Former state senator Dale Risinger says he hopes to renew focus on some lagging Tri-County Regional Planning Commission projects. The commission last week appointed Risinger as its interim executive director. The commission has completed a corridor study to build a proposed Eastern Bypass. That project would connect Interstate 74 with Illinois Route 6 in the north-east-region of Peoria. Risinger says he wants to focus on selecting a proposed route for the bypass:
“Before you ask for any construction money, though, you got to get that alignment done, and there’s a lot of public involvement to get that done. So we’ll be working on that we’ll be trying to keep it moving forward,” Risinger says.
Risinger is a former engineer with the I-DoT and left the state senate three years ago. He says another focus is to help the commission settle its payment to an consultant to develop a regional economic development plan. He says that will help the commission get back to focusing on other projects.