If the accomplishments of 2006 are a prelude to 2007, the year ahead should be a good one for McLean County, as a whole, and Bloomington-Normal in particular.

There are many specific achievements to note from 2006: the opening of Cellular Coliseum and the reopening of the refurbished Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Bloomington; the continuing revitalization of uptown Normal; the installation of wind turbines in eastern McLean County in what will become the world's largest wind farm; topping 500,000 passengers at Central Illinois Regional Airport.

These developments are worth celebrating on their own merit.

But their larger significance is the part they can play in the area's future.

They are signs of progress in long-term projects aimed at spurring economic development and improving the quality of life.

To fulfill those goals will take more than the efforts of individual governmental units. It will take cooperation among them. And that may be the brightest sign from 2006 leading into 2007 - higher profile cooperative efforts between governmental bodies and private entities.

This community has always fared best when working together.

Cooperation has been generally good at the staff level, and such behind-the-scenes work is important. But more visible efforts are needed at higher levels to set the right tone and demonstrate that cooperation is a priority.

The past year has seen a number of joint meetings, in various combinations.

McLean County, Normal, Bloomington and the Unit 5 and District 87 school districts have me to discuss a range of issues from school security to the impact of growth.

The Bloomington City Council and Normal Town Council met in joint session to discuss a smoking ordinance.

These meetings aren't all talk and no action.

The two cities and the county are jointly financing a study of a corridor for the possible east-side bypass. Substantially similar comprehensive smoking bans were approved in both cities.

A larger scale avenue of cooperation is the Main Street Corridor project, which involves not only the two cities but also BroMenn Healthcare as well as Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan universities.

Another example of public-private cooperation is the Navigating a New Direction Campaign to attract new employers and spur growth of existing companies.

The Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area recently announced it had exceeded its goal of $3 million in pledges for this effort.

Part of that campaign is called "One Voice" - a commitment to have community leaders, public officials and business owners working together on projects, lobbying for funds at the state and national level.

We would like to see a bigger push in 2007 on another area of intergovernmental concern: a long-term, reliable, high-quality regional water supply.

Let "cooperation" be the buzz word for 2007. Let it be even more than that. Let it be the guiding principle among government officials and private entities in McLean County.