NLU's Career Services

As reported by Sandra Guy for the Chicago Sun-Times
 
Kevin Plattner realized that he might have a tough time finding work in his college major -- music composition -- so he was glad to get a training job involving his love of the visual arts.
Plattner is earning $10 an hour restoring and designing stained glass at Solstice Art Source Inc., an architectural stained glass company housed in a warehouse building at 2010 W. Fulton.

"I find it satisfying to work with my hands, and the glass is fantastically gorgeous stuff," said Plattner, who graduated last year from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.

For Zandrea Carter, a West Side resident, the program has meant she can provide for her 3-year-old daughter while still saving money by working as a cashier and occasionally waitressing for Quench restaurant on the South Side.

"I've learned how to deal with people, build my customer-service skills and realize that the work is all about serving people," Carter said. "I was shy for a long time, but I really broke out of that, and now it feels good to be around people, helping give them what they want."

Plattner's and Carter's jobs, along with 26,000 others throughout Illinois, were created through the Put Illinois to Work program and paid for with $200 million in federal funds from the $787 billion Recovery Act -- the Obama administration's federal stimulus package. Of the total employed statewide, 19,116 are working in Cook County and another 3,069 are in the five collar counties.
Nationally, the Recovery Act's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families emergency fund provides training and work to young adults (ages 18 to 21) -- and to adults who have a child. They also must be U.S. citizens with a household income level of less than 200 percent of the poverty level ($2,428 for a family of two).

The Obama administration is calling on Congress to extend the program, which is funded through Sept. 30, but it's unknown whether an extension would add workers or simply extend the existing program.

Put Illinois to Work received 60,000 applications from its start in April until its funding quota was filled June 13.

The wages go directly to the employees, most of whom started work in May.

The program -- aimed at providing meaningful training and work experience -- attracted more than 4,200 employers statewide. The employers run the gamut, including churches, nonprofits, retailers, hotels, insurance companies, child-care programs, chambers of commerce, landscaping firms and auto repair shops.

Are programs such as this helping the economy?
The economic-stimulus plan increased the number of employed Americans by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million during the second quarter this year, lowering the unemployment rate by up to 1.8 percent, according to an Aug. 24 Congressional Budget Office report.
Experts say federal stimulus funds can offer some relief in a recession, but economic restructuring and measures that create greater consumer and business certainty are needed to deal with the real structural issues plaguing the country.

Infrastructure and job-training spending can improve the country's growth in the long term, but the infusion has yet to have the intended "snowballing effect" of getting the economy back on its feet, said Michael Brandl, an economist at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

"The American consumer and many businesses don't have the confidence to say that we've addressed and fixed a number of other problems," he said.
Allen Sanderson, a University of Chicago economist, said 200 jobs can be created by hiring 100 people to dig holes and another 100 to follow along filling the holes back up.

"A lot of the Obama programs have their hearts in the right place, but they have created an enormous amount of turmoil," he said. "What's stopping up the toilet is the enormous amount of uncertainty. Consumers are asking, 'How much will I be paying for health-care coverage?' and 'What's the value of my house?' and 'Am I going to have a job in the next year?' Bank executives are asking, 'If I loan this guy money, can he pay me back?' And businesses are asking, 'What will it cost me to hire this guy?' and 'What am I facing in health-care costs and the tax rate?'
"The best thing we could use is something sedate."

Whatever stimulus money is spent on job creation, "It's absolutely critical that the spending be the most efficient possible," he said.

President Obama on Friday said he will introduce new plans next week to create jobs and keep the economy moving, including expanding tax cuts for the middle class, rather than introducing another massive stimulus program.

Obama called on the Senate to pass a bill that would provide $12 billion in tax breaks to small businesses and create a $30 billion fund to spur lending.
For those in the Put Illinois to Work program, the training and temporary work could turn into full-time positions.

Emily Carlson, founder and president of Solstice Art Source, employs Plattner and one other worker at her studio. She hopes her client base picks up enough that she can keep Plattner on the payroll.
Carter's employer, Quentin Love of the "I Love Food Group," intends to hire Carter full time, along with Kenneth Romandine, another Put Illinois to Work employee who has become a much-in-demand cook at Carter's "no beef/no pork" Quench chain of restaurants. The Quench concept aims to provide a bridge for lovers of African-American comfort food looking to eat healthier fare. The "I Love Food Group" comprises a variety of food outlets, including a bakery, Soul Xpress, vegetarian fast food, a breakfast cafe and the Quench restaurant chain.

Love hired 30 workers through Put Illinois to Work and intends to keep 15 as permanent staff. Of the 30, five worked at Love's new grocery store, and the rest worked at the Quench restaurants.
"Overall, if business owners have the opportunity to train free labor, we benefit," Love said.
Romandine, 42, who grew up in McHenry County, had changed careers from being a roofer to getting an associate's degree in culinary arts.

"I always had a passion for cooking, and I figured people have to eat, so there should be jobs available," Romandine said.
Romandine now has Quench patrons who wait for his dishes.

"The Put Illinois to Work program is very good for people who really want to work," he said.
Love, who has partners in traditional soul, vegetarian and Mexican food endeavors, as well as bakery and cafe operations, in late August opened what he describes as Illinois' only black-owned grocery store, Fresh Family Foods, at 336 E. 95th St.

"Jobs are scarce, so we must create them," Love said. "Our community is bigger than barber and beauty shops."