Harkening back to Abraham Lincoln’s adage that “The best way to predict your future is to create it,” six public and non-profit organizations serving DeKalb County are partnering to create a vision for the county’s economic development future. The first step in this process is to seek broad-based community input about economic development priorities.
Two opportunities for public input are planned for Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at the DeKalb County Farm Bureau located at 1350 W. Prairie Drive in Sycamore. Two interactive 90-minute “summits” will be held at 8:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on that date. Each summit will have the same format: a presentation by NIU researchers from the Center for Governmental Studies on “The State of DeKalb County’s Economy,” followed by small tabletop discussions to obtain participants’ ideas for the county’s economic development future.
Following the November 17th summits, NIU researchers will meet with community leadership in municipalities throughout DeKalb County to better understand their specific economic development assets, needs, and opportunities. This information, combined with the ideas generated at the summits, will be the basis for DeKalb County’s economic development vision.
The November 17th summits are open to anyone who lives, works, attends school, or owns property in any community in DeKalb County. There is no charge to attend this event but registration is required. A registration link is available on the home page of the DeKalb County Government website: www.dekalbcounty.org. An online survey will also be available for people who would like to provide their ideas but are unable to attend one of the summits.
This visioning process is being co-sponsored by DeKalb County Government, the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation, the DeKalb County Community Foundation, Northern Illinois University, and the DeKalb County Farm Bureau. For more information, please contact Diana Robinson (drobinson@niu.edu or 815/753-0912) or Brian Richard (brichard@niu.edu or 815/753-0162).
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