Peoria Caught in the Middle

"Caught in the Middle" is a new book by Richard C. Longworth is a new book worth your time reading. Quoting from yesterday's WSJ, "Like the "inner" peace and "bi-partisan reform," the phrase American heartlands so vaguely wistful that it is rendered nearly meaningless. This is painful honest book with little room for sentimentality. Longworth says that heartland workers are torpid, poorly trained and resistant to change. Politicians and bureaucrats are narrows-minded, territorial and selfish. Farmers are addicted to subsidies and beholden to megacorporations."

In one chapter, Longworth visits Eldon, Iowa where artist Grant Wood once spotted a simple white house with an arched Gothic window. His painting of the house and occupants became famous as "American Gothic". Longworth says the house today still stands but most everything in Eldon is collapsing. The population dropped from 2000 to 975, the railroad closed and about the only things left is a Casey's, a pizzia place and a donut shop.

He continues "There are towns with rescue plans underway-plans to salvage housing, invest in new industries (In Peoria, we invest in new enhancements paying slightly above minimum wages) save the schools and so on, usually through some combination of of subsidy, tax breaks and legislation.Some plans will no doubt help but they probably will not reverse the overarching trend."

Longworth continues by touting Chicago as the place where things are happening. "But the Chicago model, even if it imitable, leaves little room for a healthy middle class." His book "calls for an end to the competition that pits county vs. county, city against city, and state vs. state.

He see "High speed rails, newspapers with strong editorial voices and a consortium of universities that will bring leaders in business, government and academia to solve REGIONAL problems, as it were, collectively."

But he is clear-eyed enough to recognize that solutions are a remote possibility. He says "The heartland doesn't live there anymore."

Middle Illinois will not work regionally for the obvious reasons given above. Peoria Riverfront Museum is a prime example.