Federal employees and federal programs have been in the news a lot lately. It shouldn’t be a surprise that a new presidential administration wants to better understand the organization under its command and make changes to budgets, protocols, and personnel. And all federally funded operations should be able to hold up to intense scrutiny. As taxpayers, we should demand that our money is spent in the most effective and efficient way possible. That’s why I’d like to shine a bit of light on a federal agency that I believe we in Greater Peoria are getting our money’s worth for: The Economic Development Administration (EDA).
The EDA is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Commerce and may be one of the nation’s best-kept secrets. Their mission statement is pretty clear (emphasis mine): “To lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy.” To me, that middle section is the most important. For businesses to grow, they need the local infrastructure to work in their favor whether that is traditional infrastructure like roads, airports, and bridges, job training infrastructure, or even funding of short-term economic plans, EDA partners with local governments to maximize success.
Greater Peoria EDC is this region’s link to our federal EDA partners. Over the decades, we have worked to build a great relationship with the agency. With their help, we organize and manage the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). This five-year strategic plan sets the course for how the region will tackle its economic development goals. We developed the Big Table CEDS in 2021, and that plan has helped shape initiatives ranging from the Choose Greater Peoria talent attraction initiative to building a world-class startup ecosystem. The existence of a robust and widely accepted CEDS sets the stage for EDA investments. Any request for funding must align with the regional strategy.
Greater Peoria has been the beneficiary of tens of millions of federal support from EDA. These grants include public infrastructure projects like $1 million to Tazewell County to improve Wagonseller Road in order for a local foundry to expand and $2 million to the City of Peoria to improve North University Street so that companies like ATS, G&D Integrated and Lynch Aluminum could grow. EDA has also been instrumental in the development of Distillery Labs. In 2018, they helped fund the feasibility study to prove the incubator was wanted and needed and then contributed $2 million to ensure it got built. In addition to dollars for “hard infrastructure” projects, EDA also provides funding for planning projects. In addition to the Distillery Labs feasibility study, EDA has helped Peoria County study utility capacity in the Mapleton Industrial Corridor and the completion of a “targeted industry analysis” that is helping us refine our business attraction efforts.
In more recent years, EDA has expanded its efforts to support our region’s workforce development efforts. This has included a $3 million grant to help build Illinois Central College’s Workforce Sustainability Center and nearly $1 million to help improve and expand training facilities at ICC’s East Peoria and Pekin campuses. Maybe most impactfully, Greater Peoria was selected as one of just a handful of “Good Jobs Challenge” communities. Two rounds of funding equaling nearly $20 million are funding the IT Workforce Accelerator, a collaboration between ICC, Bradley University, Eureka College, and a host of community partners that will train over 1,000 individuals in in-demand IT skills and put them on a path toward better jobs.
Decisions about the use of taxpayer dollars are always going to be difficult. But agencies like EDA are really the lifeblood of local economic development. From planning to infrastructure, they are a critical source of funding and support. Economic development is a team sport, and it’s great to have teammates like EDA in pursuit of a more vibrant Greater Peoria.