Recent News

02/08/2010

Freight is starting to move again and this is an indication that our economy is strengthening. According to Steve Jaeger with the Heart of Illinois Regional Port District (TransPORT), "The global recession had a massive impact on our economy and the transportation industry was hit tremendously hard, but we are starting to see some movement that is promising."

01/28/2010

River Conference Attracts Regional Leaders
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The Heart of Illinois Regional Port District is pleased to announce that the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association will hold its 2010 Conference in its District, on Tuesday, February 16, 2010, at the Par* A*Dice Hotel in East Peoria.

01/28/2010

Peoria MSA unemployment rate rose slightly in December to 11.2% compared to 10.8% in November (a .4% increase = approx 800 people). Jim McConoughey, President & CEO of The Heartland Partnership says the regional unemployment rates have remained fairly steady from August-December which indicates a recessionary stabilization rate. "This region experienced its largest unemployment rate in July 2009 at 12.3% which was partially in due to temporary layoffs and furloughs. We have seen unemployment stabilize over the past 5 months and will remain around this rate until employers begin to re-hire or create new jobs."

01/27/2010

This organization and our community have talked at great length about the effects of the recent economic downturn on our regional workforce, but now we need to look towards the future and examine the impact that our regional strengths and weaknesses will have on the workforce in the coming years. During our most recent CEO Roundtable meeting, Bashir Ali, Director of the Workforce Network, gave a presentation on what the future of our local workforce, and there were some points that I believe are vital for our business community to realize.

01/27/2010

The 2010 Census will be a snapshot of our nation's population, capturing our ever changing and diverse America. This historic event will do more than tell us who we are as a nation today; it will affect our community's future, our country's future and your future.

One question being asked is how are individuals or groups that have unique living situations like those living in college dorms, shelters, jails, nursing homes and military barracks counted? The Census Bureau Residence Rule says you should be counted where you live or sleep most of the time. So, if you spend the majority of your time living on the campus of Bradley University, then that's where you should be counted. Same goes for those snow birds who spend the winters in warmer parts of the country; since the majority of your time is spent here, you should be counted here.  

We are still looking for census workers.  Click here for listing of census job testing locations and times.

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