Editing Hennepin, Illinois (section)

==Industry==
Hennepin's location on the [[Illinois River]], along with its proximity to a [[Class I rail carrier|Class I railroad]] ([[Norfolk Southern Railway]]), and multiple inter and intrastate highway routes ([[Interstate 80 in Illinois|Interstate 80]], [[Interstate 39]], [[Illinois Route 6|Illinois Route 180]], [[Illinois Route 81|Illinois Route 89]], [[Illinois Route 71]], [[Illinois Route 26]], and [[Illinois Route 6]]) has, historically, made it a transportation hub attracting a variety of both small businesses and large industries.

J&L Steel, a cold roll steel mill built by [[Jones and Laughlin Steel Company]] on Hennepin's northern boundary, began operations in 1967 and employed 600 workers at height of production. The mill was later acquired by [[Ling-Temco-Vought]], at which time it became known as LTV Steel.  [[Ling-Temco-Vought|Ling-Temco-Vought's]] bankruptcy led to acquisition of the mill by [[International Steel Group]] (ISG). As a result of additional acquisitions followed by a merger, [[Putnam County, Illinois|Putnam County's]] largest employer was absorbed by [[ArcelorMittal]]. Long and arduous union lobbying and protests ultimately proved futile and [[ArcelorMittal]] ceased production at the mill in March 2009. The mill's equipment was dismantled, sold, or shipped and on June 22, 2017, the vast plant was imploded. As of 2020, the 800 acres once occupied by the steel mill remain mostly vacant, though infrastructure has been retained in anticipation that another industry might one day purchase and redevelop the property.

Hennepin Power Station, a coal-fired power plant near [[Donnelley/Depue State Park|Donnelley Wildlife Area]] on the western edge of town, was retired November 1, 2019.

There are also [[Cargill]], [[Archer Daniels Midland|ADM]], and CGB elevators throughout the area.

Marquis Energy opened a 100 million gallon/year ICM/Fagen [[ethanol]] plant just north of town in April 2008.