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| Northwest Indiana Forum | |
|---|---|
| Name | Northwest Indiana Forum |
| Formation | 1985 |
| Type | Nonprofit regional leadership organization |
| Headquarters | Hammond, Indiana |
| Region served | Lake County, Porter County, LaPorte County, Indiana |
| Leader title | President & CEO |
Northwest Indiana Forum The Northwest Indiana Forum is a regional civic leadership organization based in Hammond, Indiana, focused on economic development, public policy, and community collaboration across Lake County, Porter County, and LaPorte County. It convenes public officials, business leaders, higher education institutions, labor organizations, and civic groups to advance infrastructure, workforce, and development projects affecting municipalities, ports, and industrial centers along the southern Lake Michigan shoreline. The Forum engages with transportation authorities, environmental agencies, philanthropic foundations, and federal legislators to coordinate large-scale initiatives.
Founded in 1985 amid manufacturing transitions affecting steel mills and rail hubs in Gary and East Chicago, the Forum emerged as a coalition including representatives from the City of Hammond, Town of Highland, City of Michigan City, and civic leaders tied to the Indiana Ports of Indiana and the Gary/Chicago International Airport. Early efforts aligned with redevelopment plans involving the Regional Development Authority, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and labor unions such as the United Steelworkers. Over time the organization partnered with academic institutions including Purdue University Northwest, Indiana University Northwest, and Ivy Tech Community College to address workforce retraining, collaborating with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission on metropolitan planning organization projects. The Forum’s timeline intersects with regional initiatives like the Calumet Corridor revitalization, the Gary Works reinvestment, and federal infrastructure programs administered through the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Economic Development Administration.
The Forum is governed by a board of directors composed of mayors from Hammond, Gary, East Chicago, and Crown Point; county commissioners from Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties; CEOs of corporations such as U.S. Steel, BP (former Amoco operations), and ArcelorMittal; presidents of Purdue University Northwest and Indiana University Northwest; and representatives from the Northwest Indiana Building Trades Council and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. Executive leadership has included presidents with backgrounds in public administration, regional planning, and philanthropy, working alongside staff who liaise with the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Committees focus on transportation, workforce, environmental remediation, and economic competitiveness, coordinating with entities like the Lake County Economic Alliance, the Porter County Visitor Center, and the Calumet Heritage Partnership.
Key initiatives have addressed multimodal freight corridors linking the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, Indiana Harbor, and the Gary/Chicago International Airport to Class I railroads including Norfolk Southern and CSX, often in concert with the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program and the Great Lakes Commission. Workforce development programs involve partnerships with Ivy Tech, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the ApprenticeshipUSA program, and regional employers such as NiSource and NIPSCO. Environmental and brownfield remediation projects collaborate with the U.S. EPA, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Lake County Redevelopment Commission, and nonprofit stewards like the Save the Dunes Council. Small business and entrepreneurship efforts coordinate with the Small Business Administration, SCORE, the Economic Development Administration, and regional community development financial institutions.
The Forum’s work aims to leverage investments from the U.S. Department of Commerce, HUD Opportunity Zones designations, and private capital to catalyze redevelopment in downtown Hammond, Miller Beach, and Michigan City. Projects have targeted expansion of logistics and manufacturing tied to the Inland Port concept, revitalization of the Lake Michigan shoreline, and attraction of research collaborations with Purdue Research Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Outcomes intersect with regional labor markets involving labor unions, community colleges, and corporate employers such as Caterpillar and ArcelorMittal, influencing housing redevelopment funded by Local Initiatives Support Corporation and state tax increment financing managed by municipal redevelopment commissions.
Membership spans municipal governments (City of Hammond, City of Gary, City of Whiting), county agencies (Lake County, Porter County), private sector partners (steelmakers, logistics firms, utilities), higher education (Purdue University Northwest, Indiana University Northwest), and civic organizations (Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Northwest Indiana Forum Foundation affiliates). Strategic partners include federal agencies (U.S. EPA, U.S. DOT), state entities (Indiana Economic Development Corporation), philanthropic organizations (Lilly Endowment, Northwestern Indiana Community Foundation), and regional planning agencies such as the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission.
The Forum convenes annual summits, transportation roundtables, and workforce conferences attracting speakers from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and regional mayors from Hammond, Gary, and Michigan City. Programming includes panel discussions with representatives from the Port of Indiana, the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority, the Northwest Indiana Building Trades, and academic panels featuring faculty from Purdue University Northwest and Indiana University Northwest. The Forum hosts forums tied to infrastructure grant opportunities under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and regional economic forums aligned with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
Critiques of the Forum have come from environmental advocates including the Save the Dunes Council and local activists in East Chicago and Gary concerned about industrial pollution, brownfield remediation pace, and equity in redevelopment benefiting communities of color. Labor groups and municipal leaders have at times debated priorities between attracting large corporate investments and supporting small businesses or affordable housing, with disputes involving redevelopment incentives, tax increment financing, and municipal bond financing. Some civic watchdogs have questioned transparency in partnerships with major corporations and the allocation of public funds toward airport expansion or port improvements versus neighborhood-level services.
Category:Organizations based in Indiana