Lt. Governor Sheila Simon and the Governor's Rural Affairs Council in partnership with the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University recently complete a statewide series of public forums known as "rural listening posts." The listening posts gave citizens, elected officials, employers and non-profit leaders an opportunity to discuss the challenges in rural Illinois and develop solutions to these problems.
The information gathered at these listening posts will form the basis of a strategic plan called the Vision for Rural Illinois that will be written by the IIRA and include specific policy recommendations and action items for the Rural Affairs Council and its member agencies. In July Lt. Governor Simon released a report that details the findings of the rural listening posts that you can view
here.
At each listening post participants were asked a series of questions about health care, education, infrastructure, business climate, workforce training and quality of life. Participants were then broken into smaller work groups charged with developing solutions to these various issues.
Similar forums were held by Lt. Governor George Ryan in 1986 and led to creation of the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council the following year. In 1998, 2000 and 2007, the Rural Affairs Council, the IIRA and the Illinois Rural Partners, a non-profit, organized listening posts across Illinois to directly gather input from rural citizens.
Reports
Rural Listening Post Report
GRAC Working Group Report - October 2012
Rural Listening Post Schedule
Date: March 5, 2012
Time: 4-6 p.m.
Location: Four Points at Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, Room-Salon D, 500 Hamilton Blvd. in Peoria
Date: April 5, 2012
Time: 8 - 10 a.m.
Location: Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, Rooms 150-151, 150 East Pleasant Hill Road in Carbondale
Date: April 12, 2012
Time: 6 - 8 p.m.
Location: Lake Land College, Webb Hall Room 081, 5001 Lake Land Boulevard in Mattoon
Date: April 19, 2012
Time: 11:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Railside Golf Club, Banquet Room, 120 West 19th Street, Gibson City
Date: Monday, April 30, 2012
Time: 1 - 3 p.m.
Place: FHN Burchard Hills Family Healthcare Center, 1010 Fairway Drive, Freeport
Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012
Time: 10 a.m. - Noon
Location: The Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, Meadows Room C, 405 Vermont Street, Quincy
Governor’s Rural Affairs Council Strategic Planning Workgroup
DATE: Friday, August 31, 2012
TIME: 10 a.m.
LOCATION: Bloomington FD #6 (at the base of the Central Illinois Regional Airport's control tower), 4040 E. Oakland, Bloomington