7am News, Sports and Obits

Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Group Has Ideas for Global Economic Competition
A new report outlines how Illinois can better compete in the global economy.

"Past Silos and Smokestacks: Transforming the Rural Economy in the Midwest" calls on towns and counties, competing with each other for industry and manufacturing jobs and investments, to join forces to spur innovation and entrepreneurship.

The report's author, Mark Drabenstott, says Illinois and 11 surrounding states have some of the top colleges in the nation when it comes to innovation, and they must be an integral part when moving forward. He says Midwest states must "partner regionally to compete globally."

Drabenstott, director of the Rural Policy Research Institute Center for Regional Competitiveness, says the rural Midwest has followed one basic path to economic development: recruit a factory to the edge of town and give away the farm to get it. He says in the 12 states included in the report, nearly 80 percent of development budgets goes to recruitment incentives.

He says states must work with each other as well as the federal government to make the changes necessary to see regional partnerships.

(Illinois Radio Network)
03 22 10 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.