The mayor has gone on record
as saying he believes the Peoria
region needs more high public
education. “I personally think
we are underserved in post-
secondary education here and
that’s because we don’t have a
public university. We need one
here. I still find it incredible that a
metro area our size doesn’t have
a public university,” he said.
“
ICC (Illinois Central College)
is one of the best community
colleges in the Midwest, if not the
country, and it is a great place for
kids to start and go for a year or
two. But after that? If they can’t
afford Bradley, they have to go
outside the region,” he added.
He has started working with
the University of Illinois-Spring-
field, which currently offers
limited courses through Illinois
Central College, to try and get it
to expand what it offers locally so
residents of the area have more
options.
“
I’m not so naïve to think some
university is going to buy some
land and build a new campus
or whatever. Especially with the
funding situation as it is in Illi-
nois. But I do believe an expan-
sion of UIS’s campus here is very
viable and would do the area a
lot of good,” he said.
Knott said Focus Forward CI
hasn’t taken a position but he
did say the region is in close
enough proximity to other public
universities, namely Illinois State
University and Western Illinois
University, that putting a public
university in Peoria is probably
unrealistic.
“
But we are working with
existing resources to see what can
be done to expand the opportuni-
ties. This area has great potential
with the assets it has to be a
national leader in workforce and
economic development. There are
issues that need to be resolved,”
he said.
Baumgartner said Focus For-
ward CI will see real success if
it keeps in mind that education
must play a big role in economic
development. “The power will
come from connecting the dots,
breaking down any barriers and
letting people have access to what
is available,” he said.
The group’s Workforce Action
Team is working on a compre-
hensive strategy for a region-
wide, just-in-time workforce plan
that it hopes to have completed
by the end of May, Knott said. It
is just one of the “unique instru-
ments being created in this region
to deal with the workforce issue.
We believe this region can be a
real attraction across the country
for companies who want the
best trained workforce for their
needs.”
18
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