Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority President and CEO Bill Hanna was among seven speakers at Friday's Northwest Indiana Business Overview and Outlook conference in Valparaiso. Held at Ivy Tech's Valpo campus, the conference was sponsored by the Construction Advancement Foundation and the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable. In addition to an update on ongoing and upcoming RDA projects, attendees were briefed on the current and near-furure status of key regional industry sectors, including transportation, manufacturing, gas & oil, energy and healthcare.
Micah Pollack, assistant professor of economics at IUN, provided an overall picture of the Northwest Indiana economy, which was basically flat in the current year and is only projected to grow by about 1% in 2016. Part of the challenge the region faces, he said, is the shift from high-paying manufacturing jobs, especially in steel, which are falling in number and being replaced by lower-paying retail and foodservice positions.
Countering those trends is a key reason why the RDA is funding improvements to the South Shore commuter railroad. Short-term, greater connectivity to Chicago will allow Northwest Indiana residents to better compete for jobs in Chicago, which pay on average 40% more than the same job in NWI. Long-term, attracting more people to the region will create a larger talent pool that will be more attractive to Chicago firms looking to relocate from downtown.
With Chicago recently approving more than $720 million in new taxes, fees and fines, the contrast between Northwest Indiana and the Chicago suburbs in Illinois has never been stronger. Strengthening our transit connections to the rest of the Chicago market will allow NWI to leverage its tax and quality of life advantages to the fullest.
