Government Center  
719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A  
Geneva, IL 60134  
Kane County  
KC Jobs Committee  
Meeting Minutes  
LEWIS, ALLAN, Bates, Daugherty, Ford, Strathmann, Young, ex-officios Pierog (County  
Chair), and Tepe (County Vice Chair)  
Friday, November 15, 2024  
10:30 AM  
County Board Room  
1.  
2.  
Call To Order  
Chairman Lewis called today's meeting to order at 10:30 AM.  
Roll Call  
Board Member Anita Lewis  
Board Member Deborah Allan  
Board Member Mavis Bates  
Board Member Cherryl Strathmann  
Board Member David Young  
PRESENT  
Board Member Gary Daugherty  
REMOTE  
ABSENT  
Board Member Ron Ford  
Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog  
Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Vern Tepe  
Also present: Co. Bd. members Gumz*,Juby*, Linder*, Molina*; Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff  
and staff Toth & Miller; JEG 360, LLC CEO Grueling; Community Reinvestment Dir.  
Berger*; ITD staff Peters; and members of the press and public, including Northern KC  
Vocational Region 110 Dir., Terry Stroh, Education Exec. Dir., Nancy Coleman, Valley  
Education for Employment System (VALEES) Dir., Cassie Blickem, & Work Based  
Learning Specialist, Todd Stirn.  
3.  
4.  
Remote Attendance Requests  
Chairman Lewis announced the remote attendance requests for today's meeting. She  
asked the Committee if there were any objections to Committee Member Daugherty  
attending remotely. There were no objections.  
Approval of Minutes: September 26, 2024 and October 11, 2024  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT  
Mavis Bates  
5.  
Public Comment  
None.  
A.  
Presentation: Todd Stirn, Ed. D - Work Based Learning Specialist Region  
Education Exec. Dir., Nancy Coleman, shared information on the Alignment  
Collaborative for Education which is a non-profit organization that the Elgin Business  
Community put together. Alignment Collaborative for Education's vision is to invest in  
youth to ensure the future strength of the community and its workforce. The  
organization offers future workforce development across twelve industry clusters in ten  
different communities with Elgin. The goal is to prepare middle and high school  
students to transition to a post-secondary education or to an apprenticeship training  
program. Alignment serves nine high schools including U46 in Bartlett, Streamwood,  
Larkin, Elgin and South Elgin, as well as Districts 300 in Carpentersville and Dundee,  
and 301 in Burlington. The organization focused on sectors that have the largest job  
growth projected over the next decade. Over 5K seniors a year graduate from the  
organization. Coleman stated that there are over 200 business partners, and last year  
10,212 volunteer hours were logged. Last year, a total of 146 summer internship  
opportunities were paid. Alignments revenue had a 34% increase last year, and 66% of  
funding comes from investments by business, community and municipal partners.  
Discussion ensued. (Committee Member Allan arrived at 10:50 a.m.)  
Northern KC Vocational Region 110 Dir., Terry Stroh, stated that Education for  
Employment Directors (EFE) are the liaisons between the State Board of Education  
and school districts to manage State and Federal Grant funds for district partners. The  
importance of Career and Technical Education (CTE) is looking at the data points for  
the region and districts, such as graduation rates, reading and math proficiency, post  
program placement, and post secondary credits earned. Stroh announced that District  
300 is planning to open a Career Technical Center in the next few years. The  
graduation rate for all non-CTE statewide students is 80%. For statewide CTE  
concentrator students, the graduation rate is 95%.  
Valley Education for Employment System (VALEES) Dir., Cassie Blickem, stated that  
VALEES serves southern Kane County schools, including Batavia, Geneva, Kaneland,  
East and West Aurora. VALEES also serves twelve other districts within parts of  
Dekalb, Kane, and Kendall County. There are two career centers within the VALEES  
region including Fox Valley Career Center located on Kaneland High School's campus,  
and a career center in Sandwich. Blickem announced that West Aurora High School  
recently built a Weisner Family Center for Career Development, and East Aurora High  
plans to build a similar CTE in fall of 2026. Lastly, there will be a high school internship  
program on Thursday, December 5 from 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. at the Valley Industrial  
Association in Geneva. Much discussion ensued.  
Fabulous Fox! National Water Trail Updates  
B.  
Exec. Dir. VanKerkhoff stated that the Fabulous Fox! Water Trails system was  
designated on June 2, 2023, and has been a distinctive national network of  
water trails that are cooperatively supported and sustained.  
6.  
Jobs Committee Priorities  
Exec. Dir. VanKerkhoff stated that the contract for planning, marketing, and  
infrastructure for new and improved launch site, river access and soofa signage was  
approved by the American Rescue Plan Committee (ARPA). The (DCEO) Grant was  
approved for the improvements to five new kayak and canoe launch sites. There will be  
a new opportunity for the DCEO and Economic Opportunity Tourism and Attractions  
Grant up to $200K, with an 100% local match. Applications are due December 20,  
2024. Construction of these launch sites will begin in 2025. The purpose of the Soofa  
signs is to provide safety information on current conditions such as expected water  
levels, and weather, as well as connect visitors with amenities, and residents with the  
river. VanKerkhoff noted that staff requests to revise the Soofa sign resolution to reflect  
non-ARPA funding and have a contract for up to twelve signs, with a 25% contribution  
from community partners. Much discussion ensued.  
Authorizing the Use of Fund 400 - Economic Development Funds for a Contract  
Between the County of Kane and Changing Environments, Inc. dba Soofa for  
the Lease of up to Twelve (12) Solar Powered Soofa Signs for Kane County  
Development and Community Services Department’s ARPA Fabulous Fox!  
Water Trail Promotion Project  
C.  
KC Executive Committee  
RESULT:  
TO:  
MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE  
KC Executive Committee  
Mavis Bates  
MOVER:  
David Young  
SECONDER:  
Anita Lewis, Deborah Allan, Mavis Bates, Gary Daugherty,  
Cherryl Strathmann, and David Young  
AYE:  
Ron Ford, Corinne M. Pierog, and Vern Tepe  
ABSENT:  
Kane County Economic Development Initiatives Staff Updates  
D.  
JEG 360, LLC CEO, Gruiling, reviewed the updated Kane County, Illinois  
2023-2024 Major Business Development Projects Report. (Committee Members  
Young and Bates left at 11:55 a.m.)  
7.  
Office of Community Reinvestment - Workforce Development Division  
Monthly Report  
A.  
OCR Dir., Berger, stated that the accounts payable financial reports were on file.  
8.  
New Business  
None.  
9.  
Reports Placed On File  
No longer an in-person quorum. No votes were taken.  
10.  
11.  
12.  
Comments by Co-Chair  
No comments were made.  
Executive Session (if needed)  
None.  
Adjournment  
No longer an in-person quorum. No votes were taken.  
This meeting was adjourned at 11:58 a.m.  
Rachel Santora  
Recording Secretary