Bring Jobs to Illinois - Revive the Emerging Technology Bill

Spur your congressman to take action on legislation that will help bring jobs to and keep technology investments in Illinois.

Your Illinois congressmen have let Senate bill (SB1522) wither. The bill, if passed will pump up to $15,000,000 (per year) into emerging technology companies in Illinois and provide up to a 25% tax credit for Illinois tech company investors under the Illinois "Emerging Technology Industries Act".

The grant program will be run by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (the DCEO). The DCEO will award grants to emerging-technology enterprises in Illinois based on certain  requirements set by the Act and its regulations.

Provisions of the bill also amend the Illinois Income Tax Act to create  an income tax credit for qualified investors who make an investment in an emerging technology enterprise in Illinois. The DCEO will certify the amount of the credit and enforce the provisions for the revocation and recapture of the tax credit if the credit's requirements are not met.

The Act will bring quality, tech-related jobs to  and spur investment in the emerging tech businesses in Chicago and throughout Illinois. Various groups and organizations involved in the tech industry such as the Illinois Technology Association support the bill- see http://www.illinoistech.org/associationnews.aspx/497.

Crain's Chicago Business recently ran an article (Bill would boost Illinois' biotech startups) discussing the competitive disadvantage hampering efforts to attracting biotech (and other emerging tech) companies to Illinois:

“Illinois’ programs and support of entrepreneurs don’t even approach what other states are doing from a competitive point of view,” said David Miller, executive director of the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization, or iBio."

For the full article go to: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=38095

Show your support for the bill and demand that your Congressman revive the bill and bring quality jobs to Illinois.  To find out who is your Congressman go to: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?state=IL

Support the Illinois Emerging Technology Legislation!

A shift in enforcement policy in dealing with illegal workers

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has shifted its enforcement policy in dealing with illegal workers. In its recent enforcement guidance that was distributed to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, the DHS has made a notable shift in its recent worksite enforcement policies. The DHS has directed an immediate shift in ICE's resources to criminal prosecution of employers who hire illegal workers in an effort to root out illegal immigration. As part of this shift in policy, ICE is to specifically target employers who cultivate illegal workplaces by breaking the law and knowingly hire illegal workers. Unfortunately, the new guidance does not address how ICE is to determine how an employer "knowingly" hire illegal workers.

To review the DHS mandate go to: http://tinyurl.com/dgfp4u

___________________________________________________________
For information on how the shift in policy may effect your business, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC.

EEOC Issues New Employer Best Practices for Dealing with Caregivers

Image via Wikipedia

EEOC issued new best practices for employers of workers with care giving responsibilities (and help businesses reduce the possibility of being found to discriminate against workers with care giving responsibilities).

With a dramatic increase in the number of workers who have the additional responsibility of being the primary caregiver for their children, aging parents and/or relatives with a disability, the EEOC felt it was necessary to provide some guidance to employers to encourage the adoption of more flexible workplace policies that help employees achieve a satisfactory work-life balance.

The EEOC's best practices supplement the guidance issued by the EEOC in 2007 and provides specific suggestions for best practices that employers may adopt to reduce the chance of a violation of the various federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations. You may read the best practice at the EEOC website at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiver-best-practices.html.

____________________________________________________

Contact your business attorney and accountant or contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC (amf@gjlaw.com or 312-236-8110) for more information.