[CPEO-IRF] Illinois bases after closure

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Some Illinois towns flourishing, others struggling after past base closings

JAN DENNIS
Associated Press (Belleville News Democrat, IL)
May 11, 2005

PEORIA, Ill. - Unwanted by the military, two shuttered Chicago-area 
bases have regrouped with an economy-building mix of million-dollar 
homes, shopping centers and even a massive manmade lake to lure 
fishermen, sailboats and canoes this summer.

Downstate, though, two small towns are still struggling with the 
transition to civilian life, years after they fell prey to a wave of 
base closings expected to crest again Friday when the Pentagon unveils 
its latest round of cuts.

Some say the contrasting fortunes of the four Illinois bases, among 97 
major installations idled since 1988, boils down to an age-old axiom of 
real estate: location, location, location.

"Rural areas don't have the regional benefits of bigger cities. Without 
the proximity of population, they just don't have the same 
opportunities," said Robin Hanna, manager of the Rural Economic 
Technical Assistance Center at Western Illinois University.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/local/11623389.htm

--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org



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