[share]Governor Quinn signed Senate Bill 3616 on Tuesday, August 7, 2012, “providing stable and predictable job creation and retention incentives for the long term” via the Illinois Enterprise Zone legislation, according to Craig Coil, President of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Association.

Coil went on to say in a press release, “More importantly, it also gives communities with existing zones the opportunity to renew for up to 25 years, thereby stabilizing their long term economic development strategies and giving employers of all sizes and types a measure of predictability in planning for future job development and capital project opportunities.”

Championed by the Illinois Manufacturers Association (IMA) with significant technical assistance and support provided by the Illinois Enterprise Zone Association (IEZA) and the Taxpayers Federation of Illinois (TFI), Senate Bill 3616 represents a true collaboration of ideas and opinions. Illinois employers as well as media and local government leaders, Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development Organizations throughout the state helped promote the merits of the bill as well, reaching out to their respective legislators about the importance of remaining competitive for the long term.

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After nearly three years of discussion and negotiation, the Illinois General Assembly unanimously passed Enterprise Zone extension legislation on May 31st. The bill awaits Governor Quinn’s signature.

According to an email from Craig Coil, president of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Association, “Senate Bill 3616 will provide stable and predictable job creation and retention incentives for the long term, more transparency and performance reporting and revised qualification criteria which may give communities not currently designated as Enterprise Zones the chance to be considered for designation. It also gives communities with existing zones the opportunity to renew for up to 25 years.”

The Quincy & Adams County Illinois Enterprise Zone was established in 1984 under state legislation. The Enterprise Zone is considered one of the most effective economic development tools available. Enterprise Zone incentives help grow our economy by encouraging job creation, retention and investments in our communities.

Enterprise Zone incentives have included:

• Property tax abatement
• Building materials sales tax exemption
• Reduced permit fees
• Jobs tax credit
• Investment tax credit
• Income tax reductions
• Machinery and equipment state sales tax exemption
• Utility tax exemption

Last year the program is credited with creating 8,980 jobs and nearly $2.5 billion in investments throughout the state. In the Quincy/Adams County Zone alone, (which includes portions of Brown County) 61 projects resulted in over $41 million in investments and 423 jobs being created or retained. This does not include the short term construction and other jobs further benefiting local businesses and the economy.

Visit our Incentives Page for details about current incentives available under the Quincy/Adams County Enterprise Zone or contact Cathy Schluckebier (217.228.4515 or cschluckebier@ci.quincy.il.us) with the City of Quincy Department of Planning and Development for more information. 

[share] Adams County June unemployment figures rose slightly over May which can be attributed in part to a seasonal rise that coincides with the end of the school year.

Adams County still has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state of Illinois at 6.7%. Brown County (4.8%) and Woodford County (6.6%) are the only two counties out of 102 Illinois counties that have lower rates.

The City of Quincy’s June unemployment rate is 7.2% which is up 0.1% over a year ago in June.

See the figures for yourself at the Illinois Department of Employment Security website.

[share] The Rural Adams Development Corporation Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday, July 25, at 7:30 am at Beckman Seed Sales in Paloma. Owners Chuck and Mary Beckman received a loan from RADC to build their new soybean treatment and warehousing facility on a five-acre site about a half-mile west of Paloma on U.S. 24.

Formed in 1990 by a group of rural Adams County bankers, the electrical cooperative and the Great River Economic Development Foundation (and later joined by Adams Telephone Cooperative), RADC has since administered 63 loans totaling $1,969,631. The group is celebrating its 22nd official Annual Meeting and the fact that their revolving loan fund has never incurred a single loss in its entire history.

“While a couple of the businesses that were assisted by the RADC later ceased operations, their loans were repaid in full,” says RADC Board Member and GREDF Entrepreneurship Specialist, Charles Bell.

The RADC’s low-interest, revolving loan fund is designed to finance projects which will create or retain jobs in rural Adams County. One success story belongs to Chuck and Mary Beckman, who have spent their entire lives in service to local agriculture. “When Channel Seed Company wanted to move the seed treatment and distribution processes closer to farmers, necessitating a new facility, we knew the Beckmans would do a great job with it,” says Mark Field, RADC member and President and Chairman of the Board of The Farmers Bank of Liberty.

Another new business success story is that of Alliance Industrial. “Rob Albsmeyer came to us with the idea to start Alliance Industrial when he had the opportunity to buy out the equipment from his former employer and put his experience to work,” says Mark Field, “He knew the market, had the experience and had a good plan. We offered some low-cost financing and now he is employing a dozen people at his pallet company.”

Types of assistance provided by the RADC include:

• Seed money, venture capital, or gap financing for which no other resource exists
• Funding for businesses that lack adequate equity or operating history for conventional loans
• Investment in projects that need greater owner equity in order to obtain bank or government assistance.

Anyone interested in starting or expanding a business in rural Adams County is encouraged to talk to any RADC participating bank or GREDF. RADC member banks include:

• Central State Bank (Clayton)
• Farmers Bank (Liberty & Payson)
• Farmers State Bank of Camp Point
• First Bankers Trust (Mendon & Paloma)
• Golden State Bank
• North Adams State Bank (Camp Point & Ursa)
• State Bank of Lima

The RADC can also draw on the expertise of its investors and members to assist businesses. Through its public/private partnership, the RADC encourages municipal units to take an active interest in economic development.

Gardner Museum Public Hearing Set for Thursday, June 7

[share] The Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County will hold a public hearing on Thursday, June 7th at 6.00 pm in the Gardner Museum Building at 332 Maine Street, Quincy, Illinois. The purpose of this hearing is to seek public willingness to support the mission of the Gardner Museum.  Citizens are invited to attend, tour the building and grounds and offer ideas for funding the Museum.

Built in 1888 to serve as the Quincy Public Library, the architecturally significant structure on the southwest corner of Fourth and Maine has served in recent years as the Gardner Museum of Architecture and Design.

Great River Economic Development Foundation President Jim Mentesti and Historic Quincy Business District Executive Director Travis Brown are heading a Blue Ribbon committee to gauge public support of the museum. The museum closed because of a lack of financial support in March and was taken over by the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County.

The Society would like to continue the mission of the Gardner Museum, if public support makes this financially feasible. The Society hopes a creative partnership can be found to provide the financial support and reuse of the building for public or nonprofit use(s).

“The Gardner Museum building is an extremely important and architecturally significant structure in downtown Quincy. We hope to see a lot of engaged citizens at Thursday’s public hearing,” says Travis Brown, HQBD Executive Director.

If you are unable to attend the hearing, written or emailed comments can be submitted to:

Jim Mentesti
Great River Economic Development Foundation
300 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 256
Quincy, IL 62301
217-223-4313
gredf@gredf.org

[share] After nearly three years of discussion and negotiation, the Illinois General Assembly unanimously passed Enterprise Zone extension legislation on May 31st. The bill awaits Governor Quinn’s signature.

According to an email from Craig Coil, president of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Association, “Senate Bill 3616 will provide stable and predictable job creation and retention incentives for the long term, more transparency and performance reporting and revised qualification criteria which may give communities not currently designated as Enterprise Zones the chance to be considered for designation. It also gives communities with existing zones the opportunity to renew for up to 25 years.”

The Quincy & Adams County Illinois Enterprise Zone was established in 1984 under state legislation. The Enterprise Zone is considered one of the most effective economic development tools available. Enterprise Zone incentives help grow our economy by encouraging job creation, retention and investments in our communities.

Enterprise Zone incentives have included:

• Property tax abatement
• Building materials sales tax exemption
• Reduced permit fees
• Jobs tax credit
• Investment tax credit
• Income tax reductions
• Machinery and equipment state sales tax exemption
• Utility tax exemption

Last year the program is credited with creating 8,980 jobs and nearly $2.5 billion in investments throughout the state. In the Quincy/Adams County Zone alone, (which includes portions of Brown County) 61 projects resulted in over $41 million in investments and 423 jobs being created or retained. This does not include the short term construction and other jobs further benefiting local businesses and the economy.

Visit our Incentives Page for details about current incentives available under the Quincy/Adams County Enterprise Zone or contact Cathy Schluckebier (217.228.4515 or cschluckebier@ci.quincy.il.us) with the City of Quincy Department of Planning and Development for more information. 

[share] Jobless rates declined again in Western Illinois for the month of April. Adams County had the 2nd lowest unemployment rate in the state at 5.6 percent. Brown County had the lowest at 4.1 percent

The City of Quincy’s unemployment sits at 6.0 percent.

For a complete list of unemployment figures across the state, visit the IDES Local Area Unemployment Statistics website.

YOU ARE INVITED!
2012 Tri-State Housing Summit – June 7

The Tri-State Development Housing Task Force invites you to join elected officials and business/industry leaders for a day of dialogue about housing issues our region faces including resources, shortfalls and opportunities.

Adequate housing – like highways, healthcare and retail establishments – is necessary to achieve desired growth and quality of life in a region. For that reason, the Tri-State Development Summit established the Housing Task Force in 2005.

Our tri-state region is not immune to housing issues that communities around the country face – availability, affordability and quality. That’s why the Housing Task Force’s mission is to provide affordable workforce housing in the tri-state area. This includes:

• Increasing affordable housing options for the region’s workforce
• Providing counseling to first-time home buyers
• Identifying funding sources for housing development throughout the region

The creation of affordable housing can increase community pride, help attract industry and increases property values and the community tax base. Please join us Thursday, June 7, 2012 on the Campus of Culver Stockton College. Agenda and registration details are below.

Summit Agenda

8:00-8:45 REGISTRATION

8:45-9:00 WELCOME

• Don Patrick, President/CEO, NECAC
• Dick Valentine, President, Culver Stockton College
• Jarred Phillips, Mayor, City of Canton

9:00-9:30 TRAINING FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING

• Howard Kirchner, Workforce Development Director, Two Rivers Regional Council of Governments
• John Spring, Mayor, City of Quincy
• Stefan Crider, President, Crider Construction

9:30-10:30 LEGISLATIVE VIEWS

• Senator Brian Munzlinger (Invited)
• Rep. Craig Redmon (Invited)
• Rep. Paul Quinn
• Rep. Tom Shively
• Rep. Lindell Shumake

10:30-10:45 BREAK

10:45-11:15 HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT

• Nadia Anderson, Iowa State University

11:15-11:45 WORKFORCE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES

• Stacey Epperson, President, Next Steps

11:45-1:00 LUNCH

• Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder (Invited)

1:00-1:30 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING

• Janine Stephenson, Area Specialist, USDA Rural Development
• Lindsay Cheek, Area Technician, USDA Rural Development

1:30-2:15 HOUSING DEMAND AND AFFORDABILITY: TRENDS IN THE TRI-STATES

• Bobette Cawthorn, President, Quincy Realtors Association
• Gary Broughton, Century 21 Broughton Team

2:15-2:45 CLOSING REMARKS

• Chuck Scholz, Member, Tri-State Development Summit Steering Committee

Details & Registration:

DATE: Thursday, June 7, 2012

LOCATION: Culver Stockton College, Canton, MO

TIME: 8:00 am Registration, 8:45 am – 2:45 pm Program

COST: Free (lunch is furnished)

DEADLINE: Friday, May 25, 2012

To Register / For More Information:

Email or call Carla Potts (cpotts@necac.org or 573-324-6622) with the following information (You will receive more details including location and parking instructions upon registration):

• Name
• Organization
• Address
• Phone
• Email Address
• # Attending

[share]Adams County continues to be among the lowest in the state when it comes to unemployment numbers. March 2012 unemployment for the county was 6.3%. That’s down 0.8% from February and makes Adams County the 2nd lowest county in the state behind Brown County (4.6%).

The City of Quincy was at 6.6% for the month of March, also down 0.8% from the previous month.

View the unemployment rate numbers around the state of Illinois for yourself at the IDES Local Area Unemployment Statistics website.

[share] Adams County is tied for the second lowest unemployment in the State of Illinois for the month of February at 7.1%. That is 0.3% lower than January of this year. Adams County tied with Du Page County, coming in second only to Brown County out of the 102 counties in the state.

The City of Quincy’s unemployment sits at 7.4% which is also 0.3% lower than January 2012.

For a complete list of unemployment figures across the state, visit the IDES Local Area Unemployment Statistics website.

From earth moving equipment to automobiles; medical devices to consumer products, Illinois is home to 20,000 manufacturers employing more than 600,000 people. These companies generate more than 13.5 percent of the GDP in Illinois.

In Adams County, about 100 manufacturers account for 16.89 percent of employment – much higher than the manufacturing employment share of 11 percent nationally.

IMEC, along with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and other friends of manufacturing, have launched an on-line resource to showcase the diversity of products made in Illinois and celebrate the companies that manufacture them.

Illinois manufacturers can register for a free profile page to feature their products and services, share company news, and display pictures and videos. In addition to increasing their visibility to website visitors at no cost, IMEC will promote the manufacturers to external audiences through social media and other direct marketing tactics, and link participating manufacturers to sourcing and buying opportunities.

Benefits include:

• Connecting with other Illinois Manufacturers
• Generating search engine visibility for your products and services
• Telling the story of Illinois: a Center for Manufacturing Excellence

For more information or to add your company to the list of Illinois manufacturers, please visit http://www.imec.org/Made-In-Illinois.cfm.