2018 March Issue

By DENNIS GRUBAUGH    Federal and state officials are cheering plans for a Jersey County transmodal logistics facility that could employ more than 1,000 people and represent a private investment of more than $500 million.    Mid-American International Gateway Business Park is the newly unveiled formal name of what privately has been referred to as “Project Panther.”…

By DENNIS GRUBAUGH    Zach Markwell’s commitment to a half-billion-dollar transmodal logistics business park in Jerseyville shows in the passion with which he talks about it.    He’s in this project, as railroaders might say, for the long haul.    “We would never have a ceremony to announce something, then ultimately decide it isn’t for us. What we…

By DENNIS GRUBAUGH    Charles “C.J.” Nasello’s career path to CEO may not have been routine, but he’s years ahead of most of his peers.    After all, he’s only 18.    The Alton area teen hopes someday to turn a delivery business he began in high school into a franchise concept.    Nasello created his business, “Nasello’s Errand…

IBJ Business News State treasurer commits $500 million to new loans     Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced a loan program that commits $500 million in new money to flow through local banking institutions to help individuals obtain loans at below-market rates.    Frerichs was at the National Great Rivers Museum in Alton to introduce the…

Bond issue is part of solution, but so is some fundamental thinking By LINDA BROOKHART    Illinois’ fiscal problems are historic, and notorious. As they continue to grow, we need creative and innovative solutions that address these massive problems. The most daunting is the pension debt that now is squeezing our budget, making up nearly 19…

First, understand the cause of it all; then re-amortize the debt By RALPH M. MARTIRE     This is a column about fixing the state’s pension funding problems. However, a problem really can’t be solved unless the proposed solution addresses its true cause.     So, what caused the growth in the state’s unfunded pension liability from…

    IBJ: The city is taking over operations of the Gateway Convention Center. How did that come about?          Bair: The city partnered with the center, and the city paid for a study by Johnson Consulting, which specializes in convention centers. We wanted to focus on the center because it is so limited in…

By ALAN J. ORTBALS    The Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District has completed its work to restore the levees to meet the 100-year flood standard and has submitted documents seeking that accreditation. What follows is a look back at the history of this 10-year project.     Background        In August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf…