Great reasons to be optimistic about South Bend's future

      A resident who spoke with WSBT-TV on the way out of a mayoral candidates forum expressed the favorable drift of things when he said that the attention is on the future, on what South Bend will become.
     From my vantage point, South Bend has attractive assets and the resolve to fall outside the next list put together by some newsweekly. The city is part of a region with an abundance of links connecting a population of more than 11 million and an economy greater than $500 billion in size. As a public relations firm involved with a metropolitan region that curves around the lake from Milwaukee to South Bend, we have South Bend sentiments and experiences, from four years of university residency to the friendships, recreation, and business interests that draw us now.
     That outsider-insider position gives us a chance to notice some comparisons among cities in our region. Thumbnail sketches of Milwaukee, Chicago and South Bend find the three cities confronting similar issues, issues that include employment, tax revenue shortfalls, failure to retain college graduates, failure to educate young populations well and civic definition. Attend an event in Milwaukee and engineers are in abundance along with a tone of practicality and interest in physical products. In Chicago, where the entrepreneurs are focused on Internet businesses that blend financial with consumer product marketing innovations, the guests are lawyers, accountants, financial professionals and marketers. In South Bend, they are business owners, university members, bankers, accountants and members of other professions.
     In 2005, the seven southeastern Wisconsin counties that include Milwaukee gathered for joint economic analysis and planning. From that emerged an organization, M7, and a plan that directs attention to categories holding the most value and promise for the area: the training and retention of skilled machinists is an example.
     Two business leaders brought about the establishment of BizStarts Milwaukee, which steadily encourages the creation of new Milwaukee businesses. Formed in 2007, the group has a goal of 50 new businesses each year. Another venture started in recent years is giving Milwaukee a world reputation and appeal for the abundance of its freshwater science companies.
     Chicago excites enthusiasm and holds a large educated population of professionals but, still, there are signs of unease. In addition to the financial predicament of the city and the state, there are questions about the meaning of the city beyond its size and its fortuitous mid-continent location. Today, ready to serve as the capital of an important region that includes South Bend, Chicago is a headquarters for certain expensive talent such as lawyers with science Ph.D's. Still, while that fuels the launch of restaurants and nail care clinics, the money center banks have departed for the East Coast and the Fortune 500 companies are more often targets than acquirers.
     While Milwaukee is stirring and Chicago is secure, South Bend is proudly self-contained and uncommonly generous. Of late, South Bend shows a willingness to admit trepidation about the current state of things.
     If South Bend's present condition were a "Gilligan's Island" or "Lost" type of project, people would turn their focus to the resources at hand. There is more to work with in South Bend than some coconut shells and a starlet's jewelry. The cost of living is favorable and supports a lifestyle of good amenities and easy contact with friends. Commutes are easy. Parking is inexpensive. Office costs are favorable. High-speed Internet service is part of the infrastructure. People educated well at the college level are prone to be loyal residents, with their social get-togethers frequently based on support for a community need. Children in South Bend are watched and cheered.
     Apart from the physical beauty of places like Leeper Park and the flow of the steadily improved St. Joe River, South Bend has among its resources a wise, committed group of business leaders such as the three who convened the March 28 meeting. City staff know the city and have aspirations for a place that is their home, too. The vacant housing that candidates discussed in the mayoral forum weighs on the city but may become an asset for businesses wanting affordable residences for their employees. Slowly, with the support of backers who count benefits for South Bend in the calculation of their potential returns, new companies are taking shape.
     While Milwaukee and Chicago have their vibrant clusters of education institutions, South Bend's array has something in addition to the preparation of ready graduates. Few other communities witness the scale of Notre Dame's impact on attention and travel from many parts of the world.
     Surely, more than a coconut-based radio will come from South Bend's roster of resources.
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Thomas Figel is managing partner of Lake Effect Communications, Chicago, and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.
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Thumbnail Impressions, Business in Chicago, Milwaukee, South Bend
An essay published in the South Bend Tribune, May, 2011