Re: Great idea and long overdue...
Other university alliances in that part of the country, such as the CIC, have had some success in achieving their stated goals. There's actually a fair bit of academic cooperation among the research universities in the Midwest (as there is elsewhere), public rivalries notwithstanding.
It's good to see the community colleges included in this one, since they're an important pipeline for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, particularly non-traditional undergrads (i.e. ones not coming directly out of high school) and under-represented populations.