by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Latest ‘Quality of Life Report” released
Jacksonville Community Council Inc. members and enthusiasts turned out en masse Tuesday to celebrate and catch a summarized glimpse of an annual report that’s been used to identify progress – and the need for progress – in different aspects of the community for 25 years.
The findings of the 25th edition of the JCCI Quality of Life Progress Report provided both hope and the need for additional investment, said numerous officials, on numerous issues.
The study, conducted by a JCCI committee chaired by Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Chair Kelly Madden, condensed the 115 indicators of year’s past into 60 – with the indicators falling into broader quality of life aspects such as education, the environment, community health and government – that made the study more concise while remaining thorough to tackle the issues moving forward, said Madden.
“There are points we can all celebrate,” she said during her summary, later adding, “There’s a great deal of truly exceptional work already out there.”
Positives included increased graduation rates, improvements in air quality and water conservation, a rise in volunteerism rates and a decline in murder and violent crime rates. Negatives included low reading test scores in schools, increased absenteeism, a rise in the unemployment rate, a decline in financial support for the arts, increased suicide rates and the overall economy remaining down.
Mayor John Peyton spoke to the crowd on his observations of the report he called a great measuring tool, but warned of the community being too hard on itself.
“We’ve made great progress in Jacksonville,” said Peyton. “We are our worst critics.”
Peyton talked of Jacksonville’s history of the community rallying around causes resulting in tangible results. Even in tough budget times, he said, a continued investment needed to be made to make and sustain gains.
“We have to be careful not to take our foot off the gas,” he said.
Skip Cramer, JCCI executive director, agreed with Peyton and said he was happy to see the many positives that came of the report in uncertain economic times. The report provides a blueprint of issues that need to be addressed, said Cramer, with investment needed to sustain.
“To tackle some of these issues, there can’t just be one shot in the barrel,” said Cramer.
To see the full JCCI Quality of Life Progress Report, including interactive Community Snapshots of the report as it affects communities, go to www.jcci.org.
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