Chamber reacts to East Moline State of the City Address

East Moline Mayor Reggie Freeman delivered the State of the City address on Thursday, March 27. Mayor Freeman showcased the progress East Moline has made over the past year, and future goals that align with the Quad Cities Chamber’s Legislative Agenda.

Taxes and Incentives 

Mayor Freeman and City Administrator Mark Rothert unveiled the East Moline Business Improvement Grant (BIG) program, a competitive grant program launching in a few months using the funds collected from last year’s Business Development District tax. The BIG program can fund up to $500,000 in projects annually, and businesses in the district can apply for grants for new construction, additions, façade improvements and more. The Chamber supported the formation of the Business Development District last year and are pleased to see this grant program come to fruition as a resource for East Moline businesses.  

Home Rule 

Mayor Freeman also spoke about the upcoming Home Rule referendum question East Moline voters would be considering on April 1, asserting that the City does not need more tax revenue and would use Home Rule only to provide for more flexible financing terms. Although the Home Rule referendum was rejected on Election Day by East Moline voters, we appreciated the Mayor’s comments regarding responsible and creative uses of City funds.

Placemaking, Infrastructure and Development 

New developments aimed at improving quality of life were featured prominently in Mayor Freeman’s address. Downtown revitalization efforts will kick off this year using $24 million in federal RAISE grants in addition to State of Illinois grant funding. We are encouraged by the City’s focus on building wider sidewalks to accommodate outdoor events and festivals, creating multimodal infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists and repairing needed water and sewer infrastructure. With the downtown projects targeting 2027 for completion, we thank the Mayor for recognizing the hardships that road closures during construction can cause small businesses and for the City’s commitment to providing business assistance as the projects progress.  

Mayor Freeman focused on the future, announcing that East Moline is development-ready and recognized Grow Quad Cities as a major partner in economic development for the City.