Dear Members:
On Tuesday (February 5), representatives of the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry and chambers across the state will travel to Springfield to participate in the Illinois Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (IACCE)/Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Legislative Summit in advance of the 98th General Assembly.
Agenda topics will include proposed legislation to raise the minimum wage, public pension reform and another revamping of Illinois’ Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the state’s economic development agency, along with federal-level issues such as immigration and trade expansion.
Also likely to be discussed is an Illinois Department of Revenue proposal to levy a sales tax on all shipping and delivery changes, and DCEO’s proposal (House Bill 3795) to charge businesses an annual registration fee to create and maintain an online database—both of which the Illinois Chamber is opposing.
DCEO was redeveloped during former Governor Rod Blagojevich’s first term with input from an advisory committee that include Jim Dinkle, the first Executive Director of the former Elmhurst Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) and our Chamber’s Interim President and CEO before my hiring in 1999. The first Director of DCEO was former Elmhurst resident Jack Lavin, a graduate of York Community High School.
Our Chamber will likely partner with the Downers Grove Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry on an overnight trip to Springfield to meet with state legislators in advance of the Illinois Chamber’s Annual Legislative Lobby Day on Tuesday, April 16.
Elgin-O’Hare Expressway
The U.S. Department of Transportation has signed off on plans for the proposed Elgin-O’Hare Expressway extension and western bypass route, which along with Interstates 90 and 294 would encircle O’Hare Airport, to become an “all-electronic”-funded tollway.
The schedule for the $3.4 billion project to includes York Road access to the western side of O’Hare by 2018, with final completion by 2025, plus new ramps off I-294 at County Line Road just north of Elmhurst to ease truck traffic accessing area business parks.
Business Climate Taxing (Update)
Ranked 29th among the 50 states for its business tax climate, according to the Tax Foundation’s 2013 edition of the State Business Tax Climate Index, Illinois saw its credit rating downgraded to “A-“ with a negative outlook by Standard & Poor’s on January 25.
The Tax Foundation ranked Illinois in the bottom 10 for corporate tax (47th), Property Tax (44th) and Unemployment Insurance Tax (43rd), with sales tax (34th) not much better. Only the individual income tax (13th) kept our state from a bottom 10 ranking overall.
None of Your Business? (Update)
Illinois Senate Bill 282, which would strip businesses of the protection of privacy given to individuals filing income tax returns, died in the Illinois House of Representatives following a January 6 Hearing before the nine-member Revenue and Finance Committee.
Despite opposition from the Illinois Chamber, the bill was pushed through the Senate without committee hearing by Senate President John Cullerton (D-6th District) in a 30-27 vote on November 28.
Home Sales on Rise
On the heels of last month’s report of Elmhurst’s 2012 new home construction topping the prior two years combined, last year’s sales of single-family detached homes increased by 17.3% over 2011, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors. The median sale price dropped slightly from $333,250 to $321,750.
Happy Anniversary
Eleven members are celebrating Chamber anniversaries in February, as follows: 20 years—Don W. Feeley and Leaders Maintenance Group; 15 years—Elmhurst Garden Club and Pezen, David S., M.D., S.C.; and 10 years—A Moon Jump 4U, Commercial Carpet Consultants, CustomFACE, Elmhurst Baseball Leagues, Elmhurst Walk-In Ministry, Ernie’s Automotive and Meeder Design & Remodeling.
New Members
The Chamber welcomed eight new members in January, as follows (in alphabetical order): Courageous Bakery; Elmhurst Masters Competition Cycling, Friends of Steve Morley, Kumon, Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of Illinois, NEXTChem Process Analyzers, Premier Outdoor Environments and S&S Automotive Group.
Congratulations to Kevin O’Keeffe for recruiting 94 members (76 new and 18 reactivated) in 2012 after becoming Member Advocate last February. January 2013 gives him a 12-month recruitment total of 102 members (84 new).
No Longer Members
The Chamber said goodbye to the following 17 members in January: AAA (Glen Ellyn), Advanced Orthodontic Specialists (Dr. Michael Bucknill), Consecra Housing Network, Elmhurst Wellness Group, High Energy Party Productions, Ipexus Grahics, Mel’s Ace Hardware, National Alliance on Mental Illinois of DuPage County, Park Ave. Wellness, PNC Bank, Real Estate Investor Service, The Standard Bar & Restaurant, T.E. McKenna Builders, This, That &…, Toastmasters, Vesco and York Township Democratic Organization.
On the Road to Glory
Former Schiller Real Estate Agent Fred Lorenzen is featured in an Elmhurst Historical Museum exhibit, “On the Road to Glory: Fred Lorenzen,” for his legendary career as a NASCAR driver. In 2001, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame.