BETTENDORF, IOWA (January 10, 2023) — The Quad Cities Chamber has ambitious goals for strengthening our regional business community. We are committed to advocating for local, state, and federal public policies which enhance our economic competitiveness, increase investment, and benefit our members and the region.
Business and Economic Growth
Support existing businesses and attract new investments and jobs.
- Protect economic development programs and incentives which stimulate economic growth and encourage investment in technology and innovation.
- Advocate for tax reform that allows for fiscal stability, growth, and creates a level playing-field for businesses on both sides of the river.
- Ensure regulatory stability and predictability.
- Support employment policies that make the region more competitive and oppose those that create an undue burden on employers.
- Support policies that advance clean, affordable and reliable energy sources.
Placemaking and Place Management
Build a community where people want to live and work.
- Continue to advocate for Illinois and Iowa to recognize placemaking as a priority for a workforce attraction and retention policy.
- Support permanent large-scale investment programs that lead to transformative community projects and drive tourism and industry.
- Leverage the Mississippi River; develop a unique and cohesive riverfront that provides a holistic regional experience for residents and visitors.
- Support incentives that aid in the redevelopment of distressed areas and blighted properties.
- Maximize and leverage state and federal dollars to create a multimodal-transportation system that enhances regional connectivity and elevates the social and economic health of the Quad Cities region.
- Create livable and pedestrian-friendly communities through policy that requires new and redevelopment projects to adhere to Complete Streets design standards.
Talent Attraction and Development
Attract and retain qualified people.
- Create an environment that attracts and supports the workforce by crafting and implementing policies that help solve employee needs, such as child-care and affordable housing.
- Support policies that increase collaboration between educators and employers in developing apprenticeships and other training programs.
- Identify disparities in public-benefit programs and advocate for those which do not create a cliff effect and disincentivize job/career development.
- Support second-chance employment policies to provide opportunities to grow our regional workforce.
- Support efforts to maximize the potential of higher education in the Quad Cities.
- Support measures to expand bistate training, certification, reciprocity, and credentialing.
About Quad Cities Chamber:
The Quad Cities Chamber facilitates business growth to help create a prosperous regional economy where all can thrive. Its work is focused in three strategic areas: business and economic growth; placemaking and place management; and talent attraction and development. QuadCitiesChamber.com.
