Alliance Newsletter
Alliance Newsletter

Update

This issue of the Alliance newsletter highlights a Save the Date for the 6th Annual Summit on Regional Competitiveness at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Transportation and Workforce Working Team updates, a new partnership and initiative involving 21CC, and news from around the region. The Alliance remains committed to serving as a neutral platform championing initiatives and convening leaders from government, academia and the private sector to grow the regional economy.  
Alliance Transportation Team 
Alliance Supports Mega-Region Transportation Projects
The Alliance Transportation Team, in partnership with the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC), Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), supports:  
  • The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure Safety Improvement (CRISI) program funding
Two major components of the CRISI project include the final design and construction of a second platform and enclosed pedestrian access bridge at the Milwaukee Airport Rail Station (MARS) located at General Mitchell International Airport (GMIA) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The second component includes the acquisition of three new cab/coach cars to replace aging cab/baggage cars that currently are part of the train sets Amtrak uses to operate its Hiawatha route.
  • Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program funding 
The funding is to advance the overall vision of WisDOT and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), in order to improve the convenience, reliability, and safety of Amtrak’s Hiawatha service operating between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. It also includes final design and installation of centralized traffic control (CTC) signaling along the segment of Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) track that serves the Milwaukee Intermodal Station (MIS) in downtown Milwaukee. The funding will help to achieve an increase in Hiawatha frequency from seven to ten daily round-trips that is planned by WisDOT and IDOT. 
  • Marquette Greenway Build Application
The Marquette Greenway Project has represented a long-standing vision to connect Chicago, IL eastward along the Indiana shore of Lake Michigan to New Buffalo, MI, for a distance of 58 miles. NIRPC has submitted a BUILD grant application to complete the remaining 30 miles that link to these built or already funded segments. The proposed route of the Marquette Greenway would provide safe non-motorized access while helping to secure investments that will positively impact lower and mixed-income residents along the trail route, link together a network of employment centers and serve as an economic catalyst towards improving the quality of life for those along the trail, and the region in whole.
The Alliance Board forwarded these letters of support to Secretary  Elaine Chao, U.S. Department of Transportation and Ronald Batory, Administrator, U.S. Department of Transportation.
Of note, the FY 2019 Budget for the Department of Transportation has been released. Below are fast facts:
  • President Trump is requesting $76.5 billion for the Department of Transportation (DOT). This is about $500 million less than FY 2017.

  • The budget fully funds surface transportation programs consistent with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act authorized funding.

  • The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airport Improvement Grants are also funded at the authorized level of $3.4 billion.
If you are interested in joining the Alliance Transportation Team, please contact Kelly O'Brien at kobrien@alliancerd.org.  
Alliance Workforce Team 
Today, the transportation, distribution and logistics (TDL) industry, is experiencing an exciting new phase of growth with the advent of the eCommerce industry.  It is however, being held back by the inability to fill thousands of open positions across the 21 counties represented by the Alliance for Regional Development.
Employers across all the major modes of transportation and warehousing struggle to attract employees to this industry or retain them, which is a huge pity. TDL is one of the most rewarding and gratifying industries in which to work. No two days are ever the same and the potential to rise to the top of the organization is there for everyone, including people who started off stacking boxes or driving a truck, just ask senior managers at FedEx or UPS!
As part of a solution to turn this situation around, the Alliance has teamed up with 21CC Education, a learning and development company based out of Chicago, The Hague (Netherlands), Mumbai and Bangkok. 21CC creates e-learning and mobile learning content for the TDL industry and hosts this on its own Amazon Cloud based learning management system (LMS). 
Content is presented in a compelling way, which includes gamification. Tough topics such as dangerous goods are presented through interactive games. 
The Alliance, 21CC and Manpower will be hosting a series of breakfast meetings across the 21 counties to showcase this unique solution.
If you are interested in hosting a breakfast meeting or know of any organizations that would benefit from this content, please e-mail Alliance President and CEO, Kelly O'Brien, at kobrien@alliancerd.org.
Learn About Cutting Edge Training Solutions on August 23rd
The Alliance is co-hosting an informational breakfast in Michigan City, Indiana on August 23, 2018 to showcase 21CC and its unique talent solutions.
Michigan City Economic Development Corporation Executive Director, Clarence Hulse, and Center of Workforce Innovations President & CEO, Linda Woloshansky, valued Alliance stakeholders, have agreed to organize this important meeting for transportation and logistics experts in Northwest Indiana. 
The meeting will be held on Thursday, August 23, 2018, from 7:30-9:30 am at Blue Chip Casino, 777 Blue Chip Drive, Michigan City, IN 46360. Please RSVP to sjasper@alliancerd.org.
You will meet colleagues from other businesses who face the same challenge that you do: attracting and retaining the talent to grow your company! 
If you are interested in hosting a breakfast meeting, know of any organizations that would benefit from this content, and/or would like more information, please e-mail Alliance President and CEO, Kelly O'Brien, at kobrien@alliancerd.org.
Job Growth in the Mega-Region
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
The Alliance would like to thank the Indiana University Northwest School of Business & Economics staff, Dr. Bala Arshanapalli and Dr. Micah Pollak, for providing the graph showing total job employment and job growth for the first four months in the United States and our mega-region.
Data pulled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Current Employment Statistics (CES), per thousands of workers, seasonally adjusted, indicate the month of February received the highest job growth in the region with an increase of 13,200 job workers (+0.27%). While the next month, March, received the lowest number to date, of the job workers with 400 (+0.01%). 
Information From Around the Region
Chancellor's Commission on Community Engagement 
Panel Members (L:R), Sharon Johnson-Shirley, Superintendent, Lake Ridge Schools; Gabriela Jaimes, Undergraduate and President, Student Government Association, IU Northwest; Iris Sanchez, Graduate Student, School of Environmental & Public Affairs, IU Northwest; Bill Hanna, President and CEO, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority; Carolyn Saxton, President, Legacy Foundation; Lorrie Feldt, Regional Director, Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center; Vanessa Allen-McCloud, President & CEO, Urban League of Northwest Indiana; and Eddie Melton, Indiana State Senator, Dist.3.
Indiana University Northwest hosted their spring 2018 Chancellor’s Commission for Community Engagement installment on Wednesday, April 3, 2018, at their John W. Anderson Library Conference Center in Gary, Indiana.

Chancellor William J. Lowe along with Dr. Ellen Szarleta, Director of the IU Northwest Center for Urban and Regional Excellence, led this year’s discussion, “A Community View: What Big Regional Issue Can IU Northwest and the Community work on together?”
This year’s panelists were: Vanessa Allen-McCloud, President & CEO, Urban League of Northwest Indiana; Lorrie Feldt, Regional Director, Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center; Bill Hanna, President and CEO, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority; Gabriela Jaimes, Undergraduate and President, Student Government Association, IU Northwest; Sharon Johnson-Shirley, Superintendent, Lake Ridge Schools; Eddie Melton, Indiana State Senator, Dist.3; Iris Sanchez, Graduate Student, School of Environmental & Public Affairs, IU Northwest; and Carolyn Saxton, President, Legacy Foundation.
After voting electronically on issues of importance, the following three choices for Indiana University Northwest and the community to focus on were:
  • How can the university help attract private and investment capital to Gary and surrounding communities?

  • Regional connectivity is the key to growing the economy of the Northwest Indiana by creating jobs, building wealth and securing the future

  • Establish programs that help encounter residents to become engaged in the policies that impact our lives at all levels; an initiative that could empower residents (youth and adult) on effective advocacy, policy making and grassroots organizing
The above three choices were selected over topics including small business hub creation, teacher shortage, education & youth development as a county-wide issue, Latin-X students lagging behind other minorities when it comes to high school completion & post-secondary attainment, and young adult leadership: understanding the political process and how to impact policy.
OneRegion Bus Tour
OneRegion is a nonprofit that strives to grow population, attract and retain talent, and increase household income in Northwest Indiana specifically in the Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties. 
In April, OneRegion sponsored a bus tour of the regional assets in Northwest Indiana and the Alliance had the opportunity to participate. The goal was to learn about the regional assets Northwest Indiana has to offer and engage in discussions on how best to collectively leverage and promote those assets in various communities.
Topics and speakers included:
Whiting Lakefront - Mayor Joe Stahura, City of Whiting 
The Pavilion at Wolf Lake, Downtown Hammond, Proposed Gateway Station - Mayor Thomas M. McDermott, Jr., City of Hammond
Purdue University Northwest Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation - Dr. Chen Zhou, Purdue University
MIller Train Station on Lake and Marquette Park - Joe Van Dyk, Gary Redevelopment Commission
Portage Transit Oriented Development Site - Daniel Botich, SEH Engineering
Michigan City Lakefront and Waterfront Pavilion - Mayor Ron Meer, Michigan City and Craig Philips, Michigan City Department of Planning & Redevelopment
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Update is the newsletter of the Alliance for Regional Development. For more information or to inquire about submitting content, please contact Shalora Jasper at 312-602-5080, or sjasper@alliancerd.org .
Please visit our website, www.alliancerd.org.
SAVE THE DATE 
The Alliance for Regional Development will host the 6th Annual Summit on Regional Competitiveness with and at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on  Monday, October 29, 2018.
Sponsorship opportunities are available. For information, please contact President & CEO, Kelly O'Brien at kobrien@alliancerd.org
This is an invitation-only event and you must personally respond to the electronic invitation.  It cannot be forwarded  or transferred. For information on how to be added to the guest list and if you would like others in your network to be invited, please contact Shalora Jasper at sjasper@alliancerd.org.
The Alliance would like to thank graphic designer, Brennan McLoughlin, for his creation of the 6th Annual Summit branding.
The Alliance Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board:      
Paul W. Jones             
Chairman (Retired), A.O. Smith Corporation

Deborah L. Ford
Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Michael G. Hahn         
Executive Director, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
Greg Hummel                       
Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Thomas Keon
Chancellor, Purdue University Northwest
William J. Lowe                  
Chancellor, Indiana University Northwest
Michael Pagano
Dean, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago
David Ryan                        
Executive Director, Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce
David Ritter
Partner, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP
Mark Rust 
Managing Partner, Chicago Office, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP
Joseph C. Szabo             
Executive Director, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Tyson R. Warner               
Executive Director, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission
Kelly A. O’Brien                    
President & CEO, Alliance for Regional Development
To explore sponsorship opportunities, we invite you to visit our Sponsorship page, download our Sponsorship Opportunities PDF, or  contact Kelly O'Brien at 312-602-5148 or kobrien@alliancerd.org.
To see other Sponsors logos, please visit our website, www.alliancerd.org 


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