Lincoln City Council
L.E.A.D. introduces Dorsey Hill to Lincoln Aldermen

 

[January 13, 2025] 

At the Monday evening meeting of the Lincoln City Council there was a very light agenda with only the swearing in of one new police patrolman, one new fire fighter, approval of the consent agenda, and a brief presentation by Lincoln Economic Advancement and Development administrator Andrea Runge, with her guest Dorsey Hill.

Hill has earned a fellowship with the Economic Recovery Corps. The ERC is a new “collaborative initiative designed to accelerate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in distressed communities and regions throughout the U.S.. by connecting organizations with the talent and capacity needed to advance new ways of doing economic development that promotes economic resilience and transformative change.” (https://economicrecoverycorps.org/)

In her introduction, Runge said that the fellowship is a joint venture between International Economic Development Council and the United States Economic Development Administration. She said that Hill has been working in the area for the past year, and will continue to work for the next 18 months. She told the council that Hill is in the region on a shared program between L.E.A.D. and the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. Hill is serving in the five counties represented by the GPEDC. Later in the commentary Runge told the council that there are a total of 65 fellows assigned throughout the United States, and Hill is the only fellow assigned in Illinois.

When Hill spoke, she said that she has been working with Runge to establish new retention programs within the community.

She spoke specifically about participating in the L.E.A.D. initiatives that encourage supporting local businesses, and seeing local businesses supporting one another.

One project Hill and Runge has started is a committee made up of representation from L.E.A.D., the Regional Planning Commission, Community Action of Central Illinois, Heartland Community College, Land of Lincoln Workforce Board, Mayor Tracy Welch and Building and Zoning Officer Wess Woodhall of the City of Lincoln, Dee Howard of Mt. Pulaski, the Downtown Lincoln Business Group, and Hill, serving as the bridge person between the community and the GPEDC.

She said the vision of the committee is to “foster a vibrant, inclusive community by supporting the long-term success of Logan County businesses.”

Hill said the purpose of the introduction Monday night was to make the council more aware, and give each alderman a chance to get to “know our faces.”

She went on to say that on January 16th and  17th, Runge, Hill, and Colleen Roate representing the Downtown Businesses will be doing a walk around the downtown businesses. The intent is to spend just a few minutes at each location talking to owners and managers about their businesses. She said the goal was to just say a brief hello, ask about the business and find out what this new committee and L.E.A.D. can be doing to support those businesses and help them address any challenges.

Hill was asked by Alderwoman Wanda Lee Rohlfs if she was living locally. Hill said she is currently staying in Peoria but over the past year has been in Lincoln on the average of once or twice per week.

Rohlfs asked about how to reach out to Hill and was told that the speaker would be leaving business cards at the end of the talk, but that anyone can also reach out to Runge at L.E.A.D.

Runge stressed that Hill is working with other counties within the GPEDC region as well as Logan. She said that the work being done in Lincoln is going to help solidify the relationship between L.E.A.D. and the GPEDC. She told the council that the work being done in Lincoln and Logan County is going to be the blueprint for developing programs and projects in the other counties.

Runge said the relationship is already growing stronger, and that she is finding there are programs that can benefit this community. She talked about the Spark project that was a GPEDC initiative, and utilized by L.E.A.D.

That event involved introducing area students from throughout the county to the businesses within the community. Businesses were able to talk with students about who they are, what they do, and perhaps inspire area youth to seek them out later as those youth enter the workforce and develop their own careers.

Alderwoman Robin McClallen asked if there were reports or documentation of the special committee meetings that could be shared with the city. Hill said it had not been done, but it certainly could be in the future.

Runge said to date, most of the work of the committee has been to establish vision and mission statements and start working on ‘methodology.”

Mayor Tracy Welch thanked the two for attending the meeting and sharing with the council.

Hill left fliers and contact information for the council members before leaving the speaker's table with Runge.

[Nila Smith]