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GEORGE H. RYAN
EXPO II: Helping Illinois
Communities Help Themselves

By GEORGE H. RYAN, Lieutenant Governor
Chairman of the Rural Affairs Council

Through my undertakings as Lieutenant Governor and activities with the Rural Affairs Council, I have come to more fully appreciate that Illinois communities have a lot to offer commercial and industrial developers. But unfortunately, many business investors do not know about the vast array of assets that our Prairie State communities can offer businesses. No doubt about it, sometimes getting the word out about the resources an area has to offer is the hardest part.

What can be done to help change that? Part of the solution lies in the Illinois Community EXPO which has been set up. This event has one mission: to help communities market themselves to developers.

I'm pleased to be a part of this cooperative effort, along with the Illinois Ambassadors, the Illinois Rural Affairs Council, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs and the Illinois Congressional Delegation. In fact, some readers may recall that last spring was our very first year to hold an EXPO. So when we all gather this year on June 1 at the O'Hare Exposition Center in Rosemont, it will be the second time that representatives of the public and private sectors have teamed up to provide communities with an opportunity to work more effectively with business developers.

In many respects, the concept is not at all complex: Give corporate decision-makers and local leaders the chance to meet, and the communities will market themselves. EXPO is the meeting place; it provides an avenue by providing booth space for communities, regional economic organizations, and other public and private organizations.

But there's another critical element. Before EXPO, we will be conducting regional seminars. These are going to be held to help communities take full advantage of the trade show. Aimed at orienting communities to the kind of information they needed to provide EXPO attendees, this year there will be five such seminars. They will be held in late March at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale; Western Illinois University in Macomb; University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana; Governors State University in University Park; and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

The seminars will again be very practical and will cover such topics as:

• "How to Make a Trade Show Work for You" — information on everything from how to get involved and successfully work a trade show to post-show follow-up.

• "Focus on Community EXPO" — the specifics of the EXPO program and how it can assist communities meet their economic development goals.

• "Making Corridors Work for Your Community" — a panel discussion involving Corridors of Opportunity administrators and DCCA experts explaining the concept of target industry designations in marketing.

• "How Developers View Your Community" — another panel discussion focusing on the differences between the four major types of development (commercial, retail, industrial, and hospitality) and what characteristics a developer looks for when choosing a site.

The 1989 EXPO was the first program of its kind in the country. We learned a lot from EXPO I — what worked and what didn't — and as a result have made some changes in this year's EXPO.

Consider, for example, that the EXPO Trade Show this year is one day, June 1, instead of two. Taking place simultaneously, however, is a meeting of the Illinois Corridors of Opportunity Council and a number of commercial and industrial real estate consulting associations, drawing an even larger audience of business people to EXPO II.

I have every confidence that EXPO II holds potential for communities and businesses of all sizes throughout the state. But for smaller communities — which often tend to be less familiar with how to tap into the resources needed to encourage economic development — it holds particular interest and promise. Won't you join us at EXPO II? •

April 1990 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 7


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