MERRILLVILLE | Better schools and a greener future were the winning solutions for what ails Northwest Indiana in a forum Saturday that brought together nearly 500 region residents from all walks of life.
Those goals were consistent picks in the daylong Forum on the Future of Northwest Indiana at the Radisson Hotel in Merrillville. The event was the kick-off to a two-year project to draw up a comprehensive development plan for the region.
"We're at a tough point with the economy, and this gives us a chance to make the changes we'll have to make," said state Rep. Tom Dermody, R- LaPorte.
But the region will have to overcome many challenges first.
In one of the first votes of the day, participants overwhelmingly picked economic development as the top issue in Northwest Indiana, with transportation coming in second.
They did so by means of electronic keypad polling, with results projected on large overhead screens.
The top challenge facing the region is that local and county government are inefficient, unaccountable and not coordinated, according to the instant polling.
Schools suffering from poor results and low graduation rates came in second place in the race for top challenges.
"Until we deal with the quality of education as it relates to the work force of the future, we won't begin to make the progress we need to make in Northwest Indiana," former LaPorte Mayor Leigh Morris said.
Bitter cold and whipping winds in the morning failed to keep people way, with 487 of 600 registered attendees showing up.
The event was the first step in the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission's two-year project to form a vision for the region through the year 2040, NIRPC Planning Director Steve Strains said.
Saturday's goal was to create a shared vision, generate ideas and gather support for action across the region, Strains said.
It was a fairly optimistic crowd that gathered at the hotel. When polled in the morning, about 74 percent said they were either somewhat positive or very positive about the region's future.
Seated 10 or so to a table in the cavernous ballroom, participants brainstormed on facing the region's issues and possible solutions. Results of that brainstorming were distilled into lists that were shown on the large overhead screens. Participants then pushed on their keypads to register their vote.
People had no shortage of ideas, engaging in animated discussions on all topics around the tables.
When it comes to opportunities, building a regional bus and rail system to get people to jobs was rated No. 1. In second place was the opportunity for greater cooperation among local governments.
Votes on top priorities for resolving the region's problems were done topic by topic.
In the transportation category, attendees want a regional, interconnected public transit system that gets people to jobs. They also voted for development of alternative forms of energy and the redevelopment of vacant industrial complexes. And they voted in favor of better education and training to get people employment.
Much of the conversation around the tables centered on jobs, education and the failure of government to do anything about the region's problems.
"So many kids in school are not motivated," said Jake Lindsey, a junior at Hobart High School. "We have to put more people toward trades. Not every kid has to go to college."
Anne McShane, a Munster native and Kalamazoo College student, said the region is undergoing a significant brain drain, as students she knows just don't want to return to the state where they grew up.
In a short presentation before the forum, NIRPC Executive Director John Swanson pointed out how much the region has changed in the past three decades.
In 1979, 66,000 people were employed in the steel industry, Swanson said. Today, just 16,900 are working in steel.
Nevertheless, the population of the three-county area has increased to 762,500 from 710,000 in 1990, with many of the newcomers coming from Illinois. Many of those people maintain their jobs there but sleep here.
