suffers from the same issues as the Southland.”
The Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce also said it’s on board and plans to serve as a connector between Bear Down and community organizations.
Calvin Jordan, supervisor of Rich Township, said a nonprofit like Bear Down is what communities like his need for future growth.
“This collaboration adds tremendous value, accelerates and amplifies the township’s economic development [and] workforce training and housing initiatives,” Jordan said. “This is exactly the type of initiative that is thoughtfully designed for communities like ours, here in the Southland.”
