Kane County Reporter

Kane County Jobs Committee met June 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

1. Call to Order

Chairman Ford called the meeting to order at 10:28 a.m.

Attendee Name	Organization	Title	Status	Arrived
Ron Ford	Kane County	Chairman	Present
Mark Davoust	Kane County	Board Member	Absent
Mo Iqbal	Kane County	Board Member	Absent
Tom Koppie	Kane County	Board Member	Remote
Anita Lewis	Kane County	Board Member	Remote
Myrna Molina	Kane County	Board Member	Remote
Todd Wallace	Kane County	Board Member	Absent
Corinne M. Pierog	Kane County	Ex-Officio County Board Chair	Absent
Kenneth C. Shepro	Kane County	Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair	Absent

Also present: Co. Bd. members Bates, Kious; Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff & staff Toth; OCR Dir. Berger & Gonzalez; ITD staff Peters; and members of the public.

2. Approval of Minutes: May 13, 2022

RESULT: APPROVED BY ROLL CALL VOTE [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Myrna Molina, Board Member SECONDER: Tom Koppie, Board Member AYES: Ron Ford, Tom Koppie, Anita Lewis, Myrna Molina ABSENT: Mark Davoust, Mo Iqbal, Todd Wallace, Corinne M. Pierog, Kenneth C. Shepro

3. Office of Community Reinvestment - Workforce Development Division

A. OCR Financials (Attached)

Staff Gonzalez provided an update on the WIOA20, WIOA21, and the Trade Budget reports. In reference to the WIOA20 grant, the Adult and Dislocated Worker funds will be fully spent with the June expenditures. The direct training benchmark for April has remained constant at 46%, and staff has been working diligently to hit the mandatory 50% benchmark. She noted On-Job-Training (OJT) activities have already spend $4k, with $11k being spent in June. Gonzalez spoke on the WIOA21 grant. She stated the focus has turned to the monitoring of how the approved expenditure plan will help achieve the 80% required benchmark at the end of this first grant year. She explained that OJT activities have spent $10k for adults only and have an additional three projects that would spend $87k. Gonzalez provided an update on the Trade 20 grant. She stated activity continues at a steady pace, and that 70% of the training budget is currently accounted for. The County has until September 30, 2022 to fully spend down the remaining allocation.

4. Comments by Co-Chair

Ford stated the Committee is gathering information to be discussed at future Jobs Committee meetings.

5. Jobs Committee Priorities

A. Illinois Economic Development Association (ILEDA) Summit Highlights

Director VanKerkhoff provided highlights on the Illinois Economic Development Association (ILEDA) Summit. He shared the agenda from the summit. He summarized presentations and highlighted key points. He explained the information learned and how Kane County could implement these ideas and utilize future funding to help develop the workforce. He announced they completed an application on behalf of Kane County for the RISE Planning Grant, asking for the maximum amount of $150k to be used for a strategic economic development plan countywide. VanKerkhoff addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Discussion ensued.

VanKerkhoff provided a regional update. The department has been working with CMAP to look into regional economic development through a couple of initiatives. The information is collected regionally, and is able to be broken down by County. VanKerkhoff expressed his excitement on having a tool that would allow the County to understand industry and job growth potential. The department is also working with the Brookings Institute in order to help the region develop the workforce.

B. Staff Updates on Kane County Economic Development Initiatives

Staff Toth provided a presentation on Staff Updates on Kane County Economic Development Initiatives. He shared a graph depicting the unemployment rate throughout the Country. In April, Kane County's unemployment rate was 5.3%. He broke the rate down by race. Toth shared a graph on inflation throughout the U.S. In May, Kane County’s inflation percentage declined. However, it has now risen to 8.6%. He spoke on the categories that have shown major price increases, such as food and energy. He also spoke on gasoline prices. Illinois is ranked third with the highest gas prices, and ranked second with the highest gas tax. Toth defined what a recession is in the U.S. The most popular definition is when there is two consecutive quarters of declining Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A healthy economy expands over time, so two quarters in a row of contracting output suggests there are serious underlying problems. He spoke on the Federal Reserve Response to Wages. On May 4, 2022, the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said his goal is "to get wages down". Toth explained the process the Federal Reserve would like to implement to help employment vacancies. Toth addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Much discussion ensued.

6. New Business

Ford reiterated the importance of submitting topics to discuss at future Jobs Committee meetings. He is looking forward to hosting a second Roundtable Discussion focusing on Information Technology (IT).

7. Public Comment

None.

8. Reports Placed on File

RESULT: APPROVED BY ROLL CALL VOTE [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Anita Lewis, Board Member SECONDER: Tom Koppie, Board Member AYES: Ron Ford, Tom Koppie, Anita Lewis, Myrna Molina ABSENT: Mark Davoust, Mo Iqbal, Todd Wallace, Corinne M. Pierog, Kenneth C. Shepro

9. Executive Session (If Needed)

None.

10. Adjournment

RESULT: APPROVED WITH VOICE VOTE [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Anita Lewis, Board Member SECONDER: Tom Koppie, Board Member AYES: Ron Ford, Tom Koppie, Anita Lewis, Myrna Molina ABSENT: Mark Davoust, Mo Iqbal, Todd Wallace, Corinne M. Pierog, Kenneth C. Shepro

This meeting was adjourned at 11:12 a.m.

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