Photo by Mike Brothers
Sullivan Chamber & Economic Development offices are now located at the corner of Jefferson and Washington streets in Sullivan. Above Moultrie County Board Chairman Dave McCabe stopped by the new location to visit Executive Director Laurrie Minor. The new office entrance is on Washington Street.

•September 5, 2018•

Sullivan Chamber and Economic Development is operating in new offices at 101 W. Jefferson St. and is kicking off Spark, a community based initiative for future planning.
For Executive Director Laurrie Minor juggling economic planning initiatives while working on the next community festival, Oktoberfest, is all in a day’s work.
Sullivan Spark, with direction from the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western University, includes local citizen volunteers to help create a long-range plan for the community.
Minor recently completed Professional Community and Economic Developer certification through Western and is one of 600 certified in the country. The national accreditation connects Sullivan to materials designed for rural community development.
One opportunity SCED is focused on is marketing land for development south of Sullivan on Route 32. Minor emphasized the 18 plus acres of city owned property is located in a new TIF 4 District, intact until 2040.
The city of Sullivan is prepared to offer incentives to developers for the project with major utilities already located at the site.
“The property is on the Lake Shelbyville corridor and would be a great location for a hotel,” Minor said, noting the marketing plan presented to the city council will target light industrial, lawn and garden, outdoor adventure stores and possibly a variety store such as Tractor Supply Company.
On the tourism front SCED and the Lake Shelbyville Corp of Engineers partnered at a trade show in Chicago that produced results in a few weeks.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.