Peoria County, Ill., is trying to make it easier for businesspersons to
thrive.
Tuesday is the kick-off for a series of eight outreach meetings County
Board members and staff will hold throughout the county to get input from
minority, women and disadvantaged business owners.
"What the county has seen is that there are a huge lack of dollars going
to women- and minority-owned companies" as far as contracts with the county,
said Rachael Parker, who heads the ad-hoc Minority Business Enterprise
Committee for the county.
This first step involves gathering impressions and suggestions from
people in the business community and entrepreneurs who want to establish
businesses.
"What are your needs, what are the barriers," Parker said of the kinds of
questions that will be asked.
"We need to know what they need help with in order to develop a plan in
order to meet those needs as best we can," said county spokeswoman Jenny
Fulton.
Ultimately, the effort is part of what will be at least a two-step
process. Along with the meetings, people will be asked to complete a survey of
their needs -- also available online at peoriacounty.org for those unable to
attend any of the sessions.
Students from Bradley University aiding the effort will put together a
first draft of the survey results and concoct recommendations by May for a
strategic plan to address the needs of the business owners. County staffers
will then take over the material, refine it and present a final plan to tackle
the issues.
From there, "within this year, we're going to start formulating these
workshops (to address those needs)," Parker said. The county also will work to
connect business owners with people and institutions already in place to offer
assistance.
MEETING SCHEDULE
The Minority Business Enterprise Committee of the Peoria County Board
will have a series of outreach meetings to quantify the needs of minority,
disabled and women business owners in the county. The meetings, open to the
public and expected to each last one hour, will be at the following times and
locations:
-- 6 p.m. Tuesday, Chillicothe Public Library, 430 N. Bradley St.,
Chillicothe.
-- 1 p.m. Wednesday, South Side Mission, 1127 S. Laramie St., Peoria.
-- 6 p.m. March 15, Brimfield High School Library, 323 E. Clinton St.,
Brimfield.
-- 6 p.m. March 20, Peoria NEXT Innovation Center, 801 W. Main St.,
Peoria.
-- 5:30 p.m. March 22, Tri-County Urban League, 317 MacArthur Highway,
Peoria.
-- 3:30 p.m. March 23, SWAN, 2000 W. Pioneer Parkway, Suite 18A, Peoria.
-- 9:30 a.m. March 31, Alpha Park Library, 3527 Airport Road, Bartonville.
-- 1 p.m. March 31, Peoria Humane Society, 2600 NE Perry Ave., Peoria.
