The head of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council has submitted his resignation.
Patrick Hoban, who has led the EDC for six years, said on his LinkedIn page that he is transitioning to a job as an economic development manager at Ameren.
Hoban cited achievements of the EDC and its team in helping to secure more than $3.6 billion in private investment in the community and thousands of new jobs. He said the EDC advocated for stronger enterprise zone incentives, more housing, and site readiness “that will power McLean County for decades."
“I am looking forward to partnering with my colleagues from communities across Ameren’s Illinois territory, including my hometown of Decatur, northern Illinois, southern Illinois, and right here in Bloomington,” said Hoban.
EDC direction
The change presents an opportunity for the EDC board to start a dialogue about the future and direction of the organization, said Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady.
“When you look at the largest contributors to the EDC being the Town of Normal, the City of Bloomington and the county of McLean, that's all government. ... The largest contributors to EDC, the way I understand things and the numbers I've seen and with other economic development groups, it's just the opposite. It's the business [community] that has a larger percentage of investment to operate the Economic Development Council,” said Brady.
“I question the future of the EDC from the standpoint of Bloomington having a community enhancement division that I think is very capable of putting together projects and someone such as myself, our city manager and others are very capable of advocating on behalf of that city,” said Brady.
Normal Mayor Chris Koos agreed that the EDC should have more support from the business community than from local governments.
"That has been a goal in the past, but it has never happened," he said.
The city, town and McLean County each contribute $100,000 per year to the EDC. The Normal Town Council will take up the EDC line item as part of discussion on its annual budget Monday.
Koos said the future of the EDC depends in large part on the vision presented by a successful candidate for Hoban’s position.
“The EDC, whatever it becomes, needs better coordination with the city, county, and town, so they are all going in the same direction," he said. "Why have three entities going in different directions or not talking?”
The EDC was once under the aegis of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, though not in recent decades.
“Bloomington and Normal [I can't speak to the county] is looking at what we can be doing in-house with our own economic development councils. I think the time has come that obviously that discussion is going to be more in depth,” said Brady.
Brady also expressed reservations about the annual One Voice lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., to talk with lawmakers and federal agencies about funding and projects the whole community backs.
“I've always seen that particular part of discussions with your elected leaders is something that either is done when the representatives come back to their district, or is something that [happens] individually," said Brady. "[It] may be something that's more personalized for a certain representative or senator, from the standpoint of where their district really lies throughout the Bloomington-Normal area, or the county of McLean.”
He said asking for help from a lawmaker for a project that is just outside his or her district may not be as productive.
“There's going to be less enthusiasm from that representative to support that project,” said Brady.
He also noted other mayors who have been state officeholders sometimes take a finer-grained approach to lobbying agencies. In some cases, that can be addressed by municipal departments. In others, there is specialty lobbying help available for projects that involve water and sewer, transportation infrastructure, or transit.
