NW Indiana's image problem (Gary, Portage: sales, house, tech jobs)

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by domergurl

It would be a great moneymaker don't you think??? Or do you think it would just cause more traffic on secondary roads? Get my drift??? One of the toll road lease stipulations was that no roads within "x" miles of the toll road could be widened during the duration of the lease. That doesn't seem fair to me ... basically, use the toll road, or use these crappy narrow roads, like 6, 20, 12 ... lots of trucks on those roads now too.

Oh well, I'll be long dead before the lease is up anyway and I don't live there anymore. They are trying to force people to get these EZ passes too ... there's only 1 change lane anymore and those lines get backed up horribly now since there is only 1 live person in the toll booths now. But again, it's just a sliver of the state that has to deal with it on a daily basis, 75% of the state could care less.

I deleted my comment almost immediatly after I posted it, I would like to think those would not be referenced. Having said that, I do think making 465 a toll road would bring in a lot of money. I do not think that the infrastructure and mass transit exists to make it work. If we did, I would not mind tolling 465 (because I would be taking the bus or train everywhere).

But, I don't really care about the toll road; on the rare occasion I have to travel up there, I use US 20 or US 6 until I get to Ohio. I guess I am part of the problem

Carry on Northwest Indiana! Sorry to bother you all!

[domergurl]

DC .. I deleted my reference accordingly. No disrespect.

IZoom should be a matter of choice, not mandatory. And I don't see the lines at the chucking money lines getting any lower .. what was this thread about again .. sorry guys ... image of the region.

The economy of the region is NOT weak .... come on ... it smells, sure, but that's the smell of money. Money being generated by BP, USS, Cargill et al. NWI has NEVER been about IT or finance and it never will. It's been about factories and lots of them. That's the image I get, blue collar men and women and there's nothing wrong with it. I think it's the image that people outside the region have. People who live there are fine with and could care less what other people think. When I go to the region, I don't get the "image conscious" vibe there at all.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by domergurl

IZoom should be a matter of choice, not mandatory. And I don't see the lines at the chucking money lines getting any lower .. what was this thread about again .. sorry guys ... image of the region.

The economy of the region is NOT weak .... come on ... it smells, sure, but that's the smell of money. Money being generated by BP, USS, Cargill et al. NWI has NEVER been about IT or finance and it never will. It's been about factories and lots of them. That's the image I get, blue collar men and women and there's nothing wrong with it. I think it's the image that people outside the region have. People who live there are fine with and could care less what other people think. When I go to the region, I don't get the "image conscious" vibe there at all.

I-Zoom is NOT mandatory. You just pay more if you use cash. lllinois does the same thing.

The finance and IT jobs will always be in Chicago. There's nothing wrong, however, with NWI becoming a bedroom community for Chicago commuters.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

I-Zoom is NOT mandatory. You just pay more if you use cash. lllinois does the same thing.

The finance and IT jobs will always be in Chicago. There's nothing wrong, however, with NWI becoming a bedroom community for Chicago commuters.

I know it's not mandatory, but it may as well be as they are taking people away from the booths. I loved it when the northern Indiana reps gave the free Izooms back to the toll road people. See, down south of US 30, it looks like people up there are in a snit fit and we just look at them like little children ... well, people south of US 30 don't have to live with that toll road lease. Again, I'll propose making 465 a toll road and see how many snit fits we get. And as long as we are talking about public transit, DC ... it would be nice to have part of that major moves river of cash to fund public transit wouldn't it??? It won't, it never will. It would be fantastic if the I69 extension toll money (is it going to be a toll road, I thought it was) could fund some public transit, but it won't. So even if 465 were made a toll road, none of that money would go to fund public transit, which is sad.

And I'm going to swerve it back to the topic, AGAIN .. man, I stink at this.

NWI is becoming a bedroom community for Chicago more than ever. I say bring 'em on in. It's not a bad image to have.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by domergurl

..... well, people south of US 30 don't have to live with that toll road lease.

I suppose I'm going to come across as argumentative, but I don't understand what's so bad about the lease that they have to "live with it." The state received over $3 billion dollars which, according to the theory of the present value of money, is worth more today than it will be in the future. We get to fund badly needed road projects. The state still owns the road. If the lessee doesn't meet certain service standards, the state can take the road back and keep the cash. What's not to like? I-Zooms? All states with toll roads are moving in the direction of transponders. Get an I-Zoom, move quicker through the toll booths and pay at the old rates. Problem solved. Are folks up there change resistant??

[RegionAire]

The question assumes that other places are better. The Region only has an image problem if you actually care what other people think. Really...who cares what people in Indy think? I'm only sort of kidding here, because we need SOME political support. But the fact remains that the Region is attractive to many thousands of people - Illinois refugees mainly- for reasons that would suggest that this is a decent place to work and live. What are those reasons and how can they be better leveraged?

The economy is not in tatters. We need to elect "leaders" that will promote (or at least consider enabling) a pro-business environment and its attendant job creation that will attract businesses from across state lines too. The dominant days of Big Steel are not exactly over, but further diversification is needed. However, what is not needed is a new replacement image as a gambling boat destination. That doesn't seem to be a healthy base for a vibrant economy.

The Region's proximity to Chicago should be celebrated and linkages should be promoted. An expanded South Shore would certainly help greatly to attract productive development and rehabilitation. Yes, other than the well known fixer-upper communities, there is also some spiffing up needed in many other Region towns to bring them up to modern expectations.

Finally, culture. One thing that sets the Region apart from the rest of bland, corporate-loving Indiana is the diversity of LOCALLY owned restaurants and bars. It stupefies me to consider why someone would choose to spend twice as much as they should for an inferior product. Name a food category and I'll bet there is a better Region-based option than the chain joints that the rest of Indiana loves. We have a really rich mine of good food here (and one of the best micro-breweries in the country).

Like I said: Image problem? I guess a little bit, but not much unless you think so.

[domergurl]

If Chicago gets the Olympics ... Indiana will benefit greatly. That is if the folk in Indianapolis get it.

RegionAire ... great post, you pretty much nailed it much more eloquently than I. Thank you.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by domergurl

If Chicago gets the Olympics ... Indiana will benefit greatly. That is if the folk in Indianapolis get it.

Unfortunately, Chicago's bid calls for all events to take place on the Illinois side. Certainly the NW Indiana hotels will make out, and that's a good thing.

[LIS123]

I definitely think the Region has a weak economy. It has a strong industrial base but, if I'm not mistaken, the local steel industry has fewer employees now that it did in the past. IT and Financial services were just two examples, but those are the sorts of industries that draw in talented people from across the nation and, in some cases, around the globe. Biotech (which feeds off of a strong Academic base, which NWI lacks) is another example
The Region's talent pool does not compare favorably with that of other areas and much of that is b/c the Region does not have many employment opportunities for young people looking to start their careers. I don't think the economy is in tatters either, but it's not diversified and strong enough in certain areas to build up the local talent pool Riverboats certainly aren't the way to do that.

That said, it is a nice place to live and, fortunately, you don't need to make that much money to live a nice life.

I'd beg to differ about cultural and dining options as well. It's nice to have some locally owned places, but there's no shortage of corporate America chain types either. For ethnic dining, options are fairly limited. There's a few Indian restaurants, a couple Thai places, no Korean restaurants AFAIK, Japanese limited to HOK. There are suburban areas with a lot more dining options that NWI.

I wouldn't rate the area as very high on culture/entertainment either. These things will come if the economy is expanded. You have so many people living there who grew up somewhere around the area (including the IL side), that it's not a very dynamic population.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by LIS123

I definitely think the Region has a weak economy. It has a strong industrial base but, if I'm not mistaken, the local steel industry has fewer employees now that it did in the past. IT and Financial services were just two examples, but those are the sorts of industries that draw in talented people from across the nation and, in some cases, around the globe. Biotech (which feeds off of a strong Academic base, which NWI lacks) is another example
The Region's talent pool does not compare favorably with that of other areas and much of that is b/c the Region does not have many employment opportunities for young people looking to start their careers. I don't think the economy is in tatters either, but it's not diversified and strong enough in certain areas to build up the local talent pool Riverboats certainly aren't the way to do that.

That said, it is a nice place to live and, fortunately, you don't need to make that much money to live a nice life.

I'd beg to differ about cultural and dining options as well. It's nice to have some locally owned places, but there's no shortage of corporate America chain types either. For ethnic dining, options are fairly limited. There's a few Indian restaurants, a couple Thai places, no Korean restaurants AFAIK, Japanese limited to HOK. There are suburban areas with a lot more dining options that NWI.

I wouldn't rate the area as very high on culture/entertainment either. These things will come if the economy is expanded. You have so many people living there who grew up somewhere around the area (including the IL side), that it's not a very dynamic population.

Most of the office people ... IT, Finance, work in Chicago and live in NW Indiana. See, Chicago is the driver, NWI benefits, which is great. It's kind of like all the NYC people who commute from Connecticut or New Jersey. Heck, there are people from Milwaukee who commute to Chicago for work.