WHAT IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? By DENNIS R. WHETSTONE Director, Illinois Department of Commerce & Community Affairs

The Illinois Department of Commerce & Community Affairs' (DCCA) new mission statement says that DCCA is the "lead state agency responsible for improving the competitiveness of Illinois in the global economy resulting in prosperous, growing industries, rising real incomes and high quality jobs." But the agency's programs and services encompass a wide range of activities - tourism, help for local governments, workforce training programs, assistance to low-income people, technology assistance, site and building location assistance, small business assistance and many more. How do all these programs fit the definition of economic development?

Think like a mayor. As mayor, you are vitally interested in the future of your community. You want it to be a great place for families to live and visit, with prosperous businesses, plentiful jobs, convenient services and a healthy environment.

You're interested in infrastructure because you know that without access to safe and adequate water supplies and waste treatment, safe roads and other foundations, people and businesses will not want to live in and locate in your community. You're interested in workforce development because you want to ensure that businesses in your community have the skilled workers they need to stay competitive in a global marketplace. You also know that the future of your current businesses, as well as your ability to attract more businesses and jobs, depends on a continued supply of skilled workers and adequate infrastructure.

You're interested in maintaining and improving the quality of life for residents in your community. You want to ensure that low-income families have decent, energy efficient homes in which to live and the ability to pay their winter energy bills. You want to provide services to homeless people to help them get back on their feet. And you want to help low-income and disadvantaged people find employment opportunities and learn the skills they need to be productive employees.

You know that if your community is to grow, you need to encourage existing businesses to expand and attract new businesses and jobs. That's not just large factories - it's also encouraging entrepreneurs to start new businesses, like the corner cafe, the dry cleaning shop and others that provide the services your citizens need.

You have a nice community. You want others to enjoy it. You're interested in promoting your community and its resources to tourists who will spend their dollars in your hotels and motels, restaurants and shops while enjoying the sights.

If all of these things are beginning to sound familiar, it's because they are all addressed by the programs DCCA administers. The Bureau of Community Development, for example, helps smaller Illinois communities address their infrastructure and housing needs through the Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP). Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs and the Industrial Training Program (ITP) help train people in the skills they need to be productive employees. Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) programs provide loans to help start businesses that provide jobs to disadvantaged workers, as well as many services to help low-income people break out of poverty. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps low-income families pay a portion of their winter energy bills, while the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP) helps low-income families make their dwellings more energy-efficient.

DCCA's Business Development Bureau provides

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site selection and technical assistance to help attract new businesses to Illinois, as well as services to help existing businesses grow, such as export assistance. Through the First-Stop Business Information Center and the Illinois Small Business Development Center Network, DCCA helps entrepreneurs and small business owners find answers to their questions, locate business capital, start new businesses and expand existing ones.

The Bureau of Tourism promotes Illinois and provides assistance to help local communities and regions market themselves in this fast-growing industry, and also promotes Illinois as a site for film and television production. Coal Development and Marketing programs work to find and market new, environmentally-safe methods of using Illinois' greatest resource. The Bureau of Energy and Recycling promotes sustainable economic development by encouraging alternative energy resource development such as ethanol; improving energy efficiency in residences, buildings and factories which also helps reduce costs; and by supporting recycling and waste reduction programs, including the expansion of markets for recycled materials. These programs facilitate the efficient use of natural resources while helping to minimize negative impacts on the environment

What is economic development? A mayor knows. He or she knows that a community that looks to the future and addresses its needs will be a competitive community that attracts and keeps prosperous, growing industries. Those industries will provide high quality jobs that pay the kind of rising real incomes that can fund the parks, schools, infrastructure and other public services that make others want to visit and make the community their home. With the right help, a mayor can close the circle into a continuous cycle of development.

DCCA was created in 1979 to be Illinois' lead economic development agency. The various community, workforce and business development programs were merged under the DCCA umbrella for a reason - because they all are essential components of our state's ability to improve its competitiveness in a global economy. Today, more than ever, DCCA must recognize its unique ability to be the state's "one-stop" economic development agency. Understanding that role, and the ways our various programs fit into the overall mission, is the first step toward fulfilling that mission. •

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