Central Illinois Placements (CIP) is a pilot program consisting of an online centralized clinical placement system.  The online system uses StudentMax software to efficiently schedule and place nursing students at healthcare sites for clinical experiences in the Central Illinois region and supports a collaborative process.

Pilot partners include schools of nursing and acute care centers from: Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, Jacksonville, Pontiac and Springfield.  CIP is a grant-funded initiative that evolved out of the Economic Development Council’s  Central Illinois Regional Collaborative Effort (CIRCLE).

We are excited as CIP continues to grow!  Pilot partners’ participation started with twelve in September ’09 and has currently expanded to 16 engaged partners.  Participants are described as either clinical or educational.

Web site addresses for your review:

General viewing by all:  www.ciplacements.com

StudentMax:   www.studentmax.org

If you are unaware of the Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area’s One Voice program, you may be missing out on a very important opportunity. One Voice is our government advocacy program in which we support local projects in their quests for federal funding. Each year, the One Voice task force (comprised of local government, business, education, labor and other community leaders) convenes several meetings where local municipalities/educational institutions/other community organizations present projects for which they are requesting federal appropriations. The One Voice task force chooses 4-6 projects to officially support for the year. Each March, the EDC and a group of 30+ community leaders travel together to Washington, D.C. in order to present these projects to our elected officials and advocate for their financial support.

One Voice, now entering its fifth year, has become well-known by our congressional delegation and is often referred to as a “best practice” for seeking federal appropriations. To date, we have helped local entities secure over $2.5 million in federal funding (over $24.5 million with the recent TIGER grant allocated to the Town of Normal for the Multi-Modal Transportation Center).

Due to the rising popularity of this program, we are changing the way we manage the One Voice project submittal process. For the 2011 One Voice program and beyond, all applicant projects will need to go through a screening and development process in conjunction with the EDC. EDC staff will now be working with each entity submitting a project to develop a rigorous and objective “argument” for every project. This argument will include a full analysis of the project’s potential economic development impacts, its risks, feasibility and financial picture. The outcome will be a comparative report for each proposed project for the One Voice Task Force’s review. We have also instituted a $250 application fee to help cover the administrative costs associated with the project development and impact studies. The EDC believes our new process will ultimately provide our elected officials with better-vetted projects with stronger arguments and objective metrics.

Because this process will be much more involved than in prior years, the deadline for project submission has been moved forward. All potential One Voice projects must be submitted to the EDC by August 1, 2010 in order to be considered for the 2011 Washington, D.C. trip – NO EXCEPTIONS. Click here to download a project application form.

For more information, contact Brooke Weishaupt at brooke@bnbiz.org or 309-452-8437.

What health care reform means for small businesses in Illinois
(information provided by Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson’s office (IL-11)

Small businesses need health care reform

• Health insurance costs for small businesses have increased by 130% since 2000.
• Only 45% of America’s small businesses can currently afford to offer health care to their workers.
• Small business health plans have higher premiums and administrative costs than large companies.
• Nearly 60% of America’s uninsured are small business owners, workers, and their families.

 

Small business exchanges

• Qualifying small businesses will be able to join new state-based Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Exchanges.
• Joining these exchanges will give small businesses access to larger risk pools and will lower their administrative costs.
• Small businesses with up to 100 employees will be able to join an exchange and starting in 2017, businesses with over 100 employees will be able to join.
• States will be able to join together to form larger, regional small business exchanges that will further reduce costs for participating small businesses.

 

Tax credits for small businesses

• Small businesses will be eligible for tax credits to the cover cost of providing care to eligible employees.
• Starting in 2010, small businesses with 25 or fewer employees and less than $50,000 in average wages are eligible for a tax credit if they cover at least 50% of the total premium cost for their employees.
• The tax credit is 35% for small businesses with 10 or fewer employees and average annual wages of less than $25,000.
• The amount of the tax credit phases out for small businesses with between 10 and 25 employees and between $25,000 and $50,000 in average wages.
• Starting in 2014, the tax credit will increase to 50% for small businesses with 10 or fewer employees and average wages below $25,000.
• In 2006, approximately 76% of small businesses in Illinois had fewer than 10 employees.

Employer requirements and small business

• Small businesses with 50 or fewer employees will not be required to offer coverage to their workers.
• Small businesses with more than 50 employees that do not offer coverage will have to pay a fee of $2,000 for each full-time employee who receives federal tax credits to purchase individual coverage (excluding the first 30 employees), which is significantly less than the expense of providing full insurance coverage benefits.
• Even though part-timers count towards triggering the employer responsibility, an employer does not pay a penalty for not providing coverage to part-time workers.
• In 2006, over 86% of small businesses in Illinois had fewer than 20 employees.

Calling all businesses! Find out how to become one of the first Illinois green certified businesses:

The Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area, Illinois State University and the Illinois Green Business Association (IGBA) are coming together to launch green business certification in McLean County, and we are looking for businesses interested in greening their practices. Through the IGBA’s green business certification program, we and ISU students will provide your business with assistance in becoming a certified Illinois green business. The program reviews nine sections of sustainability, with some measures being required while others are optional. Participating businesses will receive a green consultation, an energy audit, resource assistance, connectivity to incentive dollars for energy efficiency, and a detailed green management practice implementation plan. Please contact Ken Springer at (309) 452-8437  if you are a restaurant or retail/office business and would be available for a consultation with our team between June 14^th-July 8^th. We look forward to working with your business to become Illinois green business certified!

About the IGBA

The Illinois Green Business Association is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization that assists businesses in reducing their ecological foot-print by attaining our green certification. We assess a business’ current environmental performance and guide them towards certification through nine areas of sustainability. We utilize applicable grants and incentive packages to aid businesses through the certification process. The Illinois Green Business Association then promotes and markets a business’ successful efforts to the community in order to build a culture of sustainability and responsible consumerism.  With our partners, we look forward to launching our certification state-wide in June of 2010. To learn more about the IGBA, visit www.illinoisgba.com or call (217) 531-2179.

From April 17th through April 23rd, classes will be held in a dozen different locations around Bloomington-Normal to promote financial literacy as part of a community-wide program called Money Smart Week®.   Money Smart Week offers classes to anyone from the public that has an interest in learning about money matters.   The best part about Money Smart Week is that these classes are free to the public.  How smart is that?

Money Smart Week was created by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank in order to promote personal financial literacy in the overall population.  While the program is just a decade old, it has already spread throughout the Midwest, and new cities are added every subsequent year.  Money Smart Week topics typically run the gamut from basic financial literacy all the way through complex investing strategies and retirement planning.

The EDC will be offering a series of three classes specifically focused on business financing on Friday, April 23rd in the community room on the 4th floor of the Heartland Bank building at 200 W. College Ave., Normal.  The first class, which starts at 2:00 PM, will cover topics related to financing a start-up.  The second class, which starts at 3:00 PM, will be devoted to financing business expansions.  The third, beginning at 4:00 PM, will be a general seminar on resources available to businesses in McLean County.  Representatives from the Illinois Small Business Development Center, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Central Illinois SCORE will also participate in these courses.

To see more details on these classes and the rest of the great MSW offerings for 2010, make sure you check out the MSW Web site at  www.moneysmartweek.org/illinois. Money Smart Week is a registered service mark of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

The Economic Development Council is busy preparing for our next session of Circles of Seven (C7) to begin in September. C7 is our business mentoring program in which we group local business owners together with a mentor. The groups meet once a month for nine months to discuss various business-related topics such as customer service, employee relations, marketing, budgeting, etc. They also have the opportunity to discuss individual business concerns at each meeting. The program is likened to a support group setting for business owners.

Entrepreneurs benefit through the relationships they build with each other, and many of our past participants have gained many new contacts through the program. A few groups have continued to meet even after the program’s duration of nine months. This program is a great way for small business owners to get to know each other, gain new insight for business practices and garner support and advice for any struggles or frustrations they may be experiencing with their business.

This year, we are trying something new: specialized groups – grouping business owners with a common interest. Some groups we are considering include:

• a group for entrepreneurs who have a full-time job in addition to running a business
• one for business owners who are working towards a college degree
• a group for west-side businesses
• a group for rural-based businesses
• one for web-based businesses
• a home-based business group
• a group for those in the process of starting a business
• a group for retail businesses
• a group for not-for-profit executive directors

In addition to the specialized groups, we will still offer general/uncategorized groups for those who do not fall under one of the specialty categories.

To download an application, click here. For more information, contact Brooke Weishaupt at brooke@bnbiz.org or (309) 452-8437.

The foreclosure situation in McLean County has gotten off to a promising start in 2010.  First quarter foreclosure data pulled from the McLean County Recorder’s Office show that there have been 131 Lis Pendens filings in the county since the start of the year.  This total is considerably less than the 172 filings reported in the same period in 2009 and the 165 filings in 2008.

With most of the bad adjustable rate mortgages worked out of the financial system by now, the key variable for home foreclosures seems to be the overall employment situation and the performance of the larger economy.  Since foreclosures are a lagging indicator of economic performance (by the logic that home loan delinquency follows job loss at a distance of some months), this decrease in home foreclosures is likely attributable to the surprisingly strong economic performance seen in the fourth quarter of 2009.  We may, however, see a spike in foreclosures in quarters two & three that mirrors the recent jump in post-holiday unemployment.

Overall, this data merits some frugal optimism about our local economy.  While I will not declare a sustained recovery until we escape from 2010 unscathed, this lower incidence of foreclosures is yet further proof that our local economy is improving incrementally.

Sources:  McLean County Recorder’s Office, Bureau of Labor Statistics

The City of Bloomington is proposing to cut its investment in the Economic Development Council by 20 percent. Instead of the $80,000 pledged annually in 2006, the proposed reduction will bring the total annual investment down to $64,000. They will be voting on this proposal at their April 12th meeting. (UPDATE: As of 4/6/10, the Bloomington City Council is now considering a 10 percent reduction instead of 20 percent, bringing their annual investment to $72,000. While a 10 percent cut is better than a 20 percent cut, the Economic Development Council still feels this hurts the future growth of the community and breaks the public-private partnership originally entered into between Bloomington, Normal, McLean County and several private investors. Read on to learn why.)

The Executive Committee of the Economic Development Council has taken the stance that any cut by local government goes against the spirit of the public-private partnership entered in 2006 between the City of Bloomington, Town of Normal and McLean County, as well as dozens of private sector companies that made similar five-year pledges. The reason the “public-private partnership” works is that everyone pledges their fair share and participates in the future of McLean County. Each investor pledges with the knowledge that the other investors are sharing in the burden of making this community more prosperous.

In June of 2009, some members of the City Council suggested the EDC offer a “symbolic” cut due to the financial problems the City was having. Some City Council members have suggested the EDC “feel the pain” as other organizations, agencies and city departments have felt. The EDC agreed that a cut would be symbolic, but not in the way that was being suggested. A cut by the City of Bloomington breaks the bond of trust and agreement all the investors have entered into. If a cut were implemented, what prevents others investors, public and private, from doing the same? Should the EDC not also offer this symbolic cut to the Town of Normal? To McLean County? To the other 97 investors who fund the EDC?

The EDC has already reduced spending and eliminated two of our seven staff positions in response to a reduction in funding because a few private sector investors have been unable to fulfill their pledge commitments over the past couple years due to the economic hardships their businesses have faced. We are at present down to the bare minimum it takes to operate an effective economic development organization in a community our size. With hard work by our employees and effective use of our time, combined with some grant funding for specific programs, we are still able to provide quality economic development programming. However, continued erosion of our base funding would put our future effectiveness into serious jeopardy.

We recognize and empathize with the difficulties faced by the City of Bloomington and other businesses in regards to reduced revenue due to the recession. However, economic development cannot and should not be treated like a water faucet—turned on and off when convenient. In fact, there is strong evidence that additional investment in economic development is necessary when there is a downturn in the local economy. It has taken us five years to get the current economic development program up to competitive levels with other communities; to cut funding today will only push us – and the future economic performance of McLean County – backwards.

The City’s proposed cut of $16,000 (20 percent) of their annual investment in the EDC represents a tiny fraction of the City’s $68 million budget. The cut, however, is not strategic. Bloomington’s administrators have lumped the 20 percent cut in our program with other semi-related programs such as the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Bloomington Association. The difference between the EDC and these organizations is that neither the DBA nor the CVB depend on an intermeshed matrix of equally-committed stakeholders like the EDC does. The CVB receives all of their City funding from a specific source – the hotel/motel tax – and the DBA is almost wholly dependent on the City for its funding. While Bloomington’s total investment comprises only 13 percent of the EDC’s total budget, it represents a commitment beyond mere dollars. Like load-bearing bricks in a supporting structure, Bloomington’s investment is dependent upon other investments, and other investments are dependent upon Bloomington’s.

Now is not the time to weaken the structure of economic development in our community. Please let the City know that further cuts and reneging on their pledge is not acceptable. Yes, many municipalities and businesses are suffering from economic downturn, but what kind of message is the City sending when they quit investing in the one thing that can assure a greater future for their citizens? Maintaining an investment in the EDC sends the message that Bloomington cares about the community and wants to see it prosper. It shows that Bloomington wants to see new jobs and new capital investment; they want to see new entrepreneurs given a head start; they want to see federal tax dollars returning to the community; they want to see companies expand; they want to see new wind farms and a cleaner, healthier community; they want to see access to capital and micro-enterprise prosper. This is the message that should be sent, and this is the pledge that must be fulfilled.

Please call or email a Bloomington City Council member today, and let him/her know, using the information above, why Bloomington’s investment in the EDC is so important. Thank you.