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DeKalb County Moving Toward Joining Regional Alliance

Guy Stephens
/
WNIJ

DeKalb County is taking steps toward joining a regional alliance that could boost it politically and economically.  

Mark Pietrowski is DeKalb County Board Chairman.  He also sits on the County’s economic development committee.  The committee voted unanimously Tuesday night (Jan. 5) to pass a resolution of intent to join the proposed Northwest Illinois Regional Planning Commission on to the full Board.

Pietrowski says the alliance could provide a number of benefits to its members.

“Politically, with our lobbying efforts. By providing us with staff helping identify grants to apply for.  Working with the other counties in the region to see what type of businesses have located there, and maybe there’s other businesses that supply those businesses that want to locate in one of the other counties,” he says.

Pietrowski says the Northwest Illinois Regional Planning Commission could put DeKalb and the other counties in the coalition in a stronger competitive position.

We don’t have the money that Cook County has, or the collar counties, so we need to market our benefits as a region - you know, all the benefits that we have together,” he says.  

Other members of the commission would include Boone, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties.  

Pietrowski says the commission would build on existing organizations, such as the Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Economic Development District of Northern Illinois.

Guy Stephens produces news stories for the station, and coordinates our online events calendar, PSAs and Arts Calendar announcements. In each of these ways, Guy helps keep our listening community informed about what's going on, whether on a national or local level. Guy's degrees are in music, and he spent a number of years as a classical host on WNIU. In fact, after nearly 20 years with Northern Public Radio, the best description of his job may be "other duties as required."
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