Let’s Create Jobs, Illinois!

[share]The following article was written by Casey Gordon and originally appeared on July 8, 2013, on the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center’s (IMEC) blog.

Advantage Illinois

Advantage Illinois is the Illinois Department of Commerce and Opportunity’s (DCEO) enhanced portfolio of lending and venture capital programs. These programs are designed to provide Illinois small businesses and entrepreneurs with access to the capital needed to start new companies or expand existing businesses. The $78 million federally-funded program encourages businesses to bring innovative ideas and new products to the market as well as accelerate job creation and economic growth in Illinois. For more information about this program as well as where to apply, please click here.

Illinois Tax Credit for Small Businesses

The Illinois Small Business Jobs Creation Tax Credit program provides small business owners and non-profits with an extra boost to grow their business in our state. After creating one or more new, full-time positions that meet the eligibility requirements, small businesses can register online to receive a $2,500 per job tax credit. Small businesses are defined as companies with 50 or fewer full-time employees. Even new start-ups hiring their first full-time employees in Illinois would be eligible to receive the tax credit.

Eligible jobs would be those new positions that were created between July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2016, the new positions must pay at least $10/hour or $18,200/annually and the position must be sustained for one full year from the hire date. The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity has created a user-friendly website which allows for an applicant to register both their business and their newly created job(s) from the comfort of their home or office. For complete information and to register both your business and your newly created jobs, please click here.

Let’s Create Jobs, Illinois!

[share]The following article was written by Casey Gordon and originally appeared on July 8, 2013, on the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center’s (IMEC) blog.

Advantage Illinois

Advantage Illinois is the Illinois Department of Commerce and Opportunity’s (DCEO) enhanced portfolio of lending and venture capital programs. These programs are designed to provide Illinois small businesses and entrepreneurs with access to the capital needed to start new companies or expand existing businesses. The $78 million federally-funded program encourages businesses to bring innovative ideas and new products to the market as well as accelerate job creation and economic growth in Illinois. For more information about this program as well as where to apply, please click here.

Illinois Tax Credit for Small Businesses

The Illinois Small Business Jobs Creation Tax Credit program provides small business owners and non-profits with an extra boost to grow their business in our state. After creating one or more new, full-time positions that meet the eligibility requirements, small businesses can register online to receive a $2,500 per job tax credit. Small businesses are defined as companies with 50 or fewer full-time employees. Even new start-ups hiring their first full-time employees in Illinois would be eligible to receive the tax credit.

Eligible jobs would be those new positions that were created between July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2016, the new positions must pay at least $10/hour or $18,200/annually and the position must be sustained for one full year from the hire date. The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity has created a user-friendly website which allows for an applicant to register both their business and their newly created job(s) from the comfort of their home or office. For complete information and to register both your business and your newly created jobs, please click here.

[share]

Rivers Issues are Driving New Partnerships

Over the past several weeks GREDF President, Marcel Wagner and Director of the Quincy Entrepreneurship Center, Charles Bell, have had the opportunity to meet with a number of groups that have the same concerns about the future of river transportation as our organization. Meetings with Department of Transportation officials from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, agricultural trade groups such as the Illinois Soybean Association and Iowa Soybean Association and a variety of economic development groups have driven the need for the 3 states and others to partner on a focused effort to maintain and upgrade the locks and dams. Just one reason why: At a recent meeting in Iowa the Army Corp of Engineers said that their schedule of upgrades and maintenance is now pushed out to 2090.

Here are some important statistics about the current state of river issues:

• Of the 27 locks and dams on the upper Mississippi, only 1 is within its 50 year design life, 2 are 20 years past design life, 21 are 30 years past design life and 3 are past the 30 year design life.
• The average age of the upper Mississippi locks is 72 years.
• A single point of failure at any lock shuts down the system.
• Current funding only addresses critical maintenance and emergency repairs. Since 1990 that funding has been cut from $13 billion annually to $7 billion annually.
• Trade growth on the Mississippi will increase by 40% over the next 20 years.
• 1 barge is the equivalent of 70 53-foot semi-trucks and a disruption of river service would cause severe deterioration of roads and bridges and increase road congestion by multiples.
• Barge freight averages $10.67 per ton cost of freight less than road and rail.

A partnership among the Upper Mississippi River states is urging the passage of the 2013 Water Resources and Development Act which is critical to maintaining the current status of our waterways. Congress also needs to address the shortage of funding in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.

The next step for the partnership is to secure Marine Highway status for the Upper Mississippi Connector, stretching from St. Louis to St. Paul on the Mississippi River. Declaring this Connector a Marine Highway could benefit the region by promoting navigation and economic development. The designation also allows ports and terminals to receive technical assistance from the U.S. Maritime Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

What can you do?

Contact your state and federal elected officials and ask them to make rivers issues a top priority. You can find contact information for your elected officials here: www.usa.gov.