The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity met July 22 to discuss enterprise zone board procedures.
Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the department:
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity administers economic and workforce development initiatives in partnership with businesses, local governments, workers and families to create and retain high-quality jobs and build strong communities.
Minutes for the June 22, 2016, Enterprise Zone Board Meeting
Location: James R. Thompson Center Illinois Building
100 W. Randolph Street, Suite 3-400 607 East Adams Street, Floor 12 Illinois Conference Room Director’s Board Room Chicago, Illinois 60601 Springfield, Illinois 62701
Members Present: Sean McCarthy (Chicago), Connie Beard (Springfield), Jovita Carranza (Chicago),
and Lawrence W. Falbe (by Phone)
DCEO Staff Present: Vic Narusis (Chicago), Justin Heather (Chicago), Kendalynn Jackson (Springfield),
Ed Taft (Springfield), Ashley Wonderling (Springfield), Andrew Perkins (Springfield), and Tony Esposito (Springfield)
Other Present: Marthy Johnson (IDOR), Andrew Hamilton (Opportunity Alliance, LLC), Jeff
Torricelli (Totticelli Lobbying & Consulting), Andy Hamilton (Opportunity Alliance, LLC), Betty J. Steinert (Greater Sterling Development Corporation) Luke Eastin (South Central Illinois Regional Planning & Development Commission), J. Craig Coil (The Development Consortium), Dan Ramey (City of Centralia), and Mark Rothert (Peoria County)
1. Call to Order: The Meeting was called to order by DCEO Acting Director and Enterprise Zone Board Chairman Sean McCarthy at approximately 9:05 a.m. A quorum of Board Members was present. A motion was made by the Chairman to allow for Lawrence Falbe to appear by telephone. Jovita Carranza seconded the motion with all members in favor.
2. Introductory Remarks from the Chairman: Chairman McCarthy introduced himself and
welcomed the Board and members of the public to the meeting.
3. Discussion of the Enterprise Zone Board Procedure: DCEO staff explained today’s meeting will consist of review and discussion of the 2016 Enterprise Zone Applications Overview Memo prepared by DCEO and that the Board will receive application scores and supporting documents
by June 30, 2016. Staff also explained that Board selection of Zones will occur after the Illinois Department of Revenue completes its annual report, August 1, 2016.
4. Discussion of Pending Enterprise Zone Application:
Staff and Board discussed the 2016 Enterprise Zone Applications Overview Memo, which summarized that DCEO received 18 applications, 12 Enterprise Zone slots are available for designation, scoring was completed and reviewed by DCEO staff, future goal to fully automate the application submission process, changes in scoring regarding Criterion 9 & 10, annual effect of the relativeness on comparison scoring, and the statutory and rule-based definition of Local Labor Market Areas.
5. Other Business: The Board discussed additional meeting dates. The next meeting will be held on
July 13th 2016 in Chicago –video conference available at Springfield, Illinois location.
6. Public Comments: Andrew Hamilton (Lincoln/Logan and Bloomington/Normal) commented on
the LLMA and encouraged Board to take several factors into consideration: additional distance in commuting patterns for rural areas, major employers, suppliers, and border counties/municipalities, as justification of self-defined LLMAs. Dam Ramey (City of Centralia) commented on the impressive DCEO turn-around processing time for Centralia’s boundary expansion application. Jeff Torricelli (Torricelli Lobbying & Consulting) asked if public could attend next meeting which is being held in Chicago, here in Springfield via video conference. Chairman McCarthy agreed. Board member Connie Beard, Director of Illinois Department of Revenue shared that due to additional enforcement mechanisms implemented, they have noticed an 80% annual report filing compliance rate amongst contractors, up from a 20% compliance rate last year. Ms. Beard however also expressed disappointment the business compliance rate showed no overall improvement.
7. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:37am.
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