Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois

July 30, 2019

Greetings,

While the sizzling summer temperatures may have cooled off a bit this week, things continue to heat up in various sectors all across Southwestern Illinois and we’re thrilled to share the activity with you in this edition of Good NewsLink.

On the healthcare front, explosive growth in Edwardsville has sparked an expansion by Anderson Healthcare, transforming 15 acres of farmland on the southeast edge of Edwardsville into a medical campus with an outpatient surgery center, pediatric specialty clinic, rehabilitation hospital and other services. Though the campus will better serve current residents of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon and surrounding communities, it also prepares for booming residential and commercial growth that officials are expecting in the area over the next five to 10 years.

The city of O’Fallon welcomed nearly a dozen new businesses in the month of June alone, including an announcement that Northern Tool + Equipment, a retailer of tools and equipment for do-it-yourselfers and professionals, is expanding its presence in the St. Louis market with a new, 22,000-square-foot store. The tool retailer joins the list of $580 million+ worth of developments that have taken place at the Greenmount/I-64 interchange over the course of the past two years.

Back in June, I traveled with a group of local business officials to Washington D.C. to discuss economic development with a Japanese business group – a trip that is expected to pay off later this year. Officials with Keidanren USA — the U.S. arm of Keidanren, the Japanese Business Federation representing more than 1,400 Japanese companies, 109 nationwide industrial associations and 47 separate regional economic organizations — plan to visit the area for two days in October to see why the region is the opportune place for foreign direct investment.

Continue reading for more on these exciting stories and all the other good news occurring in the Metro East and have a great rest of the week!

Dr. Ronda Sauget

Ronda Sauget, D. Mgmt, MBA

Executive Director and CEO

Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois

104 Magnolia Drive, Ste B

Glen Carbon, IL 62034

618-692-974 5

Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois and local leaders traveled to Washington D.C. to present to the Keidanren, Japan Business Federation

J apanese Business Group Eyes Metro East for Investment, Development Opportunities

(St. Louis Construction Forum, 07/25/2019)

A June trip by local officials to Washington D.C. to discuss economic development with a Japanese business group is expected to pay off in October. Representatives of the Japanese organization are expected to come to the Metro East for a tour of the region, focusing on potential development sites. (Read More)

Q&A with Ronda Sauget, executive director, Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois

(Illinois Business Journal, July 2019 Issue - Page 4)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Last month, members of Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois and Alliance STL, St. Louis Regional Economic Development met with representatives of Keidanren USA, a liaison entity for Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation. Keidanren consists of 1,329 Japanese companies, 109 industry associations and 47 regional economic organizations. (Read More)

TIF district, store expand options in Lebanon core

(Illinois Business Journal, July 2019 Issue - Page 1)

A new TIF district, a planned grocery store and everchanging ideas for the traffic flow through Lebanon have local officials actively planning for the year ahead. (Read More)

Fairmount Park to benefit from state's expansion of gambling

(Illinois Business Journal, July 2019 Issue - Page 18)

Fairmount Park Racetrack will benefit from the recent expansion on gambling and sports betting as a result of efforts by state Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville. (Read More)

Tool retailer expands its local footprint with Metro East location

(St. Louis Business Journal, 06/28/2019)

Northern Tool + Equipment, a retailer of tools and equipment for do-it-yourselfers and professionals, is expanding its presence in the St. Louis market with a new store in Metro East. (Read More)

SIUE alumna Ronda Sauget is one of journal’s Most Influential Business Women

(Advantage News, 07/25/2019)

A fierce commitment to lifelong learning, a strategic management approach and a strong passion for seeking opportunities for intellectual engagement are just a few of the attributes that have helped Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumna Ronda Sauget achieve significant professional success. (Read More)

TIF district, store expand options in Lebanon core

(Illinois Business Journal, July 2019 Issue – Page 1)

A new TIF district, a planned grocery store and everchanging ideas for the traffic flow through Lebanon official actively planning for the year ahead. (Read More)

Fairmount Park to benefit from state’s expansion of gambling

(Illinois Business Journal, July 2019 Issue – Page 18)

Fairmount Park Racetrack will benefit from the recent expansion on gambling and sports betting as result of efforts by state Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville. (Read More)

Southern Illinois Pediatric Dentistry of Edwardsville sets up practice

(Illinois Business Journal, 07/09/2019)

The new office of Southern Illinois Pediatric Dentistry of Edwardsville will open July 10 at 1419 Lewis Road at Illinois Route 157. Owner Dr. Christy Wohlford runs Southern Illinois Pediatric Dentistry in Columbia, which she will continue working at in addition to the new Edwardsville location. She and her family are from Edwardsville and currently live there. Co-owner Dr. Adam Snyder previously operated Riverbend Pediatric Dentistry in Bethalto but is moving his practice to the Edwardsville location.Both Snyder and Wohlford earned their Doctor of Dental Medicine degrees from Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine. (Read More)

Explosive growth in Edwardsville leads Anderson Healthcare to build new medical campus

(Belleville News Democrat, 07/14/2019)

The health care network that operates Anderson Hospital in Maryville is transforming 15 acres of farmland on the southeast edge of Edwardsville into a medical campus with an outpatient surgery center, pediatric specialty clinic, rehabilitation hospital and other services. (Read More)

Ron Starner, executive vice president of Site Selection Magazine , toured the Southwestern Illinois region May 2nd and 3rd. He was the featured speaker at the Leadership Council's May board meeting.

Site Selection magazine is a prominent international business publication

that covers corporate real estate and economic development sent to nearly 50,000 domestic and international high-profile site selectors and companies.

SIUE Secures $5.7M for Special Projects

(Riverbender, 07/24/2019)

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will receive $5.7-million to fund three special projects, including replacement of the sand filters and a digester lid at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, water valve replacement across the Edwardsville and Alton campuses, and a renovation and expansion of the campus greenhouse. The projects will be managed by the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) in conjunction with SIUE Facilities Management. (Read More)

Enterprise zone expansion considered in Bethalto

(The Telegraph, 07/09/2019)

Expanding one of Madison County’s four enterprise zones was discussed Monday at the County Board’s Grants Committee meeting. Bethalto officials are seeking a roughly 160-acre expansion along Illinois 111. The expansion would be in the Illinois 111 corridor on both sides of Airline Drive. (Read More)

Edwardsville Township mulls roughly $1.19M project for new town hall

(The Edwardsville Intelligencer, 07/25/2019)

For several months now, Edwardsville Township officials have been considering either adding onto, finishing the basement at or doing both at its current facility on West Park Street.

During its monthly trustee board meeting Wednesday, township supervisor Fred Schulte brought forth another option – a new building. He said it would be a one-story, slab-on-grade building, comprising 5,700-square-feet behind the current town hall. After the new facility would be completed, the existing town hall would be demolished, and a new parking lot would replace it. (Read More)

Eleven new businesses added in city of O'Fallon

(Illinois Business Journal, 07/10/2019)

The month of June saw 11 new businesses added in the city of O'Fallon. (Read More)

Family Business Profile: How a meat delivery truck morphed into $180M Kuna Food Service

(St. Louis Business Journal, 07/18/2019)

In 1918, Frank Kuna could be seen delivering meat to his customers from the back of his truck in St. Louis. More than 100 years later, his descendants have transformed the business into one of the region’s largest privately held companies. (Read More)

Metro East bank hires lenders, expands to 3 more counties

(St. Louis Business Journal, 07/11/2019)

Bank of Belleville, which recently eclipsed $200 million in total assets, is expanding its bread-and-butter business of commercial lending into Madison, Monroe and Clinton counties in Illinois with the hiring of three lenders. (Read More)

Grow Solar Metro East returns for its third year

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 07/24/2019)

Grow Solar Metro East, a solar group purchasing program in its third year in the Metro East area, will help local property owners go solar through community outreach and education and will help lower the price of solar through a volume purchase, according to a press release. (Read More)

First Mid Bank & Trust opens new banking center in Alton

(Illinois Business Journal, 07/05/2019)

First Mid Bank & Trust has opened a new banking center in Alton. The new facility is located at 111 E. Fourth Street, inside the Miller’s Mutual Building, and is open for business Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Read More)

Scott Credit Union partners with Glen-Ed Sports for turf

(The Telegraph, 07/17/2019)

Scott Credit Union has partnered with the Glen-Ed Sports Association to finance a third multi-purpose turf soccer field at the new Plummer Family Park being built in Edwardsville. (Read More)

Thank you to the Leadership Council's Program Sponsors: