The following letters were published in various media outlets throughout the state:

• Herald & Review — Decatur, Illinois: “Taxes, not spending, are the root of state’s budget problems”
• Chicago Tribune — Chicago, Illinois: “Illinois Budget”
• State Journal-Register — Springfield, Illinois: “Budget cuts hurt real people“

Location: The Center on Halsted – 3656 N. Halsted St. Chicago

Come kick off the new year with a fun and informational FWA meeting! In this interactive and thought-provoking presentation, Paul Fabbi and Wally Smith will step into the roles of the timeless comedic duo, the Smothers Brothers, to creatively present important lessons in leadership.

Some topics that will be covered include:

• Understanding ‘Accountability’
• Leaders as Storytellers
• The Importance of Humor in Leadership
• Addressing Disruptive Behavior
• The Critical Role of Followers
• Communication in Times of Change

Following the presentation, you’ll have the opportunity to practice some of these lessons in small groups and consider how to integrate these ideas into your everyday work.

Advanced registration is required. For more information and to register, click here.

Location: Chicago Jobs Council – 29 E. Madison Street, Suite 1700, Chicago

The Chicago Jobs Council’s January Working Group meeting will feature an overview of the 2011 Report on Illinois Poverty from Social IMPACT Research Center (http://www.ilpovertyreport.org/), federal advocacy updates, and spotlights on Jane Addams Resource Corporation’s sectoral job training programs & programs and services offered by the Youth Connection Charter School.

CJC uses its monthly workforce development Working Group meetings to discuss issues related to creating enhanced employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged job seekers and working poor families. For more information, and to view past meeting materials, click here.

Location: Chicago Jobs Council – 29 E. Madison Street, Suite 1700, Chicago

The Chicago Jobs Council uses its monthly workforce development Working Group meetings to discuss issues related to creating enhanced employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged job seekers and working poor families. For more information, and to view the agenda for this meeting, click here.

Location: Metropolitan Family Services – 222 East Willow Avenue, Wheaton – Conference Rooms A & B

For more information, please contact Crispina Ojeda.

During the first week of Veto Session, state lawmakers overrode the Governor’s veto of the controversial Smart Grid legislation, and also passed a rider bill that provides more protections for consumers than what was included in the original bill.  The legislation allows Ameren to raise consumer electric rates by 2.5% annually to compensate them for 3.2 billion dollars of investment in smart grid technology which will allow for better monitoring of energy usage and improved response to outages.  Ameren and ComEd are also required to create 2,450 jobs in Illinois through this legislation. The rider bill, which passed the legislature but has not yet been signed into law by Governor Quinn, would also require that the electric companies contribute an additional 60 million dollars toward low income rate relief and further infrastructure improvement aimed at protecting against blackouts.

Some other important legislation which passed includes:

• A bill which restores solvency to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.  The fund was in jeopardy due to the large number of unemployed Illinoisans over the past few years which had left the fund with a debt of two billion dollars.  This fix to the UI Fund will save businesses and taxpayers a significant amount of money over the next few years.
• A Regional Superintendants’ Salary bill which found money to pay school superintendants from the local Personal Property Tax Replacement fund.  Governor Quinn vetoed their salaries out of the budget in July, and many of them have been working without pay since then.
• Finally a bill was passed that would allow the City of Chicago to use Speed Cameras to issue tickets to people driving over the speed limit near parks and schools.

Bills that were left unfinished and may continue to be worked on later this month include:

• Whether or not to give a 100 million dollar Tax Break to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME.) As a part of that package other businesses, such as Sears, might also get state tax relief and the Governor wants to see an increase to the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low income earners as part of any deal for CME.
• A Gaming Expansion bill which would create five new casinos (including one in Chicago).
• A Budget Reallocation bill that will keep seven state facilities open for the rest of this fiscal year that the Governor was planning to close.  This budget reallocation bill would also restore about 60 million dollars to community mental health, homeless, and substance abuse services that were inadvertently cut during the appropriations process last summer.  Under the compromise in this bill six state facilities would still close, but gradually over the course of the next two years.

IWF will continue to monitor all legislative activities when lawmakers reconvene after the Thanksgiving Holiday. For more information, please contact Dan Lyonsmith at 312.252.0460 x301 or dan@cjc.net.

The Aurora Homelessness Initiative (AHI) is a collaboration of organizations that work to reduce the number of homeless residents in the Aurora area. Mayor Tom Weisner launched the AHI in 2006 and the initiative made employment a priority by creating a taskforce to focus solely on this issue.

Members of the employment taskforce include the Quad County Urban League, Hope for Tomorrow, Waubonsee Community College, Hesed House, Wayside Cross Ministries, and the Chicago Jobs Council.

The taskforce conducted site visits in Chicago to learn from successful models of service delivery from the following transitional jobs providers: The Cara Program, Heartland Alliance, and Inspiration Corporation. The group also consulted with staff from the National Transitional Jobs Network to help inform their program.

After doing research into the transitional jobs model, the group developed an agreement between the member agencies regarding which role each one will play in a pilot transitional jobs program. The group is now actively seeking funding to launch the program.

For more information about this collaborative project, please contact Steve Simmons, Senior Policy Associate at the Chicago Jobs Council, at 312-252-0435 or steve@cjc.net.

The letter educates lawmakers and stakeholders about the struggles many Illinoisans face in finding employment and gaining the necessary skills required for future jobs during this economic downturn. IWF leadership calls for the state of Illinois to elevate investment in adult workforce skills to the top of its economic development priorities by:

• Implementing the 21^st Century Workforce Development Fund;
• Developing career pathways for low-skilled adults;
• Further advancing the integration of workforce and economic development policy and strategy; and
• Supporting innovation in communities and regions with smaller populations, so that they can be competitive for state, federal, and private workforce funding opportunities.

IWF also recommends that the state ensure that local innovation translates into state-level strategies to build on the skills of the workforce and ensure future economic competitiveness in Illinois.

The report, which was released in early Fall 2011, was informed by a series of community forums IWF leadership held with local leaders in five communities across the state. The forums helped build a statewide picture of local workforce and economic development priorities and needs. The full report can be found here.

Location: University Center – 525 S. State Street, Chicago – Loop/River Room

Please join CJC for a panel discussion on Workforce and Economic Development Innovations in the South Suburbs, with:

• Karin Norington-Reaves, Director, Cook County Works
• Dave Chandler, Principal Business Analyst, Center for Neighborhood Technology
• Kimberly Dean, Program Coordinator, South-Southwest United Way
• Mirlene Dossous,Community Investment Manager, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago

Robert Wordlaw, Executive Director of the Chicago Jobs Council will serve as the moderator.

Advanced registration is required. For more information, visit: http://cjc.net/member-meeting/. Registration for this event is CLOSED.

Location: Rock Valley College -  3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford – PE Center

Illinois State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka will host an Employment
Expo. The event is being organized through Topinka’s Chicago
office and will include resume and interview workshops and financial
literacy seminars. Employers have been invited to participate in
the job fair and, according to Topinka’s office, more than twenty companies
have reserved booth space.