"If you build it, they will come" is a phrase popularized by the film "Field of Dreams" in which "they" referred to people who would fill the stands of a baseball field built in isolation on an Iowa cornfield by a farmer hoping to avert economic disaster.

Here in Racine County we have growing economic and social challenges of our own and plenty of people whose field of dreams comprises a broader landscape, and a solution requiring not magic, but a solid strategy and regional cooperation.

Understand that, in January 2008, the Racine County Workforce Development Board joined with 50 leaders from across the county to develop a strategy aimed at helping businesses and our community prepare and adapt to a changing economy. This broad and diverse community coalition, determined that workforce development, and the very viability of the economy, in Racine County was at a crucial crossroads. We could continue to respond reactively to global trends, or be more proactive.

They opted for a proactive approach on important issues. In the ensuing months, the team gathered input from across the county and developed a well-thought-out, comprehensive plan adopted by the board and presented to the community in May 2008 titled "Higher Expectations - A Workforce Development Strategy for Racine County." Citing underlying issues of low education, high unemployment (9.5 percent in the city at the time), and inadequate transportation options, the plan targeted six core challenges.

n Raise standards and expectations for public education.

n Provide support for more financially stable families.

n Create jobs for communities with high rates of unemployment.

n Enhance work force transportation.

n Improve job-seeker information about opportunities in new and expanding businesses.

n Promote a more positive community image.

Although I remain optimistic today about our area's prospects and the progress we've made, it is clear that failing to improve work force transportation options poses a potentially devastating danger not only to our local economic well-being, but also our regional strength and market-ability.

Located at the center of the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor, Racine County is geographically situated for success. And while residential building activity and a number of new startup businesses provide signs of hope, in the time since "Higher Expectations" was published, city unemployment has reached 16.2 percent.

While transportation is only one challenge area, I see the six challenges as individual Racine County links joined to form a strong community. With local bus service funding in peril, not only might the most economically vulnerable members of our community lose their ability to get to work and school, but the integrity and strength of our entire chain is threatened.

Moreover, we need Regional transportation projects like the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail to build stronger links to our neighbors all along the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor, and eventually farther west and north, too. Stronger regional transportation is vital to making the region more attractive to investors and young professionals who are key to business attraction, job growth and increasing our tax base. So, as the economy grows more global by the day, regional transportation links grow more important by the minute.

Decisions about pivotal local and regional transit options will be made very soon. I invite the public to learn more and join the dialog at a free forum that will explore the connection between transportation and the economy. Titled "Tapping Into Transit as a Game Changer for Racine," the forum will be held Wednesday from 7-8:30 p.m. at the DeKoven Center, Great Hall, 600 21st St., Racine, located on Bus Route No. 1. (Enter on Wisconsin Avenue.) For more information please visit: http://www.transitnow.org

For me, there's nothing magical about it. We can work together locally and as a region. We can work to build a thriving, well-connected economy with jobs and opportunity for our families and businesses. We can make our regional economic field of dreams a reality.

Ron Thomas is the secretary of the Racine County AFL-CIO Labor Council.