Contact Information Blackhawk Hills Regional Council 815-625-3854 [email protected] 102 East Route 30, Suite 3 Rock Falls, IL 61071 Thank you for your interest in Blackhawk Hills Regional Council. You are receiving this newsletter because we would like Upcoming Events to keep you up-to-date on projects and initiatives in the 6-county Blackhawk Hills region. We serve Carroll, Lee, Jo Daviess, Ogle, Regional CEDS Stephenson, and Whiteside counties in northwestern Illinois. Committee Meeting If you have a project that you would like our assistance with, please February 28, 2013 contact our office at 815-625-3854 or submit a Project Proposal 9:30 AM Form on our website. 451 North Main Avenue Milledgeville, IL 61051 Public Sector Green Nozzle Program The Department of Commerce and Website Assistance Economic Development (DCEO) has Workshop 2 introduced a new Green Nozzle Program March 7, 2013 for the public sector. The program offers 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM free high efficiency spray valves (green nozzles) to public sector facilities such as 106 South Broad Street school districts, county jails, nursing Lanark, IL 61046 homes, health departments, municipalities, and other state and federal facilities with food preparation and/or cooking services. Facilities can save Illinois Accessibility on natural gas bills with these high efficiency pre-rinse spray Code Workshop valves. March 13, 2013 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM The Energy Resources Center (ERC) is administering the program and local facilities may contact them directly to have the free green 2105 First Avenue nozzles shipped at no cost. In return, the ERC asks that the old Rock Falls, IL 61071 nozzle be sent to the ERC or show that it has been recycled locally. A pre-paid package will be made available to ship old nozzles back Quick Links at no cost to the public sector facilities. Visit Our Website To learn more, please contact the ERC at 312-996-2593 or visit their website at www.erc.uic.edu. Regional CEDS Committee Meeting Change Please note that that date for the Regional CEDS Committee Meeting has changed from February 27th to February 28th. The meeting will still be held from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM at Milledgeville State Bank. In 2012, econonic development agencies from Carroll, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, and Whiteside Counties partnered with Northern Office Holidays Illinois University's (NIU) Center for Governmental Studies and received a grant from the Economic Development Administration to Our office will be conduct two surveys of the region's businesses. One study was to closed on the following assess the competitiveness of wages and benefits paid to workers dates: in the region. The second study was to assess the extent of underemployment that exists in the region and the opportunities to Monday, February 18th educate and leverage that resource. The surveys have now been for President's Day concluded and the team will be sharing the results at the Regional (Washington's CEDS Committee Meeting. Norm Walzer, Senior Research Scholar Birthday) at NIU's Center for Governmental Studies, will presenton the findings and analysis of two studies. He will also discuss how the Friday, March 29th for project will be concluded in the next few months Good Friday For more information, please contact Theresa Wittenauer, Economic Development Coordinator for Blackhawk Hills, at 815- 625-3854 or by email at [email protected]. Second Website Assistance Workshop Scheduled Melanie Flesch, Assistant Outreach Coordinator for Blackhawk Hills, will be conducting the second of the Website Assistance Workshops on March 7, 2013, from 10:00 AM to noon, at the Lanark Heritage Center, located at 106 South Broad Street in Lanark, IL. The workshop will consist of an explanation of how search engines work and how to get your website noticed through keywords, free Google programs such as Analytics, Insights for Search, and Webmaster, and maintaining a proper updating schedule. Workshop participants will also evaluate several of the websites of those in attendance, particularly those participating in the program. This workshop is required for those receiving funds from the Blackhawk Hills Website Assistance Program. However, this event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP by calling 815-625- 3854 or by emailing [email protected]. The Website Assistance Program awards a $2,000 match to communities and counties within the 6-county region to help facilitate the building or redesigning of a website. Participants in the program are required to attend two workshops in order to receive the funds. However, the workshops are open to anyone and are not limited to program participants. The participants of the 2012 Website Assistance Program are Fulton, Galena, Rochelle, Warren, and Ogle County. To view the presentation from the previous workshop in October, please visit the Archives page of Blackhawk Hills' website and click on "2012 Website Assistance Workshop - Workshop 1." For additional information, please contact Melanie Flesch at 815-625-3854 or by email at [email protected]. Illinois Accessibility Code Workshop Scheduled Doug Gamble, member of the State of Illinois Capital Development Board, will speak on the Illinois Accessibility Law and how it relates to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The workshop will take place March 13, 2013, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, at the Days Inn, located at 2105 1st Avenue in Rock Falls, IL. The presentation will focus on how the code is being interpreted, enforced, and implemented by different governing bodies. As a member of the committee that will be revising the Illinois Accessibility Code, he will also outline changes to the code. The cost of the workshop is $25.00 which includes the Illinois Accessibility Code book, coffee, donuts, and lunch. Deadline to register is March 4, 2013. Please register by filling out the Illinois Accessibility Code Workshop Registration and mailing it to: City of Rock Falls Mark Searing 603 West 10th Street Rock Falls, IL 61071 For more information, please contact Mark Searing at 815-622-1108 or by email at [email protected]. Thomson Prison Update The following information has been provided by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) regarding the opening of Thomson Prison in Thomson, IL. Hiring The Federal BOP's goal is to employ 60% of the new hires from the local commuting area. o Historically, initial hiring of local community members of 30% - 32% is considered successful. Historically, 8 of 10 applicants do not meet BOP requirements due to poor bill-paying history. Veterans are encouraged to apply for open positions at BOP. For veterans seeking Federal employment, the Office of Personnel Management provides a veterans information guide. Additional information on careers with the BOPs can be found at on the bureau's website. Bureau Staff BOP staff are a professional, ethical, and diverse group of individuals. Many transferring staff relocate frequently for career opportunities and are very knowledgeable and resourceful when deciding where to settle with his/her family. All BOP employees have access to the Internet on the job. As a general rule, before an employee decides to submit an application for a new position, they investigate the area using the Internet by searching based on the name of the new institution. Area Services Required: Quality child care Rental home options Hotel/motel within government per diem Health care professionals that honor federal health insurance providers Recreational opportunities including restaurants, movie theaters, and sports leagues for children and adults Multi-cultural personal items Multi-cultural food items Price competitive home improvement stores Professional clothing stores Housing Information The Thomson Prison facility will attract an in-migrating staff and new non-local hires having three or four persons in the household. o Historically, there is a lack of temporary housing for transferring Bureau of Prison employees. Many BOP employees have school-age children so the quality of schools and child care options are important in determining where employees choose to live. BOP employees often rent. Some employees prefer to purchase a three or four bedroom, single family detached dwelling within the fair market value cost range for the area. Most of the relocating households would prefer a one-way commute of no more than 30 minutes daily. However, some would be willing to commute more than 45 minutes one- way to the facility. The median income of relocating households is estimated to be between $50,000 and $75,000. The majority of Bureau employees will participate in pre-qualification services prior to relocation through the BOP Relocation Program. For more information regarding Thomson Prison, please contact Vicky Trager with the Village of Thomson by email at [email protected]. iFiber - Broadband Project Update Sandwich School District Looks to the Future with Fiber Optics Fiber optics will play a huge role in future education opportunities for students in Sandwich School District 430. Distance learning and video-conferencing are just two of the applications causing district-wide excitement, according to Superintendent of Schools Rick Schmitt and Director of Technology Glen Bloemker. Please click here to view the entire article. For more information about iFiber, please visit www.iFiber.org or contact Daniel Payette at 815-625-3854 or by email at [email protected]. CEO Program Update The CEO Program is now accepting