"The commitment of all of us here is to really do something concretely ourselves to make this happen."
-- Karen Pulliam, president, Gary branch of the NAACP
"Action, not just talk. We need tasks assigned and followed through."
-- Shirley Caylor, executive director, Crisis Center
"The key is transportation-oriented development. I think both the industrial job-producing part of that and residential building part of that (are key)."
-- Pat Lee, head of Lee Companies Inc. out of Gary
"You have to make it, mine it, grow it or move it to encourage economic development."
-- Jill Ritchie, manager of public policy and governmental affairs, United States Steel Corp.
"Cooperation with our region because we're in a global economy. ... The key is business and investment."
-- David Castellanos, 1st American Steel LLC
"I don't think there is one. It's a combination of things: regional assistance ... financial stability ... promoting a positive image."
-- Joe Stahura, mayor of Whiting
"The key ingredient is certainly a regional economic strategy that ties to the suburbs. We have to get all the economies working together. Get trained and job-ready."
-- The Rev. Cheryl Rivera, Interfaith Federation
"The key ingredient is to find a way to get this information to trickle down to the people who aren't in this room and to get them involved and engaged in the process of making the region better. If you can garner that (grassroots) support, a lot of other things will take place."
-- Raymond Davis, recruiter, Purdue University Calumet Upward Bound program
"The key is getting the region willing to reinvest in Gary and the other urban communities. As it is now, the investment has been taken out of the urban core. You have people working in the urban areas but living in other parts of the region."
-- Sandy O'Brien, Save the Dunes Council
"With all the plans that are out there (for development), we don't need another one. The secret is not more planning but doing the nuts and bolts projects -- like streets and sidewalks -- with good administration and delivery of services on a consistent basis."
-- Jim Nowacki, real estate investor
"Trust is the most important ingredient. It's what leads to our willingness to work together and overcoming the feeling that the urban core is an island and outside that core is everything else. We've got to find a way to trust one another enough to work for the common good."
-- The Rev. Dwight Gardner, Interfaith Federation
"I think we have the tools, spirit and dedication to move forward, so let's just go. It's about implementing the plan."
-- Kathy Brown, Marquette implementation coordinator, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority
Please Wait…