Macomb contingent wants to work closely with Q-C

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By Kay Luna | Thursday, August 10, 2006 12:54 AM CDT | () comments

A large group from the Macomb, Ill., area came to the Quad-Cities on Wednesday, including Mayor Mick Wisslead and several representatives of the Macomb Chamber of Commerce and Macomb Area Economic Development Corporation.

The community’s school district superintendent and several Western Illinois University governing board members also attended.

In addition to being present for the announcement of funding for a vital WIU Quad-City campus road, the group also participated in Macomb Day, which was hosted by the Illinois Quad-City Chamber of Commerce. The visit was meant to foster a stronger working relationship between the communities’ leaders and begin building a regional alliance to strengthen economic development.

Macomb’s mayor said regionalizing the community’s growth and working more closely with the Quad-Cities could create economic development in both areas. He envisions growth in both communities — and possibly the area in between — as a result of the cooperation.

“We’re all in this together,” he said. “It’ll improve everybody’s quality of life.”

Western Illinois’ current site has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, but with the creation of a new Quad-City campus, the university expects to more than double its student population in Moline, WIU President Al Goldfarb said.

Goldfarb does not fear the expanded Quad-City campus will siphon off enrollment from Macomb, where about 11,600 students attend classes. There will be no on-campus housing at the Moline site, and it mostly will cater to older, nontraditional students who commute to classes, he added. The average age of students at WIU’s Quad-City campus is 32.

“This will be a very different project,” he said. “This will be an urban, commuter campus. It’s different than the traditional campus.”

Kay Luna can be contacted at (563) 383-2323 or kluna@qctimes.com.