Government Center

719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A

Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Jobs Committee

Meeting Minutes

LEWIS, ALLAN, Bates, Daugherty, Penesis, Strathmann, Young, ex-officios Roth (County

Vice Chair) and Pierog (County Chair)

Friday, August 15, 2025

10:30 AM

County Board Room

Call To Order

Chairman Lewis called today's meeting to order at 10:37 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Anita Lewis

PRESENT

Board Member Deborah Allan

Board Member Mavis Bates

Board Member David Young

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Bill Roth

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Board Member Ted Penesis

REMOTE

ABSENT

Board Member Gary Daugherty

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

Also present: Co. Bd. members Juby*, Molina*; Dev. Planner Toth; JEG, LLC., 360

Grueling; ITD staff Peters; and members of the press and public.

Remote Attendance Requests

Chairman Lewis announced the remote attendance request for today's meeting. She

asked the Committee if there were any objections to Committee Member Penesis

attending remotely. There were no objections.

Approval of Minutes: July 11, 2025

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Mavis Bates

Public Comment

Kane County resident Brian Anderson spoke on his concerns for implementing a Kane

County Internship Policy for Non-Elected Offices. He will support a paid internship only

if the budget is balanced, and it has maintained consistency. He expressed his

approval for educational, volunteer un-paid internships, such as organizations like

Waubonsee Community College, and Elgin Community College who offer that option.

Anderson strongly encouraged the committee to focus on un-paid, volunteer

internships until the budget is balanced for consistency.

Jobs Committee Priorities

Kane County Internship Policy for Non-Elected Offices Discussion

Chairman Lewis stated that one advantage to having an internship program at

Kane County is, depending on if a county department justifies paying an intern,

instead of hiring a contractor to assist with high volume of work, an intern could

be hired to fulfill those duties. This could potentially lead interns to a full-time

position with the county. Lewis addressed the financial issues the county is

facing, and assured everyone that this program is just a topic for discussion.

She referenced the Volunteer and Intern Policy and Procedures and that they

will need to be reviewed and possibly revised with Human Services before

making any decisions. Further discussion took place.

Madam Chair Pierog stated that the Internship Program currently meets the

requirements of the River Boat funds. If approved, a potential River Boat fund

amount of $30K would be distributed within governmental departments who are

interested in an internship program. She noted that the funds would not come

from the General fund, and the program would not obstruct or eliminate any

current full-time or part-time position at the county. Any intern wanting to receive

academic credit for their experience has the responsibility to facilitate the

administrative activities with their educational institution after receiving approval

from the County department offering the internship. Lastly, Pierog believes that

the Kane County Internship Program would demonstrate an act of goodwill by

the county, and provide educational opportunities for the youth in Kane County.

Kane County Economic Development Initiatives Staff Updates

JEG, LLC., 360 Grueling stated that the Kane County Development Corporation

is in the process of finalizing the feasibility study for private sector employers.

More information on that report will be presented in the coming months. The

next steps will be to determine whether or not to move forward with a funding

campaign. Grueling noted that World Business Chicago Research Center is

currently working with companies interested in expanding in the county. He

stated that the Trump's Administration's trade war is having a significant impact

on global commerce and business. In the short run, tariffs threaten affordability

of consumer and producer goods, leaving an uncertain landscape for

businesses and worldwide markets. In the long run, tariffs are intended to spur a

renaissance of domestic manufacturing, as global outsourced supply chains are

shifted back to the U.S. The Tax Foundation projects that the United States

Gross Domestic Product (USGDP) will be reduced by 1% over the next year.

The economic impacts of tariffs in Chicagoland is estimated to be a $9.2B hit to

the Chicago GDP. Based on the Yale Budget Lab's projections for changes in

output and employment for Chicagoland, it is projected that there will be an

increase in the region's manufacturing output by 2.0%. U.S tariffs have

increased prices by 1.8%, reducing household purchasing power by $2,400 on

average. There was a total of 102 Pro-Chicagoland companies making the

decision to expand in the Chicago market. The GDP for Kane County increased

by 0.5%. The Kane County employment rate increased by 1.6%. Kane County's

unemployment rate had a 1.3% decrease since last year. Lastly, Grueiling stated

that there are currently 10,161 jobs available in Kane County. Further discussion

ensued.

Office of Community Reinvestment - Workforce Development Division

Monthly Report

The monthly report is on file. No additional report was made.

New Business

Dev. Planner Toth announced that he is in the process of working with the Chicago

Metropolitan Agency for Planning Data Hub (CMAP) on the Housing-Ready Checklist

Program. He expects to have the first draft of the key recommendations memo ready

by next week. Toth noted that a slide deck was sent to him two months ago indicating

housing data in Kane County. Once the key recommendations memo is completed, his

goal will be to conduct another Workforce Housing Forum with public and private

sectors for discussion. Further discussion took place.

Comments by Co-Chair

None.

10.

Executive Session (if needed)

None.