Steering committee members have announced that the ninth Tri-State Development Summit will take place October 5 in Quincy, Ill. The mission of the summit is to bring together leaders in Southeast Iowa, Northeast Missouri and Western Illinois to define common issues; to develop an on-going dialogue to effectively address those issues; and to improve the quality of life of the entire tri-state region through economic development activities.
The 2011 Summit will take place in the Quincy Community Theatre in downtown Quincy. The location for the bi-annual Summit rotates among all three states. The Summit consists of a four-hour agenda from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Past speakers have included governors, U.S. Congressmen, federal and state department heads, state senators and representatives and local private-sector business leaders.
Summit Coordinator Shelby Crow and steering committee members are securing speakers for the 2011 event, and will announce these individuals at a later date.
2011 marks the 15th year of bringing tri-state leaders together.
Highway and river infrastructure improvements continue to remain at the top of the Summit priority list, and much progress has been made. The biggest accomplishment of 2010 came with the completion of the Chicago to Kansas City Expressway (CKC). Economic development officials along the CKC, which was given the common designation of Route 110, look forward to tremendous economic benefits for the communities it touches.
Plans are underway for developing a CKC group separate from the Summit Transportation Task Force that will work together to promote the expressway as an efficient, less congested route between these two major Midwestern cities. The four-lane highway provides even greater access to companies requiring dependable transportation methods.
Validation for the role of the Summit recently came in the form of census data that revealed the loss of one seat each in the U.S. House of Representatives for Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. By standing together as one, the Summit’s 35 counties will continue to make political leaders aware of the issues Summit communities and the tri-state region face.
