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The party’s over, governor. Get cracking.

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Illinois

* Gov. Pat Quinn has attended several triumphant rallies celebrating Ford’s decision to hire 1,200 people at its South Side plant. But the Metro East may very well lose almost that many or even more factory jobs soon…

An Olin Corp. spokeswoman confirmed Friday that the Clayton-based manufacturer is looking into moving one of its Winchester ammunition production facilities out of East Alton — a decision that could drain the area of 1,000 jobs.

Winchester spokeswoman Valerie Peters said it is still early in the process and that more discussions with union leaders will occur before a final decision is made. She would not comment on how many people Olin employs in the area.

Monica Bristow, president of the River Bend Growth Association, said Olin employs about 1,700 people in East Alton, far and away the largest employer in the area. The next largest employer is Global Brass, which used to be Olin’s metals division before the company sold it in 2007. That factory employs about 1,100 people, though there have been layoffs since the sale, said Bristow, whose association serves as the area’s chamber of commerce.

* Related…

* Foreclosure process in legislative limbo

* [McHenry] County foreclosure filings still climbing

* Report: State should help manufacturers

* It’s An Emergency! Where Are The Jobs?

* Harbor expansion tied to Olympics is still on

* Lack of jobs leave many teachers wondering about future: Of the 1,100 education majors from ISU’s Class of 2010, about 80 percent are still hoping for an offer, according to the career office. And even traditionally hard-to-fill specialties — math, science and special education — in impoverished communities are turning away applicants.

* Regulators shut Ravenswood Bank of Chicago

* Iowa, Ill. file jointly for high-speed rail money

* Illinois insurance regulators to seek rate oversight

* Herald & Review: News shows job retention is key

* State forming tax oversight panel

* Daily Herald: A tax reform that’s unfair to seniors

* Recession Adds $2.2 Billion to Illinois’ Debt

* Flider clarifies his mixed message on changes with FutureGen

* Mattoon, Coles County continue to evaluate fallout from FutureGen 2.0 announcement

* FutureGen Pumping Up Meredosia

* Former Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones Jr. joins Zimek Technologies Advisory Board

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 8:19 am

Comments

I thought that there was research evidence that teachers who graduate from schools of education perform less well than their counterparts who took degrees in their specialities and then got certified. In any case, I believe schools of education nationally (not specifically ISU) have come under increased scrutiny in recent years.

This economy-drivien reduction in teaching jobs might be an opportunity for ISU to tighten up their admissions requirements, improve the quality of their offerings, and adjust their admissions to expert predictions of theneeds of the field.

Teaching should not be employment of last resort or a refuge for those who want a steady paycheck.
For a long time, though, schools of education generally have been viewed as diploma mills for the underqualified.

Comment by cassandra Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 9:23 am
In a global economy, I think people are buying snake oil if they think state government — through credits or incentives — are the engine to “create” jobs. That’s just PR, ribbon-cutting fluff.

State government’s role is to provide the environment — through good schools, sound infrastructure and safe streets — that attracts private investment, such as it is these days.

You want to see state government “create” jobs? Stop being a deadbeat and start paying your vendors on a 30 day cycle.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 10:28 am
Illinois and the Metro East can ill afford to lose any of Olin or Winchester’s base. Both are large area employers and Winchester is a major Defense and Wal-Mart supplier. The Metro East was severely injured when U.S. Steel shut down last summer. A closing of the Winchester plant - even temporarily - would be almost as big a blow.

And Wordslinger is right. The state needs to pay its bills, ensure roads are built/maintained, keep schools adequately funded and not make public universities out to be scapegoats. The U of I is a world-renowned research institution with a first class engineering school. What a great chip we have in the U of I.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 11:08 am
Sorry, the last post was mine.

Comment by Team Sleep Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 11:10 am
One-shot tax “holidays” and “rebates” (which are not tax cuts, no matter what anyone says) are at best one of the least efficient methods to promote job creation. No smart businessman would hire full-time staff or ramp up production for anything that comes and goes as quickly as these things do.

No more Cash for Clunkers, Cash for Caulkers, Homebuyers Rebates and other similar programs. Only programs that provide long-term stability will lead to long-term growth which leads to long-term increases in employment.

All this “Tax Holiday” did was decrease the State’s ability to pay its bills while providing Quinn a shot in the arm politically.

While I congratulate any person who saved dollars during this “Tax Holiday” (After all, consumers act in their own best self interest.), the “Tax Holiday” did nothing other than highlight Quinn’s bankrupt vision for this bankrupt state.

Comment by Cincinnatus Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 11:11 am
Cincinnatus, I think what you’re missing here is that the savings rate is way up. People with jobs are hoarding as much cash as they can.

So, demand is way down. Retailers are absolutely desperate to get shoppers into their stores, hoping maybe beyond hope that once the customers do show up, they’ll spend money on other stuff.

This sales tax holiday was pushed hard by IRMA. If it was useless, I doubt very much that IRMA would have bothered. That’s one of the smartest groups under the Dome.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 11:17 am
Rich,

Consumer saving reinforces what I have been saying. Businessmen are not the only people who are making decisions based on the instability of the economy, and on the economic policies they see. Just like the corporations who are sitting on an approximate $3T in cash while they watch to see what kind of economic/regulatory environment shakes out, consumers are sitting on $725B in savings (which is up over the past few years, but still significantly less on a per capita basis than most developed counties), most probably worried about the employment situation and if it will hit them too.

The businesses and consumers are ultimately linked by the same concerns.

As far as IRMA being behind the tax holiday, does that surprise you? This is, after all, just another lobbying group. Certainly, were I running the IRMA, I’d be behind it too since it would drive consumers into my members’ stores, increasing sales and contributing to profits. It would be interesting to see a statement from IRMA about its interpretation on the effects of long term employment and the contribution of the sales tax holiday to the Illinois budget deficit.

Comment by Cincinnatus Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 11:35 am
Cincinnatus, right now a lot of those store owners are just hoping to make it through next month.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 11:37 am
I was out doing send-kid-to-college shopping over the weekend, and the stores were jammed. Overheard lots of people talking about the Governor’s sales tax holiday. So it seems to have been a win for retailers and the Governor — and I speak as someone who was tepid about the whole holiday concept…

Comment by soccermom Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 12:55 pm
So, if the school supply holiday works for the economy, will we be seeing a broader and more permanent elimination and reduction of sales taxes in Illinois?

Comment by cassandra Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 1:02 pm
cassandra,

Deep breath. Hold it… hold it… hold it…

Comment by Cincinnatus Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 1:36 pm
I think the Winchester/Olin news is amazing. They relocated a major production line to MS in 2004. While there, they found they could get acceptable workers, and without any hard data to back this up, likely lower work comp costs and property taxes.

The ultimate irony is this news coming after Quinn pickups up the endorsement of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership.

More irony - Corrections had to purchase ammunition from a vendor in Indiana because they didn’t pay their bill with Shore Galleries in Chicago.

Even more irony - Naomi Jakobson’s ammunition encoding bill from last session .

Comment by Champaign Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 2:31 pm
==. So it seems to have been a win for retailers and the Governor==
At least until some shoppers get raped, robbed or killed by scumbags that Quinn let out of prison early.

Comment by Bill Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 2:58 pm
Geez, Bill, you’re far more morose than usual.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 3:05 pm
Somebody talk Bill in from the ledge.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 3:07 pm
=== Monica Bristow, president of the River Bend Growth Association, said Olin employs about 1,700 people in East Alton, far and away the largest employer in the area. ===

According to the Regional Commerce and Growth Association, the largest employer in Madison County is actually Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, with 2300 employees.

You’ll recall that Senator Bill Brady wants to cut their funding by 10%.

The largest PRIVATE employer is U.S. Steel, with 2250 employees.

Olin, in fact, only employs 1400 people, which is still significant. But not significantly more than Madison County (1130) or the Alton school district (1100).

You’ll recall that State Senator Brady wants to cut state funding for schools and local government by 10% as well.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Aug 9, 10 @ 3:20 pm