Friday, April 30, 2010

Putting Illinois to Work provides human resources new opportunity for Illinois employers

Dear Employers, 

On, 4/26/2010 Governor Pat Quinn announced a plan that creates 15,000 Jobs, the Put Illinois to Work (PIW) program, aimed at building a healthy workforce by putting unemployed and underemployed Illinois residents back to work. 

"Put Illinois to Work will provide good-paying jobs that will help support families and strengthen communities," said Governor Pat Quinn. "The program will also assist in building a workforce that possesses the skills, abilities and experiences that Illinois employers need to remain competitive in the U.S. and global marketplace."


Funding is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Employers can apply to  hire new workers, whose wages, benefits and other work related expenses will be paid by the State of Illinois by going through the Put Illinois to Work website www.PutIllinoistoWork.Illinois.gov . If  you need to hire new workers but are nervous about taking a chance in an uncertain economy, this is a fantastic opportunity to obtain help you need without any risk. Please specify my agency, Instituto Del Progreso Latino, as the agency you want to work with when you apply. We have 2000 skilled workers and a team of professional relationship managers who will work with you throughout your engagement with the program to ensure the matching of the right worker for your business; and to identify other opportunities we can help you with that will benefit your business. You can contact us to sit down with you to more fully explain the program, complete the minimal application and help make this program work for your business.  


So far employer response has been fantastic many hail this program as one of the few government workforce programs that could actually work. For many employers who need to hire new workers, but are nervous to take the chance in an unsure economy this is a godsend.  Taxpayers benefit as well as employers and workers because it incentivizes work. When people are done with their temporary job, they’re more likely to get another one. That means they’re contributing to the tax structure and less dependent on social services. We want to do whatever generates the most positive results for you from this opportunity. Let me know what we can do to start working with your organization. Thank you.


Sincerely,

Brian Banks

Project Director

brianlbanks@gmail.com




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Mar. 25 2010 - 1:18 pm | 234 views | 1 recommendation | comments

Finally… a welfare program that could actually work

Progress Illinois had somegreat news for us today. Our state has come up with the funds to start the “Put Illinois to Work” program, and unlike regular welfare payments, it’s a program that may actually do some good.

With money from the stimulus backed TANF emergency program, the state will be funding jobs for low-income workers by giving money directly to businesses to cover their payroll if they hire these low-income workers.

It’s called a “transitional job,” and it’s not a new idea, but it’s a darn good one.

Unlike a lot of other anti-poverty programs, transitional jobs help employers hire new workers – workers that may not have a lot of job experience or a very impressive resume. The employers can hire low-income people without taking a financial risk – at least at first – and the worker gets paid and gets training and job experience.

A lot of times, these employers end up hiring these temporary workers. After all, they’ve been trained and they know what kind of worker they are. It’s just like how having an unpaid internship is the best way to get a job at a lot of places – once they see you, they like you, and they tend to keep you around

But even if a worker isn’t hired long term, they still get valuable experience and money in their pocket. Unemployment is a disease that gets worse as it settles in – the longer you are unemployed, the less likely you are to find another job. So recent job experience on your resume is a boon, even if you don’t get hired at the place you were working at.

Right now, our welfare system sucks bigtime.

If you want to get welfare payments, you better be working. You better not be going to school to prepare yourself for a job in the future. And if you’re not working, you have to “work” for the state doing menial labor, like unloading boxes for the Salvation  Army – something that’s certainly not going to give you a resume boost.

These regulations keep people in poverty. Many low-income people have trouble finding a job, so they’re not working already. They can’t go to school and keep getting money, so they don’t pursue the education that could launch them into the middle class. Instead, they spend their time doing hard labor, moving boxes but not moving forward.

“Putting Illinois to Work” helps everyone. It helps employers who may need to hire new workers, but are nervous to take the chance in an unsure economy. It helps low-income people by getting them working in actual jobs and making a decent wage – not the pittance that welfare payments provide.

It helps all of us as taxpayers by incentivizing work. When people are done with their temporary job, they’re more likely to get another one. That means they’re contributing to the tax structure and less dependent on social services.

After forty years in the ‘War on Poverty’, it’s wonderful that we’re finally getting it right and creating programs that stand a chance of helping people.

Job placements begin April 1st and the jobs last through September 30th. Do you know anyone who’s in need of a job or an employer who would be willing to take on and train low income workers? Check out the Illinois Department of Human Services website and get connected to the resources that can help us cut poverty long term.


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  1. collapse

    Great piece, Megan. You are right on target. This is a program that will put much needed money in people’s pockets while providing a real entrĂ©e to the work place, at least for some. The $1300 per month that participants will earn is exactly three times the $432 monthly welfare grant for a family of 3 in Chicago.
    It’s worth making another point. Ever since Reagan’s inane “government is the problem” statement, public employees have had an unfairly negative image. So let’s give credit to Michelle Saddler, head of the Illinois Department of Human Services , and her staff for their creativity and energy in putting this jobs program together and getting it approved by the federal government, which is providing $70 million in funding. Dedicated public servants, not bureaucrats.

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Put Illinois to Work

On, 4/26/2010 Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced Put Illinois to Work (PIW) program a State, Federal Plan that Seeks to Create More Than 15,000 Jobs, aimed at building a healthy workforce by putting unemployed and underemployed Illinois residents back to work. 

"Put Illinois to Work will provide good-paying jobs that will help support families and strengthen communities," said Governor Pat Quinn. "The program will also assist in building a workforce that possesses the skills, abilities and experiences that Illinois employers need to remain competitive in the U.S. and global marketplace."

Put Illinois to Work is a collaborative effort of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and Heartland Human Care Services (HHCS). Funding is provided through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF), which was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Please check out the Put Illinois to Work website www.PutIllinoistoWork.Illinois.gov to see how easy it is for employers and workers to apply. So far response has been fantastic. I would like your help to invite your constituents to take advantage of this opportunity for employers who may need to hire new workers, but are nervous to take the chance in an unsure economy.  Illinois taxpayers will  benefit as well as employers and workers from PIW because it provides incentives for everyone to go to work. When people are done with their temporary job, they’re more likely to get another one. That means they’re contributing to the tax structure and less dependent on social services. Thanks.

Brian Banks
BAC Partners/AdvaText.com
brianlbanks@gmail.com

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Chicago Hispanic Newspaper, Lawndale News, Su Noticiero Bilingue, Breves, Chicagoland, IL

Instituto to Place 2,000 in Jobs Through Put Illinois to Work Program        Instituto del Progreso Latino is one of several organizations bringing job seekers and employers together to work through this program, running now through September 30.  Instituto is conducting orientations to explain and introduce interested job seekers and employers.  The dates are as follows:  For job seekers:  2 – 4 p.m., Monday April 26 & Wednesday April 28 For employers:  2 – 4 p.m. Tuesday April 27 & Thursday, April 29 The orientations will be held at Instituto del Progresso Latino, located at 2750 S. Blue Island Ave. 

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DHS: I Connect People to Jobs

DHS: Put Illinois to Work

Link: http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=48877 (sent via Shareaholic)

According to this website: Put Illinois to Work program is an initiative of Governor Pat Quinn to create jobs throughout Illinois and provide employment experience to those hardest hit by this recession. Put Illinois to Work is funded by the State of Illinois and federal funding made available in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Through Put Illinois to Work, unemployed and underemployed Illinois residents can be placed into subsidized employment positions for up to six months. Under the subsidized employment model, the wages of the participant are provided by state/federal funding, and the employer must provide supervision and training of the participant for the duration of the placement.

The funding expires on September 30, 2010. Therefore all subsidized employment placements must end by that date.

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Still using PowerPoint in your Sales Meetings?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Erik Luhrs & The GURUS Selling System <info@guruselling.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 1:45 PM
Subject: Still using PowerPoint in your Sales Meetings?
To: brianlbanks@gmail.com


Dear brian,

If you know me then you know my feelings on PowerPoint, so I won't rehash my thoughts.

However, here is a piece from the NY Times that I think you will find very interesting if you still use PPT as a sales tool.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/world/27powerpoint.html?no_interstitial

Enjoy!

-Erik Luhrs

www.guruselling.com

c/o The BOSS Companies
PO Box 7
Butler, NJ 07405

Did your email system mangle this newsletter? Click here to see it online.

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Monday, April 26, 2010

Crime: Should the National Guard patrol Chicago?

A brash proposal

7:01 p.m. CDT, April 26, 2010

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State Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford have called for the governor to send in the Illinois National Guard to help quell violence in Chicago. It's tempting to dismiss the Chicago Democrats' proposal as political grandstanding — and it is — but let's also recognize a sincere cry for help.

Chicago's homicide rate is roughly double that of Los Angeles and triple that of New York. Nearly 1,000 Chicagoans were slain over the last two years, including 129 before their 18th birthday. 2010 is shaping up as another deadly year, with 113 victims as of Monday morning, 16 of them children. The homicide rate here has been trending downward during this decade, and crime experts point out that it's far from the worst in the U.S. But to say it was worse before, or worse elsewhere, does not excuse the violence here and now.

City and community leaders are fighting to stop the bleeding. Under Superintendent Jody Weis, the Chicago Police Department, a pioneer of community policing principles in the 1990s, is improving its information systems to target resources in the most dangerous neighborhoods. Likewise, Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman is using data analysis to identify those youths most at risk of violence — as victim or perpetrator.

"These two initiatives make a lot of sense," says Jens Ludwig, director of the Crime Lab policy institute at the University of Chicago, "based on what the research tells us about what's promising." Time and again, criminologists have found that resources are best used when targeted at the highest-risk people and places.

But in a budget crisis, those resources are stretched thin. That makes a federally funded option like the National Guard appealing to local lawmakers. Harold Pollack, a colleague of Ludwig's at the Crime Lab, gets that. But a better solution, he says, would be another shot in the arm for local police forces, through boosted federal COPS grants to put more officers on streets. Research suggests that every dollar spent putting police on the street returns $4 to $8 in benefits to the public.

As for the National Guard? No serious public safety expert has backed that idea. (Gov. Rod Blagojevich suggested something similar in 2008 — but we did say "serious public safety expert.") The Guard plays vital and heroic roles in natural disasters and, recently, in overseas wars. Its record suppressing civil unrest ranges from spotty to — quoting Supt. Weis — "disastrous." And it is not a police force whose members are trained in the fine points of constitutional law as they play out in street settings.

Let us assume that Fritchey, a former assistant attorney general, and Ford, once a social studies teacher, know that the Guard is not the solution. Still, their brash proposal grabbed headlines and — for a moment, at least — shined a national spotlight on Chicago's failure to protect its own.

Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune

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    Smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet can age you by 12 years, study suggests

    Smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet can age you by 12 years, study suggests

    LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer

    8:26 p.m. CDT, April 26, 2010

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    CHICAGO (AP) — Four common bad habits combined — smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet — can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests.

    The findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000 British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

    Overall, 314 people studied had all four unhealthy behaviors. Among them, 91 died during the study, or 29 percent. Among the 387 healthiest people with none of the four habits, only 32 died, or about 8 percent.

    The risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per week; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.

    These habits combined substantially increased the risk of death and made people who engaged in them seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest group, said lead researcher Elisabeth Kvaavik of the University of Oslo.

    The study appears in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.

    The healthiest group included never-smokers and those who had quit; teetotalers, women who had fewer than two drinks daily and men who had fewer than three; those who got at least two hours of physical activity weekly; and those who ate fruits and vegetables at least three times daily.

    "You don't need to be extreme" to be in the healthy category, Kvaavik said. "These behaviors add up, so together it's quite good. It should be possible for most people to manage to do it."

    For example, one carrot, one apple and a glass of orange juice would suffice for the fruit and vegetable cutoffs in the study, Kvaavik said, noting that the amounts are pretty modest and less strict than many guidelines.

    The U.S. government generally recommends at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level; and about 2½ hours of exercise weekly.

    Study participants were 4,886 British adults aged 18 and older, or 44 years old on average. They were randomly selected from participants in a separate nationwide British health survey. Study subjects were asked about various lifestyle habits only once, a potential limitation, but Kvaavik said those habits tend to be fairly stable in adulthood.

    Death certificates were checked for the next 20 years. The most common causes of death included heart disease and cancer, both related to unhealthy lifestyles.

    Kvaavik said her results are applicable to other westernized nations including the United States.

    June Stevens, a University of North Carolina public health researcher, said the results are in line with previous studies that examined the combined effects of health-related habits on longevity.

    The findings don't mean that everyone who maintains a healthy lifestyle will live longer than those who don't, but it will increase the odds, Stevens said.

    ___

    On the Net:

    Archives: http://www.archinternmed.com

    Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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  • COMMENTS (16) | Add Comment

    Gee. I wonder how much government money was spent on this wasteful subject. This is like doing a study on which horizon the sun rises on.

    ColdWarVet (04/26/2010, 7:52 PM )

    We should be thankfull to these people. By doing these 4 things they actually hold down the cost of health care for the rest of us and help defray the cost of social security. Can you imagine how much more expensive things would be if people didn't die younger? So next time you see someone participating in these activities thank them and don't look down on them. They are doing you a favor and saving you money.

    goodmongo (04/26/2010, 7:24 PM )

    it took these people twenty years to figure that out.

    Boller2751 (04/26/2010, 7:11 PM )

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