Bi-State Regional Commission

April 22, 2015 – Denise Bulat, Executive Director, presented the final draft of the Bi-State Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) 2015 Progress Report.  She highlighted items from sections of the document, including the progress on goals, data/demographics, analysis on current economic conditions, and a projects list from the Bi-State Region.

She noted that the CEDS progress reports are produced in interim years with a full plan created every five years, as required to receive federal funds.

Bi-State Region governments and development organizations self-reported 66 economic development related projects completed between July 1, 2014 and April 2015.  Projects in the list included sewer, water, roads, housing, and business expansions that had public assistance of some kind.  The estimated jobs created was 469 with 882 retained jobs and a total of $234 million in investment.

March 25, 2015 – Doug Rick of the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and Rebecca Marruffo of the Illinois DOT provided an update on the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge Corridor Project.  The Interstate 74 Bridge Corridor project involves the replacement of the I-74 Bridge and over six miles of corridor improvements.  It is in need of reconstruction due to crashes, recurring congestion, and significant maintenance.  The bridge itself is functionally obsolete with no shoulders.  The Iowa bound span was built in 1935 and the Illinois bound span in 1959.

April 22, 2015 – Tom Heinhold, Deputy Chief, Operations Division at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) – Rock Island District, spoke on the challenges and opportunities for maintaining and improving the infrastructure on the Mississippi River.  On the 1,200 mile Mississippi River navigation system, there are 37 lock sites predominately built between 1930 and 1945.  Aging and decaying infrastructure coupled with limited federal appropriations presents a number of challenges in maintaining this vital marine highway system.

The Upper Mississippi River (UMR) carries more than 600 million tons of cargo each year.  With the completion of improvements to the Panama Canal in 2016/17, opportunities may be present to increase river navigation and move more products.  Barge transportation is the least expensive mode for bulk commodities and the most green transportation option.  Mr. Heinhold cited the cost savings for industry as $23.74 per ton for traffic moving through the UMR.

March 25, 2015 – The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Progress Report 2015 Draft is now available for public review.  Copies were presented to Commissioners at the March 25 meeting.  Click here to view the document.

January 28, 2015 – Kathleen Repass, Project Manager for the Henry-Rural Rock Island-Mercer County Economic Development Consortium, provided an update on the Rural Jobs Accelerator Grant Initiative (RJAGI), which covers Henry and Mercer Counties and rural portions of Rock Island County.  The three-year grant period began January 2013 and goes through September 2015.  Grant funds provided for 1.75 staff to increase economic development capacity.

February 25, 2015 – Amber Wood, the Executive Director of the American Red Cross serving the Quad Cities & West Central Illinois, reported on their Strategic Community Relationships Campaign.  The objectives are to:

1.    Ensure effective collaboration and efficient delivery of Red Cross emergency services in the Central and Southern Illinois Region during times of disaster by cultivating and nurturing relationships and mutual expectations with the key leaders in all 79 counties

2.    Develop Long Term Recovery Plans in our region that nurture sustainability, service, and growth for the communities

January 28, 2015 – Laura Berkley, Senior Planner, provided a brief update on the status of the 2015 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Progress Report.  The CEDS is updated annually and fully redeveloped every five years.  The strategy must be completed for the region to receive federal funds from the Economic Development Administration (EDA). 

January 14, 2015 – The highest elected official or other administrative staff in your community may have recently received a correspondence from the U.S. Census Bureau related to the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) Program.  This is an important opportunity for your community to ensure that its boundaries are correct in the Census Bureau files.  The Census Bureau uses the boundary information collected in the BAS to tabulate data for the decennial and economic censuses, and annual estimates and surveys such as the Population Estimates Program and the American Community Survey.  More information is available in the handout below.

We are happy to assist in navigating this program.  Please contact Lisa J. Miller, Data/GIS Director, (309) 793-6302, extension 133 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

pdf  census-bas-2015-info-handout.pdf (67.94 kB)

December 17, 2014 – In 2015, Bi-State staff is instituting a member government liaison program.  Our goal is to enhance outreach and understanding of our member needs.  The Bi-State Mission is “to provide a forum for intergovernmental cooperation and serve our members through technical assistance.”

December 17, 2014 – The City of New Boston will be awarded a $400,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  With the grant dollars and an additional $95,800 in matching funds the city will expand the recreational opportunities in the Sturgeon Bay Campground adjacent to the Mississippi River.