Chamber travels to Springfield to address Missing Middle housing shortages; pushes momentum for QC Passenger Rail
March 27, 2026
The Quad Cities Chamber and a delegation of more than 10 community leaders, traveled to Springfield to advocate for priorities in our 2026 Legislative Agenda. Meetings were held with officials from the House, Senate and Governor's office to discuss development incentives, workforce issues and the next steps to deliver on the promise of passenger rail to the Quad Cities.
The delegation brought real-world expertise to the legislative discussion around Chamber priorities including:
- Adding a mid-income housing tax credit to the incentive stack provided by the River Edge Redevelopment Zone program coming to the Illinois Quad Cities
- Advocating for border communities in Illinois by offering a more thorough development incentive package for areas located within 10 miles of the state border
- Implementing accountability and alignment requirements to facilitate future passenger rail projects
- Promoting targeted 4-year degree offerings through community colleges to fill current local workforce gaps
- Opposing the elimination of the tipped wage credit
Meetings were held with these legislators:
- Sen. Neil Anderson, 47th District
- Sen. Minority Leader, John Curran, 41st District
- Sen. Graciela Guzman, 20th District
- Sen. Seth Lewis, 24th District
- Sen. Steve McClure, 54th District
- Legislative staff for Sen. Erica Harris, 56th District
Those in attendance included:
- Jack Cullen, Rock Island Downtown Alliance
- Andrew Dasso, Streamline Architects
- Jennifer Hirsch, MetroLINK
- Doug House, Rock Island County Passenger Rail Committee
- Ben Keith, Iowa American Water/Quad Cities Chamber Board Chair
- Ben Leischner, Quad Cities International Airport
- Ben Limmer, MetroLINK
- Dylan Parker, Indiana-Illinois-Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting
- Katie Schroeder, Deere & Company
- Penni Steen, Skellington Manor
- Bob Vitas, City of Moline
- Jenelle Wolber, REDEEM
