Frerichs to co-host workshop with IDES, ChamberOn September 25, Senator Frerichs will co-host a workshop with the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce to help guide business owners through Unemployment Insurance programs and processes.

Unemployment Insurance Workshop

“Meeting Business Needs”

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Registration: 9 a.m.

Workshop: 9:30 – noon

Champaign Public Library

Roberson Pavilion Room C

200 West Green Street

Champaign, IL 61820

Please call 217-782-2507 if you plan to attend.

Senator Frerichs also invites area business people to complete a Business Survey to help him better understand their concerns and ideas about how to make Illinois more business friendly.  

NEWS

From the Illinois State Senate

State Senator Michael Frerichs, 52nd Legislative District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 7, 2012

Frerichs’ push to extend job-creation program succeeds

Champaign, IL- Illinois’ endangered Enterprise Zone Program, credited with creating nearly 900,000 jobs and generating nearly $50 billion in investments over the past 30 years, received a reprieve earlier today, largely due to the efforts of State Senator Michael Frerichs (D-Champaign).

“When I talk to the people in my district about their top concerns, I hear ‘jobs, jobs, jobs,’” Frerichs said.  “The Enterprise Zone Program is all about jobs.  If it had expired, we would have lost one of Illinois best, most proven job-creation tools.”

Enterprise Zones—specified geographic areas where businesses receive state and local tax incentives, regulatory relief, and improved government services—were set to begin expiring in 2013.

Frerichs led the effort to save Enterprise Zones by serving as Co-Chair of the bipartisan Senate Special Committee on Enterprise Zone Extensions, which held four statewide public hearings, and by sponsoring the law extending the program.

“The Enterprise Zone Program extension law was the result of bringing together business leaders, mayors and other officials, and every other interest group that had a stake in this issue,” Frerichs said.  “I truly believe that the best way to achieve results is by quietly working together with everyone involved, not with flashy press tours or shutting people out of meetings.  Given that the governor seems pleased with the results of our work to extend Enterprise Zones, maybe he should start applying some of these lessons to his pension reform effort.”

The Enterprise Zone Program is one of the state’s most proven and successful economic development tools. Under the new law, 97 current Enterprise Zones in Illinois will be extended for another 25 years, and an additional five new zones will be created in the next two decades as the current River’s Edge Zones expire and those areas become Enterprise Zones.  Communities will be able to compete for Enterprise Zones as current zones expire.

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NEWS

From the Illinois State Senate

State Senator Michael Frerichs, 52nd Legislative District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 25, 2012

Frerichs’ Legislation to Boost High School Math Signed into Law

CHAMPAIGN, IL- Legislation introduced by State Senator Frerichs to put Illinois on track with 20 other states that require four years of high school math was signed into law today by the governor. Currently, Illinois high school students are required to take just three years of math.

State Senator Michael Frerichs (D – Champaign) issued the following statement in response to the governor signing this legislation into law:

“Employers are clear: they need employees with the reasoning and critical thinking skills fostered by a strong math education. By equipping our students with an extra year of math, we will not only improve our students’ individual job prospects, but we will be investing in Illinois’ future workforce. In Illinois, we are proud of our highly educated and well-equipped workforce, and we need to take steps like this today to ensure this advantage continues into the future.” 

With the signing of Senate Bill 3244, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will now develop curriculum models that will help local school districts transition to requiring a fourth year of math. These curriculum models and training programs must be completed by March 1, 2013, and made available to school districts statewide within the next four years.

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