Los Angeles – September 30, 2026 -- A newly filmed segment of the public-television series "Viewpoint hosted by Dennis Quaid" profiles Southern Illinois Now (SI NOW), an economic development organization that has unified a 17-county region into a single point of contact for companies weighing relocation away from saturated metropolitan markets.
SI NOW consolidates 17 counties into one negotiating front for site selection
Rather than compete against one another for incoming industry, the counties in SI NOW's network pool infrastructure, workforce data and logistics assets under a shared regional brand. The organization positions this as a direct answer to fragmented local competition, which it says confuses incoming businesses, dilutes talent pools and duplicates administrative costs across neighboring municipalities.
Concierge model links education, healthcare and finance partners to cut relocation friction
The segment details a concierge-style process in which SI NOW acts as the sole liaison between prospective companies and regional education institutions, healthcare providers, financial entities and private industry -- replacing what the organization describes as dozens of disconnected conversations typical of standard site-selection processes.
"Southern Illinois tells a powerful story -- one of communities working together as a region to build something greater than any one place alone," said Nick Holdinghausen, Regional Development lead at SI NOW, citing the area's central U.S. location, logistics hub status and workforce as differentiators for corporate growth.
Region markets direct access to Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville and Louisville
SI NOW points to existing transportation infrastructure as a competitive lever: American Airlines operates daily direct jet service between Marion and Chicago, while Amtrak connects Carbondale -- home to Southern Illinois University -- to the same northern market. St. Louis, Nashville and Louisville are each within a short drive, giving companies based in the region access to multiple major metro markets without metropolitan overhead costs.
Cost-of-living gap between major cities and mid-sized markets widens the case for relocation
The segment frames rising urban living costs relative to wage growth as a driver pushing companies toward mid-sized markets that combine lower operating expenses with retained access to domestic supply chains. SI NOW argues that this balance supports both employer budgets and employee retention, positioning cohesive, resource-pooled regions as a hedge against long-term workforce attrition in oversaturated cities.