County leaders discuss alliance to back future freight terminal
By Susan Vela
Staff writer
Posted Jan. 20, 2016 at 6:21 PM
FREEPORT — Seven elected officials from seven counties are drafting an all-for-one and one-for-all resolution to work toward leveling farm fields for a train-to-truck freight terminal near the Chicago Rockford International Airport.
The county board chairmen from Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb and McHenry counties plan to take a resolution to their boards next month to formally state interest in a regional alliance that could strengthen the economy.
But some already have protested a first draft that would have decreed a $2,500 commitment from each county to pay for the consulting services of the Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning. Both Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen and his Stephenson County counterpart Bill Hadley said any relationship with the best of economic intentions shouldn’t have startup fees.
"It’s more important that we get this in place (so) we can speak with one voice,” Christiansen said. “It’s not intended to be any type of cost burden on anyone.”
The board chairmen also have moved away from the term “regional planning commission” to describe the body. What could be the resolution's final draft calls the collaboration a "regional partnership.” Hadley expects the Stephenson County Board could vote on the resolution Feb. 11.
“We wanted to take a fresh approach,” said Hadley. “That’s what we’re trying to do is have a regional partnership. We’re trying to partner up in the region.”
The most recent draft describes sharing technical services and advocating for each other.
Once the seven county boards pass the resolution, board chairmen will spend the following months establishing the collaborative effort’s framework and how exactly they will cooperate for the betterment of all.
Elected officials have tossed around the idea of eventually calling themselves the “Gateway to the West.” They want a brand synonymous with the synergy of jobs and economic development.
Economic leaders are hoping that the alliance will drive construction of the $6 billion to $8 billion Great Lakes Basin railroad, a rail terminal and more economic development projects. The counties' partnership was first conceived last summer because wealthy investors had expressed interest in building a 275-mile railroad loop to bypass Chicago and shuttle goods more quickly between coasts.
But elected officials first have to put that all-for-one and one-for-all spirit on paper. With one strong, committed voice, they foresee more grant money and more federal and state agencies backing their projects.
- “There’s no sense trying to start up something if the boards don’t want to do it,” Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker said. “We want to figure out a way to get connected on the positive side to help the entire region.”
Ogle County already belongs to the Blackhawk Hills Regional Council, which is more than 40 years old. Trying to bring economic prosperity to a largely rural region, it also serves Stephenson, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lee, and Whiteside counties in northwest Illinois.
Blackhawk Hills Executive Director Theresa Wittenauer said Blackhawk Hills' collaboration helped secure a $69 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that provided the installation of more than 900 miles of fiber optics throughout the region in 2011 and 2012.
“If you haven’t been doing that on a multi-county level, it can be a hindrance,” she said. “Everything is so focused on thinking regionally, acting regionally and working across state boundaries.”
Susan Vela: 8215-232-0410; svela@rrstar.com; @susanvela
Above is from: http://www.journalstandard.com/article/20160120/NEWS/160129892/?Start=2
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