Illinois River Summit Highlights Growth

The Illinois River Partnership Summit, a three-day umbrella event, recently concluded separate but closely related meetings. The 2026 Annual Meeting of the Illinois River Cities and Towns Initiative was held October 13–14 at the Starved Rock Lodge in Oglesby, Ill. It was followed October 15 by the 2026 Illinois Waterway Ports Commission Annual Meeting.

Attendees of the annual three-day Illinois River Partnership Summit included members of economic development organizations, academic institutions, environmental organizations, ag groups, businesses that deliver infrastructure and enable riverfront development and representatives from Illinois River marine businesses that work to keep waterborne commerce moving and ensure the Illinois River is a working river.

Rick Granados, who lives in nearby Ottawa, Ill., and serves as the navigation director for the Corn Belt Ports, noted the significance of having the meetings in what is locally referred to now as the “Starved Rock Country Port,” which was unanimously approved by the Illinois state legislature in 2023 as an operational port area of the Illinois Waterway Port Commission. The Starved Rock Country Port includes the riverfront cities of Morris and Marseilles and large parts of Grundy, LaSalle and Bureau counties. This area had never been served by an Illinois port district before.

“The Corn Belt Ports is happy to help sponsor an annual event in each of the four Corn Belt Ports regions, and the Illinois River Partnership Summit is always about action and results,” Granados said.

Big Wins

Since joining together to more effectively market themselves and make their voices heard in Washington, D.C., the region’s ports have many successes to report. Katie Troccoli, the governor-appointed board member, treasurer of the Ottawa Port District and member of the Illinois Waterway Ports Commission, said at the news conference, “We are honored to sponsor the Illinois River Cities and Towns Initiative. In the last year, the Illinois River received our third Port Infrastructure Development Program grant. This one went to Seneca. The Illinois River was recently proposed by the Maritime Administration (MarAd) to be in the Strategic Marine Highway Network, a first for the Illinois River.”

“A few weeks ago, the Illinois River was recognized by the Maritime Administration as being part of the Corn Belt Ports Rural Maritime & Logistics Training and Education Consortium Center of Excellence,” Troccoli continued. “This is a great regional workforce development opportunity. The most recent U.S. Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center annual report showed that freight tonnage on the Illinois River increased by 5.9 percent, the most growth of any port statistical area in the U.S. These successes are all because everyone on the Illinois River is working together in close partnership to compete more effectively for federal recognition and funding.”

“We have an opportunity to more closely connect our cities with our regional port system and build a stronger regional team along the Illinois River,” said Ottawa Mayor Robb Hasty, the Illinois River Cities and Towns Initiative’s co-chair. “That … idea is at the heart of IRCTI; it was created to bring our river communities together, strengthen our collective voice and create more opportunities across the Illinois River corridor.”

Dr. Anshu Singh, executive director of the Illinois River Cities and Towns Initiative said, “Again this year, over 100 people from all over the United States attended the Illinois River Partnership Summit. … The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative were IRCTI’s inspiration for forming, and we were honored that Jack Knizhnik from GLSL Cities and Rock Island Mayor Ashley Harris from MRCTI gave us an update on their activities, and they are committed to strengthening our North America freshwater cities partnership.”

Education Consortium

Chris Smith, a long-time member of the Corn Belt Ports leadership team and executive director of the newly created Corn Belt Ports Rural Maritime and Logistics Training and Education Consortium, said the Illinois River Partnership Summit was a perfect opportunity to help introduce the consortium to the region. The consortium is a multi-state partnership of 10 institutions in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin, led by Western Illinois University and supported by We Work The Waterways. It was designated by MarAd as a 2026 Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education.

“This designation will help give our rural areas in the Heart of the Corn Belt the world-class supply chain workforce that we will need to be competitive in today’s global marketplace,” Smith said.

Todd Main from the Illinois Soybean Association gave an update on the association’s Transportation 2050 initiative. Jim Tarmann from the Illinois Corn Growers encouraged everyone to collectively speak with one voice, and Rodney Knittel from the Illinois Farm Bureau served on the Supply Chain Resiliency Panel, moderated by Travis McGlasson, the chair of the Illinois Waterway Ports Commission.

Speakers from ENTACT, OPTERRA and Ramboll gave their insights on how to advance needed infrastructure improvements during the Economic Transformation Through Industry, Energy and Waterfront Revitalization session.