New Interchange on I-80

The new interchange on I-80 and Brisbin Road / Route 6 interchange is under construction. It is great to see an improvement that you worked on for years become reality. The interchange was a joint effort by Grundy County, Channahon, Morris, Minooka and the State of Illinois. Congratulations to everyone who helped make this a reality. It should promote economic development and provide better and more convenient access from I-80 and Route 6.

The interchange has been called many things over the years — a field of dreams, a pie-in-the sky idea. But the $19 million project is now underway.

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Worlds Funniest Town Names

http://www.smartertravel.com/photo-galleries/editorial/worlds-funniest-town-names.html?id=136

Thanks to Mike Yui for sharing.

Small Business Data Resources

Information proliferates on the Internet, but timely, accurate, extensive, and accessible databases are as good as gold—and equally hard to find. With more than 30 years of experience mining federal data sources from the Census Bureau to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, the Office of Advocacy offers a research tool for small business researchers and policymakers, a hyperlinked listing of: 

Small Business Data Resources

Planning Commissioners Journal

The Planning Commissioners Journal recently converted to an all web operation.  Take a look below:

Sizing Up Our Downtowns -- six articles (16 pages) from the Planning Commissioners Journal that can help you better evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your downtown -- available only as a .pdf download. To order & immediately download.

Sizing Up Our Downtowns includes: Why Downtowns (Should) Matter to Planning Commissions Sizing Up Downtown Downtown Hurdles "We Don't Have Enough Parking" Downtowns Grow One Step at a Time No Such Thing as Free Parking

To order & immediately download Sizing Up Our Downtowns for just $10.75. Substantial savings compared to ordering the articles individually. -- if link doesn't work, go to: http://pcj.typepad.com

Downtown Danville

Vacant corner lot in Danville turned into a nice mini park.

Danville, Illinois Livens Up Their City

Nice mural in Danville, Illinois.

Adds a little color and pizazz to downtown.

Cities Rule

Chuck Eckenstahler has written an interesting summary of "Triumph of the City:

“Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier” by Edward Glaeser.

Glaeser a Professor of Economics and Director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard. Eckenstahler is a City Planning Consultant.

Click to read the review