In 15 to 20 years, Angela Griffin would love to see development along Lincoln Avenue between Charleston and Mattoon.

Griffin, the chief executive officer for Coles Together, a countywide economic development group that focuses on bringing industries to Coles County, said her hope is not to notice when one community ends and another begins.

She said the county has the ability to provide quality jobs that have above average household salaries and benefits.

The county has the ability to harness environmental-friendly industries and support a new and emerging economy, Griffin said.

“That’s my vision,” she said. “I think we have the resources to be able to do that, if we can put them all together.”

The FutureGen project could make this vision a reality, and Coles Together has been a vital community group in bringing the project to Mattoon. Coles Together, which began in 1988, has spent three and a half years working on the flagship project that would cleanly convert coal to hydrogen.

The group was involved in the recent cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the FutureGen Alliance, which signifies a renewed commitment from the federal government and allows the alliance to find ways to reduce construction costs.

The Mattoon project was jeopardized after the Energy Department rescinded the project in January 2008 in favor of smaller clean coal plants across the nation – a move that Griffin said was a delay tactic to kill the project.

Coles Together and FutureGen

Griffin said employees at Coles Together never doubted after January 2008 that the project would return to Mattoon.

She attributed the confidence to the commitment of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. and the number two Democrat in the U.S. Senate, and U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, who is serving his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“The minute the DOE said this project is dead, they said, ‘No, it’s not,'” Griffin said. “That was enough of a confidence vote for us.”

She said after the Energy Department pulled the project, Coles Together worked on educating various groups about the need for one larger plant in Mattoon.

Griffin said the group only wanted the project to be reviewed on its merits.

“That’s all anybody asked for,” she said. “Nobody in Illinois ever asked for political favoritism, and we didn’t get any – not from Durbin or Obama, or anybody else.”

Griffin said a review based on merits would, and did, reveal that the Mattoon site was the best location for the project.

Griffin said the group’s work on the high profile project has helped Coles Together become more visible among county residents.

She said the group spends most of its time conducting site tours with consultants and responding to requests for different projects. The group also can spend months at a time working, while being bound by confidentiality, on a project and ultimately lose it, if a company decides to locate a project outside of Illinois.

“I think because of the nature of what we do being so confidential that, maybe, for a long time folks weren’t aware of what we did or why we didn’t talk about it,” Griffin said.

A unique position

Before the creation of Coles Together, communities in the county would have individual economic development entities, which led to competition and duplication of duties.

Charleston City Manager Scott Smith said Coles Together unifies economic development between all communities.

“The public/private partnership works because it’s obviously much more cost effective to pool resources towards a common goal,” Smith said. “Coles Together represents a common goal of representing both Mattoon and Charleston, along with Oakland and the county, when they’re vying for projects.”

Griffin said the group also makes it easier for companies interested in locating in the county, adding companies have one point of contact, instead of three or four.

She said the group also makes economic development consistent in the county.

When turnover happens on various city councils, the ideology of the community can change, Griffin said.

“If the position changes, the policies and approaches to economic development may change,” she said.

Future development

Griffin is quick to admit that FutureGen will dictate the future economic development in the county. But Coles County residents could see expansion to existing industries soon.

Griffin said two industries in the county are looking to expand its services. Coles Together has been in contact with the two groups, but Griffin said confidentiality prohibits her from elaborating on negotiations.

“There is some activity that is picking up in industry that already is here,” she said. “Hopefully, we can announce soon.”

If the FutureGen project comes to Mattoon, companies that specialize in products related to clean coal would likely locate in the county. Suppliers could also locate once the project becomes a reality.

“There will be a whole lot of expansion growth that can be attributed back to FutureGen through the trickle down effect,” Griffin said.

She said the county could also become an attractive location for distributors because of its close proximity to the interstate.

“At this stage in the FutureGen game, it’s hard to say,” Griffin said. “We’ve been in limbo for awhile in terms of our marketing efforts.”

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.

Angela Griffin, the president of Coles Together, stands next to a sign for FutureGen, one of the projects that Coles Together is bringing to Mattoon, on Friday afternoon at the Coles Together office.(Audrey Sawyer/The Daily Eastern News)

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