U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today met with leaders from the Bloomington-Normal area who were in Washington, DC as part of the fourth annual One Voice trip.  Durbin and members of the group discussed the region’s economic development and federal funding priorities for 2011.

“One Voice does a great job of coming together to promote a unified agenda for the entire Bloomington-Normal region,” said Durbin.  “I was happy to meet with members of the group today and look forward to working with them in the future.”

One Voice is a pro-community campaign that has brought together leaders from the City of Bloomington, the Town of Normal, McLean County, rural municipalities, labor, local educational institutions and local private businesses.  The goal of the campaign is to make McLean County a stronger economic force and a better place to live.  The following leaders attended today’s meeting: Normal Mayor Chris Koos, Bloomington Mayor Steve Stockton and Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area CEO Marty Vanags.

Last month, Durbin joined the Department of Transportation in announcing $22 million in funding for the Multimodal Transportation Center Project in Normal – a downtown redevelopment project that will create jobs and promote economic development in the region.  The Normal Multimodal Transportation Center will serve as a hub for numerous modes of transportation including Amtrak passenger rail, intercity bus, local mass transit, automobiles, intra-community shuttles, taxis, airport shuttles, as well as bicycles and pedestrians.  The existing Normal Amtrak station is the second busiest passenger rail station in Illinois behind Chicago’s Union Station.