Plan shaped by 480+ residents across five counties is open for review through October 9
PEORIA, IL (Wednesday, September 9, 2026). — The Greater Peoria Economic Development Council has opened a public comment period on the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for 2026 through 2030, the five-year plan that guides economic development across Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Logan and Mason counties. Comments will be accepted through Friday, Oct. 2.
More than 480 community members and partner organizations shaped the draft through five Big Table events held across the five counties between October 2025 and February 2026. Rather than writing the plan first and presenting it afterward, GPEDC gathered public input before drafting began.
Participants in all five counties described a region whose assets are disconnected rather than absent: training programs employers do not know about, services residents cannot navigate, and communities solving the same problems separately. That finding drives the plan’s emphasis on regional alignment.
The strategy organizes the next five years around three questions. What infrastructure makes growth possible? Who gets to participate in the economy? What kind of place does the region want to be? Each becomes a theme, and together they carry nine objectives and 29 strategies covering site readiness, broadband, capital access for entrepreneurs, child care, transportation, downtown corridors, tourism and housing supply.
The plan also sets out how the region will measure itself. Of the 29 strategy points, 21 carry a recurring public or internal measure drawn from sources including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau and the Illinois Office of Broadband.
“We asked people what this region needs before we wrote a word of this plan, and they told us. Now we are asking them to check our work,” said Chris Setti, CEO of GPEDC. “A strategy about regional alignment has no business being finalized behind a closed door.”
The full draft and the comment form are available at greaterpeoriaedc.org/ceds/comment/. Residents commenting on a specific goal or strategy are asked to include a page number. Residents may also submit comments by phone at 309-495-5910 or by mail to GPEDC, 201 SW Adams St., Peoria, IL 61602.
After the comment period closes, GPEDC will review every submission and publish a summary of what it heard and what changed before the plan is submitted to the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
GPEDC is the federally designated Economic Development District for the five-county Greater Peoria region.
About the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council
The Greater Peoria Economic Development Council (GPEDC) is a regional economic development organization covering the Greater Peoria area spanning five counties in central Illinois: Logan, Mason, Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford. The GPEDC’s mission is to promote economic development in the region through its six core programs, which are Business Attraction, Business Assistance, Workforce Solutions, Innovation and Startups, Rural Development, and the development and promotion of a regional Manufacturing Network