ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth speaks April 12 with local government representatives on the topic of growing manufacturing and facilities that can turn waste into aviation fuel. did.
“So we are the nation's future energy nation, but that means we have to work together,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth spoke to state and local agencies about manufacturing goals and plans for the region, including a potential plan to turn waste into aviation fuel.
“All of our elected leaders have a role in coming together and saying, what do we need to be like five years from now? What do we need to be like seven years from now? ” said Michael Dunn, Region One Planning Executive Director. “It starts with allowing the federal government to fund a very complex development.”
“We're in business, right. We want to grow jobs,” Winnebago County Commission Chairman Joseph Chiarelli said. “We want growth, economic growth. And we want to take advantage of the natural resources here.”
Belvidere Mayor Clinton Morris wanted to ensure that safety and travel were not neglected as the focus continued to grow manufacturing. He said his main goal is to improve jobs and the economy, but he wants to make sure rail and freight don't cause problems on other fronts.
“Thanks to the development we've made so far, we can take all the victory laps we want,” Morris said. “But believe me, we need to plan a way to unlink Belvidere with public safety, trains and all semi-freight traffic. That's not a good thing.”
All Stateline leaders agreed that everyone needed to be on the same page. They said they needed it to carry out any plan.
“For years, one of the negative aspects of our region was that not everyone was talking together, working together and rowing in the same direction,” Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said. said. “Of course we still have problems here and there, but we've come really far. Stellantis, for example, is in Belvidere. But because about half of our employees are from Rockford, , which is very important to the City of Rockford.”
“I've had a lot of help from local mayors and village chiefs, and I've gotten a lot of help from state legislators all the way down to the governor's office,” Morris said.
“Once our state delegation and federal delegation sets priorities in Winnebago County, we need to make sure they understand and we understand what their priorities are. We need to make sure that we are doing the right thing,” Chiarelli said.
The project to turn waste into useful energy has not yet been finalized, but it was one of many ideas to utilize local resources and increase the workforce.
