Sen. Tammy Duckworth is wheels up for Japan this weekend on a high-stakes trade and tech swing, looking to lure Japanese quantum and manufacturing firms to Illinois while scoping out modular housing and farm-country deals. Her stops in Tokyo, Osaka and Nara come as Chicago starts building the sprawling Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park on the South Side, where state officials see a mix of new jobs and national security stakes in the global quantum race.
Duckworth will open the trip in Tokyo with a sit-down with Toshiba’s chief technology officer and other industry heavyweights, part of an itinerary her office says includes talks with Japan’s Q‑STAR consortium and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. She has been blunt about what is on the line, warning that "No encryption will be safe if China beats us in the quantum race" and casting the outreach as both economic development and strategic defense, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
IBM Deal And The Quantum Campus
The Japan tour syncs neatly with IBM’s April pledge to open a FutureNow Chicago delivery center at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a project that is slated to bring 750 full-time jobs and plant IBM as an anchor tenant in the park’s Quantum Works building. Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said IBM will help design an apprenticeship program with City Colleges of Chicago and commit to hiring one-third of qualified program graduates, according to Gov. JB Pritzker's office.
Global Forum And Q‑STAR Ties
Chicago is set to host the Global Quantum Forum around July 22, an industry gathering that organizers say will showcase the IQMP as a global hub for quantum research and corporate partnerships. Duckworth’s Japan meetings are timed to help lock in Japanese participation ahead of the forum. The IQMP has promoted the event, and Japan’s Q‑STAR consortium describes itself as a vehicle for international collaboration in quantum technology, according to IQMP and Q-STAR.
Housing And Farm Trade On The Agenda
Duckworth’s schedule also includes a visit to Komazawa Housing Exhibition Park to study modular housing manufacturing and a meeting with leaders from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to talk investments in sustainable aviation fuel and trade channels that could benefit Illinois soy, corn and ethanol producers, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The modular housing stop is aimed at learning how Japanese production models might help drive down prefab costs back home.
Chicago Stands To Gain, If Locals See The Payoff
The trip could help speed along deals that are already in motion. Earlier this year, DMG MORI announced plans to open an advanced manufacturing and R&D facility in Chicago that is expected to create dozens of jobs, and state and city officials are pitching the IQMP as a gateway to high-paying tech careers on the South Side. Local and industry coverage has highlighted the DMG MORI expansion and the broader public‑private push to match training programs with real jobs, per Connect CRE.
For Chicago, the risk-reward is straightforward. Tokyo boardrooms could eventually translate into signed contracts and hiring sprees if companies follow through, but community groups and workforce advocates are likely to scrutinize whether those apprenticeships and hiring targets actually land in the neighborhoods that were promised. Duckworth’s Japan trip is a reminder that building a quantum cluster is as much a test of geopolitics and trade diplomacy as it is of lab space and construction cranes.
