Illinois Hosts Midwest Governors' Conference; Designed to Forge Rural Development Policy

By GEORGE H. RYAN, Lieutenant Governor

As Chairman of the Rural Affairs Council (RAC), I was pleased to join Governor Thompson earlier this fall in Galena at the Midwestern Governors' Conference to tackle an issue of great importance to this region of the nation: how to effect a rural renaissance.

Those of us from the "breadbasket states" — Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska, Kentucky, Indiana, the Dakotas, and Wisconsin — wanted to develop a consensus on needed federal initiatives to address the plight of rural America. Of course, we recognized too the importance of strengthening overall the cooperation among the sister states of the midwest. After all, each of the foregoing states has been dealt a blow through the major declines and shifts within the agricultural, mining, timber, energy, and manufacturing sectors of the national economy.

The efforts of the Rural Affairs Council have crystallized for me some of the needs that must be met in order to revive our sluggish rural sector. For example, there must be accessible employment in rural areas. Opportunities must exist to provide a bright future for the rural youth of today. And state government must offer a repertory of tools to manage the social, cultural, and economic changes affecting rural residents, businesses, and public institutions.

Part of the reason that we in Illinois hosted this annual assemblage of Midwestern Governors is that through the Rural Affairs Council, we have been actively developing a foundation to promote a rural renaissance within our own borders. Consider some of the legislative successes the RAC chalked up in the past General Assembly:

• Senate Joint Resolution Number 40 adopted the four goals stated in the Report of the Task Force on the Future of Rural Illinois, to be used to guide the actions of state government. Those goals state that the rural emphasis in state government must be maintained; the economy of rural Illinois must be strengthened; the capacity and viability of local governments must be increased; and education and human services in rural areas must be improved.

• A new Rural Diversification Development Act will provide funding to rural business to bolster the economy.

• The Center For Value-added Agriculture at the University of Illinois will work to develop alternative uses for traditional Illinois ag commodities.

• The Agricultural Research and Development Consortium, a governmental and private sector coalition, will move new technology to the marketplace to create economic activity and employment opportunities.

• The Bed and Breakfast Act will not only buoy up our tourism resources, but also promote reasonable standards for the operation of home based Bed and Breakfast services.

What implications do these Illinois achievements hold for the Midwest Governors Conference? In large measure, the very essence of our Prairie State rural efforts are echoed in the policy statement on rural development adopted at the Conference. Specifically, the chief executives at that gathering asserted that:

"The 1987 Midwestern Governors' Conference urges

November 1987 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 15

the President and the Congress of the United States to develop and implement a national strategy for the revitalization of rural America; and "That this national strategy for rural development be built upon the following principles:

1. State and federal officials should work in partnership to identify and act upon the needs of rural America; 2. State governments should be given primary responsibility, authority and resources for the planning, coordination, and management of federal programs benefiting rural areas; 3. Federal assistance should be targeted to rural regions experiencing long-term economic distress and dislocation; and 4. Target federal assistance should focus on the infrastructure, transitional services and economic diversification needs of distressed rural America. "The members of the 1987 Midwestern Governors' Conference pledge to establish a constructive dialogue with the Administration and their respective State Congressional members on the needs of rural America;

"The member Governors will work together to identify specific opportunities and actions which can be taken by state and federal officials to assist rural regions;

"Where appropriate the member Governors will direct their respective State offices in Washington, D.C. or their state-federal liaisons, to work together in identifying opportunities for new or expanded rural development initiatives."

Notice that this policy declaration contains a core concept: that there is the need for a federal-state partnership, reflecting a two-way communication within which the federal government will create initiatives (tools) which can be used by the states to assist their rural citizens.

Here in Illinois, I look forward to working with the Rural Affairs Council — as with its predecessor, the Task Force on the Future of Rural Illinois — in furthering the rural policy statement of the Midwest Governor's Conference. In addition, of course, the RAC will continue to aggressively seek and implement other avenues to bring about a "rural renaissance", working toward a more promising future for small-town and rural Illinois. •

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