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"When I was sworn in as governor,
Illinois was in the midst of its worst economic downturn since the
Great Depression," Blagojevich said. "Every community and most
working people were suddenly faced with the uncertainty of what
tomorrow might bring."
"It's now time we try to do something
and not just wait for the economy to turn around or for Washington
to act. We need to stop taking a one-size-fits-all approach to the
economy and start doing things that are targeted specifically to
help communities throughout southern Illinois. The plan I'm
announcing today is designed so it will be effective and deliver
real results that local businesses need. It is meant to make a
difference," Blagojevich continued.
The governor's Opportunity Returns plan
for southern Illinois consists of six primary goals to address the
economic and work force development needs of the region: modernize
and expand local business, improve local infrastructure, strengthen
education and job training, support the coal industry and the use of
renewable fuel, promote regional tourism, and assist entrepreneurs
and small business.
The Southern Illinois region includes
Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson,
Jefferson, Johnson, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union,
Wabash, Wayne, White and Williamson counties. The region contains
nearly 400,000 residents, about 3 percent of the state's population,
but accounts for 13 percent of the land area in Illinois, including
the Shawnee National Forest.
Unemployment in the region has
historically been very high, but despite that, the region has a
diverse economic base and a diverse work force. Health care,
education, retail and manufacturing are the largest areas of
employment, and small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) account
for 98 percent of the local businesses.
The governor announced several major
initiatives to counter job loss and spur economic development in the
region:
--Widening Illinois Route 13 from four to
six lanes between Marion and Carterville to help relieve traffic
congestion and aid in the growth of local business. It is a $51
million project.
--Building the case for FutureGen -- the
10-year, $1 billion project to create the world's first coal-based,
zero-emissions power plant -- including amending state laws to
create financial incentives to attract the project.
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--Providing $2.1 million for a
feasibility study on expanding facilities at SIUC and creating the
Transportation Education Center at Southern Illinois Airport. The
new center will combine all the automotive technology and
aviation-related academic programs into one advanced facility.
--Creating a Tourism and Hospitality
Training Program with a consortium of community colleges including
SIUC, Rend Lake College, Shawnee Community College, Illinois Eastern
Community Colleges, South Eastern Community College and John A.
Logan College. The consortium will develop and operate a set of
comprehensive, nationally recognized tourism and hospitality
education programs to spur the growth of tourism in southern
Illinois.
--Developing the new SIUC
Entrepreneurship Center, which will serve as an umbrella
organization to coordinate all available small-business services and
programs and provide targeted, accelerated services to companies
with high growth potential.
--Building the Metropolis Regional
Educational Center at Shawnee Community College.
--Supporting value-added agriculture --
key to ensuring that southern Illinois farmers prosper for
generations. Gov. Blagojevich will award AgriFIRST grants to
agribusiness ventures in the region to assist in their efforts to
grown and expand.
--Establishing the Coal Competitiveness
Grant Program -- intended to keep Illinois coal companies investing
in their mines to retain good-paying jobs.
--Improving Davidson Drive, Wells Bypass
and Potomac Boulevard in Mount Vernon.
--Targeting state grant and loan funds to
various communities in the region that need water and sewer systems
upgrades.
"Opportunity
Returns is the blueprint to spur economic development in southern
Illinois and across the state," said Gov. Blagojevich. "With each
success, in each hard-earned success, we will build a better future
-- one job at a time, one company at a time, one family at a time.
We will work day and night to put people back to work to create
opportunity and economic security, and when we do, we will make the
great dream of building a better life as real and vibrant and alive
as it was meant to be."
[News release from the
governor's office] |
