The Alexander Cairo Port Authority states 80% of all inland barge traffic passes by the Cairo. Senator Dale Fowler has been an outspoken proponent of the port project for years: “When you talk about the possibility of creating the nation's hub for river port transportation opportunities...see what lies here, and southern Illinois at the confluence.”
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.