Activities, results, and recommendations of a 2-year effort to implement and test a model for vocational and occupational education planning in Illinois are described. An introductory section presents an overview of the rationale and plan for establishing a Regional Occupational Education Coordinating Council composed of representatives of the education community, the business community, and the public sector. Part I, The Labor Market and Educational Planning, contains three chapters. One introduces the model of labor market operations reflecting the roles of individuals (the labor supply), employers (the job demand), and the institutions and people who try to connect the two (the intermediaries). The other two chapters consider how to test the model and examine its assumption that schools can and should act effectively as labor market intermediaries. Part II, Planning from the School Perspective, contains chapters describing the principles and activities involved in review of the economic development and labor market structure of the region, the conducting of a series of workshops to involve local superintendents and community college presidents in the process, and the actual process of organizing the Southwestern Illinois Vocational Education Consortium. Part III, Gathering Local Labor Market Information for Regional Planning, includes two chapters which present procedures and results and analysis of a survey conducted by the consortium to gather information from local employers to help link education to regional labor markets. Part IV, Building a New Model for Vocational Education Planning, includes the findings and conclusions of the study, a chapter presenting a framework for regional vocational education planning based on the experience of the consortium, and a chapter offering recommendations for implementation of such a policy of regional planning throughout Illinois. (WL)