Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s Post

Great community impact initiative from chamber member Zurich Insurance. Apprenticeships are a viable factor in workforce development initiatives, their collaborative sector-wide approach is building the next gen of workforce for their industry. #ILChamber #ILChamberspotlight #workforcedevelopment #Zurich

Some good things are happening for business in Illinois as highlighted in the recent CNBC "America's Top States for Business 2024". Illinois is in the top 15 overall and ranking in the top 6 for some key attributes. The report rankings looked at the competitiveness of the 50 states in 10 key attributes critical to business growth ranging from Infrastructure and workforce to access to capital and cost of living. Here's how we stacked up: Highlights: Infrastructure #6 Technology & Innovation #6 Education #4 Access to Capital #4 Cost of Living #5 Midline Quality of Life #22 Opportunities for Improvement Workforce #37 Economy #42 Cost of Doing Business #32 Business Friendliness #33 Some clear areas of strength and some very clear opportunities to create a more vibrant pro-growth, pro-business environment. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/euyKyqTw #ILChamber #VoiceofIllinoisBusiness #ProGrowth #ProBusiness #ProIllinois

Yesterday was the 14th annual rail and maritime summit hosted at the Union League Club of Chicago. Infrastructure Council Director Andrew Cunningham had the pleasure of being in attendance and spending the day with many of our great members. Thank you to the Illinois Soybean Association for the kind invitation and their work on behalf of Illinois farmers.   The day was packed with speeches and engagement from leaders of the field. Chamber member Canal Barge Company, Inc. CEO Merritt Lane talked about the issues most pressing for transportation leaders. Michael O. Miller, CEO of Chamber member Genesee & Wyoming Inc. gave 5 lessons for a better tomorrow and was the recipient of the Diolkos award.   The summit was well-attended with strong transportation and ag representation.   CSX, CITGO, MEP&A IL Corn, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association

Safe Streets are a Critical Issue for Residents of Chicago and Employees of our many businesses. Crime statistics like the ones seen in Chicago over the 4th of July Holiday (109 people shot, 19 fatalities) should not be commonplace and erode the safety that each resident should be afforded regardless of where they live. The Illinois Chamber applauds the many corporations and philanthropists that came together today to be part of the solution to a complex problem. "There is much work to do, but this is a strong start and it shows that the State's business community is committed to solutions on this critical issue," said Lou Sandoval President, of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Gov JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, and President Don Harmon joined leaders from Northern Trust, McDonald's, Allstate, Ulta Beauty, and many others to announce the $100M investment in violence reduction. #SafeCommunities #CVI #ILChamber #VoiceofIllinoisBusiness Bloomberg / Crain's Chicago Business /Chicago Tribune/ Chicago Sun-Times https://lnkd.in/gjXGQ_V2

The Illinois Chamber invites you to join us and our consulate partners at Ravinia Festival for a special concert on July 10 — National Seminario Ravinia: Orchestras For All! Students from the United States, Mexico, Sweden, and Greece will come together for this incredible open-air performance. We look forward to welcoming students to Chicagoland while supporting the next generation of musicians! #ILChamber #InternationalBusinessCouncil #ILChamberConnections Learn more and purchase tickets here: https://lnkd.in/gu49WVPC

A wet and wild one! The NASCAR Chicago race saw a day of great racing followed by storms, delayed races and a wet and wild finish as Alex Bowman took the checkered flag 🏁. Illinois Chamber President Lou Sandoval was on hand to see the finish. This amazing spectacle of an event helps drive employment for many businesses in the local area and helps the tourism for the region. Thank you and congratulations to our friends at Chicago Sports Commission, Ford Motor Company, WeatherTech®, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, and McDonald's among many others for a great event and excellent representation at this year’s race. #ILChamber #ChicagoNASCAR #VoiceOfIllinoisBusiness

Illinois Chamber member company John Deere hosted President Lou Sandoval at their John Deere Classic this weekend at the TPC Deere Run in the quad cities. Round 3 saw Davis Thompson in the lead finishing -21 through the end of Saturday’s play and on his way to possibly winning the $8M purse. Many thanks to Natalie Higgins and the John Deere team for their hospitality. It was also great to see Ryan McCreery, Rachel Dame and many others in the hospitality tent. #ILChamber #VoiceofIllinoisBusiness #Chambermembers

A great opportunity to support a great institution on a critical topic to Illinois’ future- Workforce development. Catch Illinois Chamber President Lou Sandoval on July 24 as he moderates this great panel of experts in discussing how corporate partnerships can be pivotal in developing a workforce. You can register via the link below . #workforcedevelopment #corporateengagement #ILChamber

Federal court places hold on Non-Compete ban. A federal judge in Texas placed a hold on a policy action by the FTC seeking to ban non-compete actions by employers. The intent by the FTC was to allow workers to be able to move between jobs and boost wages. The impact was that company trade secrets and other intellectual capital would be unprotected and place employers of many sizes at risk via competitive poaching of human talent. A suit on behalf of professional services firms by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Texas courts provided a ruling that paused the September rollout. A revisitation and action is slated to happen by August 20,2024. “The Illinois Chamber supports better balance on non-competes that preserves the intellectual property rights of companies and supports the actions of the US Chamber to engage action in the courts in this issue.” Said Lou Sandoval , President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “Our state’s many founders and employers deserve the protections afforded via non-compete agreements while allowing employees the ability to seek at will employment.” #noncompeteclause #tradesecrets #USChamber #ILChamberi https://lnkd.in/g9SMZfbG