Adams County continues to be among the lowest in the state when it comes unemployment numbers. February 2011 unemployment for the county was 7.3%. That’s down 1.9% from a year ago and makes Adams County the 3rd lowest county in the state behind Brown County (5.0%) and DuPage County (7.1%).

The City of Quincy was at 7.8% for the month of February, down 2.0% from a year ago.

See and compare the numbers for yourself at the IDES Local Area Unemployment Statistics website.

[share] Adams County, Illinois unemployment stands at 7.2% for January. That’s a full 2 percentage-point drop from January 2010. Adams County currently ranks 2nd lowest in unemployment out of 102 counties in the state. Unemployment in Quincy dropped 2.2% from a year ago and now stands at 7.6%.

In an article in the Quincy Herald-Whig, GREDF president Jim Mentesti said the labor force has grown in the past year in Quincy and Adams County.

“Usually when the labor force grows, it can move your unemployment rate up too but the reverse has been true locally,” Mentesti said.

He has seen “numbers moving in the right direction” at a time of year when unemployment can spike in communities with a lot of retailers who might downsize after the Christmas shopping season.

The Quincy micropolitan statistical area had the state’s lowest 2010 annual average unemployment rate for larger job markets — at 7.5 percent. 

See the numbers for yourself: visit Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) on the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s Labor Market Information website.

Chemical Safety Workshop for Small Manufacturers to be held April 4 in Quincy 

[share] With help from a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center is providing in-depth training and technical assistance – at no cost – to enable Illinois manufacturers to recognize, prevent, and avoid workplace safety and health hazards associated with exposure to chemical agents. The workshop will integrate safety and health responsibilities, with management techniques and operational tactics. 

COURSE INFORMATION
IMEC safety experts will train your employees to recognize areas that may expose them to hazardous situations while they perform their job functions. They’ll learn: 

 • how working with or near hazardous materials can create special hazards
 • to identify the hazards they may face
 • to recognize signs or symptoms of exposure to hazards
 • about the consequences of exposure to these various hazards 

DATE AND TIME
April 4, 2011
8:30AM – 12:30PM 

LOCATION
Blessing Hospital, 1005 Broadway
Quincy, IL 62301 

COST
FREE 

REGISTRATION
Visit http://www.imec.org/imec.nsf and click on EVENTS
Or FAX registration form to 309-677-3289 

QUESTIONS?
Contact Lori Amerman, IMEC Safety Specialist at 618.453.3829 or LAmerman@imec.org

[share] The Springfield Illinois Business Journal recently featured Quincy and our robust business climate and high quality of life in a front page article. Read the full 4-page article here: Springfield Business Journal Quincy Article January 2011.

The third in our series of articles highlighting the remarks of GREDF Board Chairperson, Connie Schroeder at our 2011 Annual Meeting. 

[share] A look back at HEALTHCARE in the Tri-States in 2010…

An editorial in the Quincy Herald-Whig sums up healthcare in our region best, quote, “Physicians who want a high quality of life for themselves and their families can find it in the Tri-States. In return, they help maintain a quality of life and quality of care for this region,” end quote.

Blessing Hospital’s year-long anniversary celebration was marked by two high points. In March the American Nurses Credentialing Center gave Blessing Hospital Magnet status for nursing quality, an honor earned by only six percent of hospitals in America. In October, the AAIM Employers Association out of Peoria recognized Blessing Health System as its Employer of the Year. The award honors great employers that recognize people as their greatest asset.

We would like to congratulate former GREDF board chairman Brad Billings for being recognized as a Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce 2011 Business Hall of Fame inductee. It is well deserved.

S.I.U. Quincy Family Practice Center just last week received two awards for excellence in the fields of care for diabetes and coronary artery disease. The Family Practice Center ranks among the top 5 percent in the state among similar operations.

In October Quincy Medical Group announced a comprehensive community wellness program called Bridge the Gap to Health. The program combines preventive health care, personal nutrition and fitness and a partnership with Jackie Joyner-Kersee to get people moving toward better health. The Quincy Medical Group Foundation is also partnering with the Salvation Army to raise $2 million dollars for their new emergency shelter. We’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Quincy Medical Group CEO Aric Sharp to the GREDF board.

[share] Adams County unemployment fell again in December to 6.3%. That’s the lowest it’s been since April 2009. Adams County currently ranks 3rd lowest in unemployment out of 102 counties in the state. Unemployment in Quincy dropped 0.7% and now stands at 6.7%.

See the numbers for yourself: visit Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) on the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s Labor Market Information website.

The second in our series of articles highlighting the remarks of GREDF Board Chairperson, Connie Schroeder at our 2011 Annual Meeting. 

A look back at Quincy’s CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT in 2010…

[share] There continues to be a renewed sense of pride in the Central Business District. This is perhaps best displayed in the new image campaign featuring the “It’s where you work, play, shop” tag line. In June, the Historic Quincy Business District announced survey results that revealed 88% of the commercial storefronts in downtown Quincy are occupied. Executive Director Travis Brown gives credit to entrepreneurs and business owners who continue to see potential and invest in the downtown. 

 These business owners may also be encouraged by the wave of development in the central business district. The $24 million dollar Salvation Army Kroc Center is on track to open in August. Multiple locally-owned restaurants are in various stages of development and have either opened or will open very soon. We are pleased to be working with Noi and Tennille Sonethongkham owners of ‘One: Restaurant and Bar’ which is under construction in the former Adams Cinema at 6^th and Hampshire. The business took advantage of our low-interest loan program to renovate the historic building.

 And just outside where you sit tonight, the Franklin Square Apartment Complex is ahead of schedule for a spring opening. You may recall the Mayor announced the $9.2 million dollar, 42-unit apartment complex at our last annual meeting.

 Senior housing developments are also on the horizon for the downtown. The proposed $13 million dollar senior apartment complex that was originally planned for across the street from the Kroc Center is now being proposed for South Eighth Street at the site of the former Quincy Discount Carpet store. The building is expected to have around 65 one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as a library and computer center. Construction could start this fall. City officials are also cautiously optimistic that the former Newcomb Hotel will be redeveloped into a 98-unit assisted living facility. The City has heard that the Chicago-based developers are currently working on obtaining historic tax credits.  

 All of these housing opportunities are fulfilling the void identified by Teska Associates in 1993 of a residential neighborhood within the central business district. The development of these major projects in harmony with the high-end condominiums we are seeing crop up on the square illustrate the personal commitment and confidence Quincy residents have in the future of the downtown.

[share]John Wood Community College continues to be a valued partner in workforce development issues. At a little over a year old, the college’s state-of-the-art workforce development center has become the premier training facility in west central Illinois.

At a time when many communities are just beginning to look at workforce development in response to the national economic climate, the Quincy area is turning out workers that fit local business and industry’s specific needs.

Among the college’s seventeen career training and workforce education programs are truck driver training, electrical technology, construction technology, fire science, nursing, health education, restaurant management and sustainable local foods. JWCC recently launched customized training in aluminum welding in addition to its current welding program in response to area workforce demand.

A number of local companies including Manchester Tank and ADM continue to work with John Wood to develop programs specific to their workforce needs.

All of these initiatives contribute to John Wood Community College’s role as an essential partner in not only workforce development, but also in the retention of our region’s robust manufacturing base.

We know availability of skilled labor ranks near the top of site selection and expansion decisions. That’s why we continue to place a high value on workforce development within our tri-state region.

Read our 2010 press release about the Workforce Development Center Here.

Visit www.jwcc.edu for more information.

Upcoming Workforce Development Event:

GREDF is partnering with John Wood Community College and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to sponsor a Construction Workshop on February 22nd. It is a day-long event to be held at John Wood’s Workforce Development Center. For more information, contact GREDF at 217-223-4313, gredf@gredf.org or Phil Conover at 217-641-4956, pconover@jwcc.edu.