Right you are about Venice and Madison joining in. If you're as old as some of us, you remember when we were referred to as the Tri-Cities. At that time Madison still had some thriving businesses and Venice had that little old money machine known as the McKinkley Bridge.
Both of those cities were so corrupt they made GC look like the cleanest town on earth. Mayor Partney here in Granite didn't want the merge either.
Can you imagine today if Venice could be rebuilt as a link to St. Louis with hotels and restaurants? Can you imagine Pontoon Beach having the money base of Granite City Steel to entice developers of the Gass farm properties?
We (that is our leaders with their narrow, bigoted lack of vision) sold this area down the river.
Heck, back in those days Edwardsville was a sleepy little farm community with a two lane highway going in and out and a business district that consisted of a couple of fast foods and mom and pop stores.