Heart of the Matter - Economic Development in Carroll County & Northwest Illinois

How To Save Ourselves

Commentary by Thomas Kocal, Publisher

Carroll County has a dilemma. It's not only a common dilemma for many taxing bodies in our area, but nation-wide: Not enough revenue.

The Carroll County Board is concerned with replacing revenue lost due to a drop in sales tax revenue last year. They are proposing budget cuts in every county department, and had proposed eliminating the funding for the Carroll County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC), who had been funded $80,000 per year for the first 3 years of their existence. Last week, the county Finance Committee met with Laurie Gungel, CCEDC Director, and several economic development experts. The county will propose a $40,000 maximum match of funds generated by the CCEDC for FY 2009. That is a start in the right direction.

Our local taxing bodies - cities, villages, townships, schools, and county - still need more help.

A New Look At An Old Problem

With the soft economy, the mortgage crisis, the state of Wall Street, job losses due to the "global economy," and gas prices dropping but still too high, a new mindset is required by local residents and businesses.

Instead of expecting our newly-elected leaders in Springfield and Washington DC to solve these problems, why don't we reverse the trend and do it ourselves?

I propose a "grass-roots" effort as the answer. If we want "CHANGE," let's change what we have the CONTROL to change - our shopping habits.

It's simple . . . keep our money in our own pockets.

Know Your Neighbor . . .

Know Your Banker . . .

Know Your Hometown
Merchant . . .

Know Your Local Farmer . . .

Know Your Local
Livestock Producer . . .

Your neighbors will be there when you need them and support the services we all depend on through taxes and donations. Will the big box stores in another county do that for you when times are tough?

Why Local? Why Not!

Here are 10 of the best reasons why we should support the hard-working business men and women in our locally owned businesses:

1) More money will recirculate in our communities, because locally owned businesses buy from other local businesses, service providers, and farms. Buying local helps grow other businesses, both downtown and home-based. Best of all, buying local grows our community tax base, keeping our sales tax revenues at home, right here in Carroll County.

2) Small businesses are the largest employer in the United States. They supply an estimated 90% of all the jobs created in this country. Closer to home, locally owned business and industry also provide most new jobs for our local residents.

3) The unique character of our communities is what people love about Carroll County, and what tourists come to visit. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of this distinctiveness. My wife and I moved here 33 years ago from the Chicagoland area. To this day, I still drive the back roads, taking pictures of the rural scenery.

4) Local business owners live in our communities, are less likely to leave, invest in the community's future, and create the lion's share of revenue required to operate our county, our municipalities, and our schools.

5) Local business owners generally hire people with specific product knowledge and expertise, resulting in better customer service. Yes, folks, better than Wal-Mart.

6) A marketplace of hundreds of small businesses, each offering products and services based on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, creates more competition and diversity, resulting in a much broader range of product choices.

7) Local businesses have less impact on the environment. Locally owned businesses can support each other by making more local purchases, requiring less transportation. Plus, they generally set up shop in town as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means utilizing the current downtown business districts, fixing up old buildings, while contributing less to pollution and farmland/habitat loss.

8) Local businesses' public benefits far outweigh their public costs. A good example are the local businesses that re-invest in Carroll County's downtown areas. They require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services already in existence, such as roads and water/sewer, compared to nationally owned stores entering the community. Just ask Galena or Freeport businesses and residents what they had to "give" in order to "get" a Wal-Mart.

9) Our Carroll County businesses encourage investment in the community. Take Mt. Carroll, who is converting the burned-out Kraft building into a business center, creating space in one old downtown building for up to 10 potential retail businesses and offices. Look at the building today! A growing body of economic research shows that entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest in and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

10) Local businesses give more support to nonprofit organizations. I've read reports that say non-profits receive an average 350% greater support from local business owners than they do from non-locally owned businesses. Savanna's Historical Society is converting an empty furniture store into an income-generating tourist attraction. They're doing it with the tremendous financial support from the business community and its citizens. In Lanark, the Cornerstone Project is refurbishing the historic Shumway Building. They bought the building from the City of Lanark for $10. They asked for, and received, $30,000 from the City to help restore a structure that was slated to be demolished.

We Can Do This

The examples set by Mt. Carroll, Savanna and Lanark are exactly what I'm talking about. They are preserving their unique downtown buildings that create their community's own, distinctive character. They are utilizing the services of their local carpenters, plumbers and electricians. They are buying supplies from their local hardware stores and lumberyards. Not only are they generating sales tax revenue, they are improving buildings that are generating more property tax revenue. The cities, schools and county all benefit from this synergy.

That's why all three projects were honored by the CCEDC at the 2007 CCEDC Annual Dinner Meeting. "One of the qualities most Carroll County residents value is our heritage," Gungel told the guests, "especially as seen in our older homes and commercial structures. Where private individuals have been able to maintain these buildings, our communities are richer. Where that has not happened, we are fortunate that groups of individuals have stepped forward in three Carroll County communities to reclaim facilities."

The Thomson Correctional Center is finally opening, and we will feel the benefits of a $30 million payroll circulating in Northwest Illinois. New employees will bring their families, and our schools will fill up again.

Through the efforts of groups like the CCEDC and Chambers of Commerce, new businesses will set up shop in Carroll County. It's not an easy thing to accomplish, but the combined effort is already showing results. All we have to do is support these new enterprises.

It's a simple, holistic approach to grass-roots economic development. We CAN change the world. Let's start at home, and change OUR world.

Tom Kocal is the president of Acres of Sky Communications, Inc., publishers of Carroll County's Prairie Advocate News, and developers of www.PACC-news.com. He is a member of the Carroll County Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, a member of several local Chambers of Commerce, and president of the Lanark Cornerstone Project. He may be reached at 815-493-2560.

world wide web prairie advocate