The Heart of Illinois Regional Port District (TransPORT) is pleased to announce that its Peoria Illinois-Gulf Container on Barge proposal has been designated by the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) as a component initiative of the America’s Marine Highway Program.  This is a new, federally supported effort to shift more cargo from the congested Interstate highway system to the coastal and inland waterways of the nation. 

The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome Han Duk-soo the Korean Ambassador to the United States to Peoria.  Han Duk-soo and Congressman Aaron Schock will be the featured guests at the “Growing Jobs Across America: Opportunities in Illinois” event at Pere Marquette on August 16th from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. 

The recent recession caused major jobloss for this region but there is light at the end of the tunnel now as we are starting to see some of those jobs return.  According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security the average number of jobs in 2009 was at a five year low of 178,300.  As of May 2010 the average for the year was 183,940.  While it is slow going, we are seeing growth and that is positive news. 

Filming has begun for a cable reality show featuring Peoria, Illinois startup company Intellihot, a Peoria NEXT Innovation Center tenant.  The reality show hosted by BobCringley, a known expert in the technology and innovation field, will highlight 24 of the best startup businesses outside of Silicon Valley.  In late July the Cringely’s caravan came to Peoria, Illinois and spent time at Intellihot.  Our cameras were there as they started filming for the reality show.