212 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 10 to the army,” he reveals. “That is an aviation unit that flies helicopters from this airport.” That military capability is an important component for any such airport, as Wright points out. Further, he notes that the State of Illinois recently conducted an economic impact study for all the airports in the state. The report analyzed 85 public-use airport facilities: 81 public and four private airports. Data were used to measure the economic impact at each airport, as well as each transportation department region and at the statewide level. Completed in 2020, the study talks about the myriad jobs related to local aviation and the enormous economic effects created by the Decatur Airport and its fellow facilities across the entire state. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the state’s public-use airports generate some $95.5 billion in total annual economic activity, resulting in almost half a million jobs that can be traced to the aviation industry. The study also finds that aviation accounts for more than 4.2 percent of the gross domestic product for Illinois and almost five percent of the state’s jobs. By demonstrating the aviation business’s significance to the state economy, the Department of transportation’s analysis reinforces the value of actively addressing airport and aviation system needs. The data not only bring home the importance of investing in the state’s aviation resources, but they also help Illinois airports to position themselves for incoming federal investment through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Wright continues that the airport is reducing its burden upon the electric grid. Within the next several years, it will see upgrades to all the airfield electrical lighting to LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. The electrical vault will be upgraded and have more safety features as well.
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