,

Poll Shows Support For Regional Cooperation In Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana

Survey Focused On Milwaukee-Chicago-Northwest Indiana 'Megacity'

A new poll suggests a majority of residents in parts of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana would like to see their elected leaders working together on certain issues.

The Marquette University poll surveyed more than 1,800 people living in the Milwaukee-Chicago-northwest Indiana “megacity” region. The survey found that about 70 percent of the Illinois and Indiana respondents, as well as 60 percent of those from Wisconsin want leaders of the region to cooperate.

Pollster Charles Franklin said the results reflect that people care about more than just their neighborhood or town.

Stay informed on the latest news

Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“I think it would actually be fairly reasonable to confess that, when you get right down to it, ‘I care about my place,’” Franklin said. “A lot of people disagree with that. In fact, a large number disagree with it.”

Franklin said the poll shows general support for cooperation on transportation projects and professional licensing, but not on tourism promotion or efforts to attract large businesses to the region.

Meanwhile, some mayors of major cities along southern Lake Michigan say they’re skeptical of one finding from the poll: The number of people who want to see highway improvements in the region is double the number who want additional passenger rail. Racine Mayor John Dickert said it would be more “logical” the other way around because commuter rail can reduce congestion.

“You can have a tube of toothpaste that is 7 feet wide. But if the hole is this big, that’s how much is coming out. In our cities, all the transportation goes down because there is limited roads through the cities. So you can create 17 lanes, and there will always be congestion,” said Dickert.

Karen Freeman-Wilson, the mayor of Gary, Indiana, also said her residents want more railroads going through the city. The mayors are calling for state officials in Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois to join any regional collaborations.