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UPCLOSE
by Jerry Roper
On April 27, the Chamber held its quarterly board meeting, which
featured a great presentation by guest speaker Michael Rumman, Director
of Central Management Services (CMS) for the State of Illinois. Rumman
announced that CMS is currently seeking approval on legislation that
will give small businesses in Illinois a far better chance to compete
for State contracts. This will allow the State government to purchase
more efficiently.
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YOUR MEMBERSHIP @ WORK
As the spring legislative session heats up, Governor Blagojevich
continues to lambaste businesses with harsh rhetoric. Unfortunately, he
has followed his words with commitment. The Governor supports burdensome
proposals that will further damage the State’s business climate. At a
point when our leaders must act prudently to keep and create jobs, the
Governor has instead chosen to target the business community. We are
discouraged the Governor has decided to frame his attacks on business
under the guise of the "Us vs. Them" rhetoric. Presenting taxing and
spending issues as a choice between school children and "tax-avoiding"
companies is inaccurate, unfair and does a disservice to thousands of
Illinois companies and their employees.
Chamber members had mixed reactions to Governor Blagojevich’s proposals
to create an Illinois Department of Education. This action would strip
the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) of authority and create an
independent Professional Teacher Standards Board that would replace the
existing State Teacher Certification Board. Yes, improvements are needed
said some members. No, this is not what the Illinois Constitution
intended said others. A compromise proposal was developed by your
Chamber along with the Illinois Chamber, Illinois Business Roundtable
and Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago. After presenting
our proposal on April 27, 2004, to the House Education Committee,
Speaker of the House Michael Madigan thanked us and shared his thoughts.
The Illinois General Assembly is in the final weeks of its spring
legislative session that is scheduled to conclude on May 21, 2004.
Legislation that passed either the House or Senate has moved to the
opposite chamber for action for consideration. Most of the tax law
changes proposed by the Governor in his Budget Address have not yet been
put into specific legislative language. The Chicagoland Chamber provides
regular Springfield Roundups highlighting bills of interest to our
members. Click here to view the
Springfield Capital Roundup for May 17, 2004.
Apply for the Right Award for Workplace Excellence
Has your company created an innovative people practice that gives it a
competitive edge? Have you created a way to really challenge your
greatest asset, your employees, to meet and overcome a critical business
challenge? We want to hear about it! Follow the link to apply for the
2004 Right Award for Workplace Excellence.
The Chicagoland Chamber encourages you to take advantage of Clean Air
Counts -- an initiative that will help your business and the
environment. Clean Air Counts is a regional plan to reduce ozone-causing
emissions in the six-county Chicago region, thereby improving air
quality and enabling economic development. It is a collaborative effort
between the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency and US EPA Region 5 and the Chicagoland Chamber.
Participants will be recognized at the state and local levels for their
efforts to improve air quality in the region.
Chicagoland business leaders recently came together to learn and discuss
the challenges and benefits of having a flexibility initiative in their
workplaces. Research was presented highlighting why flexibility is a
necessary and strategic tool for retention and recruiting the best
employees in the area, and a panel of representatives from some of
Chicago’s most successful companies told how flexibility was
incorporated into their companies, discussing the successes, failures
and the challenges of making flexibility work.
Thank you for continuing your company’s participation in
www.howsyourhealth.org. Chamber members and partner organizations
have helped over 6,000 Chicagoans take this health quiz and get
actionable output. During this second year, we look forward to increased
numbers of users and quantifying how much the need for health care
services can be reduced by improving patient self-management and problem
solving skills. As a result of the aggregate data,
www.howsyourhealth.org has added a problem solving tutorial component to
improve consumer self-management skills and reduce the costly impacts of
pain, over-weight and more. Chicago’s utilization campaign is being
replicated in Milwaukee, Rochester and Manchester and statewide in
Montana and New Jersey. Customizable promotional materials or group
presentations on how to use www.howsyourhealth.org are available from
the Chamber.
Later this month, the CEC will celebrate the third anniversary of our
online newsletter, The Beacon. This issue will feature companies
to watch in the marketplace from Chicago’s emerging business community.
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FEATURED EVENT
Join the Chicagoland Chamber for the Annual Meeting of Membership. This
meeting will present the Chamber's pro business agenda not only to
membership, but also to the general business community.
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SPOTLIGHT ON MEMBERSHIP
We'd like to welcome new members to the Chamber and encourage you to
visit their websites by clicking on the company name. Remember to
shop members first!
On April 28, 2004, the Chicagoland Chamber announced the appointment of
four new members to their board of directors.
John Blumenshine -- Vice President of Facilities, S & C
Electric Company
Grant DePorter -- President of Harry Caray's Restaurants,
Harry Caray's Seventh Inning Stretch and Harry Caray’s Catering
William H. Portman -- President and CEO, Life Source --
Institute For Transfusion Medicine (ITxM)
George A. Ranney, Jr. -- President and CEO, Chicago
Metropolis 2020
Chicagoland Chamber Board Member Phil Stefani Named as Chairman of
the Board of Directors of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau
Award-Winning Growth for Chamber Member Christy Webber & Co.
Chamber Member Sutton Place Hotel/Chicago Receives Award
An Exclusive Benefit of the Chicagoland Chamber
Citizens Conferencing has been a proud member of the Chicagoland
Chamber of Commerce for several years. Through our exclusive program,
Chamber members can enjoy conferencing services at discounted rates.
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BUSINESS 411
by David E. Malone
Small, Women-Owned, Disadvantaged, Minority -- all business designations
that suggest programmed participation rules which allow some level
(usually small) of participation in doing business with a government
entities and corporations. All of them though, share a common woe. The
reality that more and more, judges around the country are finding that
these programs are unconstitutional or have to be revamped to be so
narrowly tailored that they have no teeth at all. Atlanta, Detroit,
Denver and even Chicago, have been saddled with the effort of trying to
redefine their initiatives to include minorities and women in their
purchasing pie. When you compound this with strategic sourcing
initiatives which have been adopted more and more by the private sector,
the squeeze is truly on these businesses to find ways to make themselves
more competitive, more accessible, and to show value beyond what was
previously required of them. All too often, these businesses have ridden
into organizations on the magic carpet of "diversity programs," but that
carpet is losing its magic.
On April 23, 2004, the EEOC announced that it had approved an exemption
from the age discrimination prohibitions that will allow employers
providing retiree health benefits to coordinate those retiree health
benefits with Medicare. This is welcome news for employers. Coordination
includes changing, reducing or eliminating coverage. Contrary to the
claims of critics that employers are now free to eliminate all retiree
benefits, the EEOC exemption is limited to coordinating retiree health
benefits with Medicare or a comparable state retiree health benefit.
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FROM OUR SPONSOR
Tips from Fifth Third Bank
Whether you're starting up a new business or own an established company,
every day brings new challenges. One of the most critical decisions is
to find the best financial solution that will help optimize cash flow.
Banks today offer various solutions, such as 24-hour business Internet
banking with bill pay and "totally free" business checking. With so many
offers to choose from, how can you distinguish which services will best
serve your business needs?
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