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Waukegan consultants pitch “opportunity collaborative” to connect residents with jobs, services
Summary
City consultants and residents discussed a proposed “opportunity collaborative” to centralize services, improve job pathways and scale supports for households in economic distress; no formal actions were taken, consultants asked the public for input and pledged a follow-up meeting.
Consultants hired by the City of Waukegan introduced a proposal Monday for an “opportunity collaborative” — a centralized, community-led network of service providers and employers intended to create clearer career pathways and consolidate access to services for households in economic distress.
The idea, presented by Mike Higbee of OBE Advisors LLC and Shelley Moore (consultant partner), aims to address concentrated poverty, low educational attainment and barriers such as transportation and childcare by creating one or more neighborhood hubs where residents can get referrals, training and wraparound services. Noel Kisher Leper, director of planning, zoning and economic development for the city, opened the session and invited public input.
The consultants said their analysis found significant economic distress in parts of Waukegan. "Minimum, about 20,000 people that live in poverty in Waukegan today," Mike Higbee said, and he added an estimated "about 15,000 households" that experience some level of economic distress. Higbee and Moore said Waukegan shows below‑state norms for postsecondary education and concentrated distress across multiple census tracts; they identified Census Tract 8620 as roughly central to the area of greatest need.
Consultants described the collaborative as community‑led and scalable rather than a single new agency. "What if there was a clear place to access opportunity in Waukegan? What if everybody knew where to go," Moore asked, describing a single entry point or campus of nearby locations that could combine adult education, childcare, healthcare access, transportation links, employer connections and career training.
Residents and nonprofit representatives at the meeting raised practical barriers they see now: unreliable handoffs between providers, lack of trust among clients who are referred, limited local presence of county or regional providers, and insufficient awareness of better‑paying local jobs. A nonprofit case manager said their organization primarily makes referrals and often "we don't know" what happens after a handoff. A community member said transportation is critical because many households lack reliable cars.
Higbee and Moore outlined tools for measuring progress: a dashboard tracking median income, labor force participation, education attainment and service utilization, and a business model that would aim for sustainability within three to four years through a mix of reorganized local resources and seed capital. They told attendees a website (collaboratewaukegan.com) will collect input and that the team will return for another public meeting in about a month.
There were no formal votes or policy actions at the meeting. The consultants asked participants to suggest which organizations should sit at the collaborative table; attendees named groups including United Way, Erie Family Health Center, PADS, the park district, local schools, College of Lake County and family‑service organizations. Higbee and Moore said the collaborative would build on existing providers rather than replace them and emphasized reducing siloed work: "No one organization will ever scale to the need," Moore said.
The meeting closed with staff asking attendees to sign an attendance sheet and to provide feedback online. Consultants said they will compile input and present next steps at the follow‑up meeting.
