August/September Business View Magazine

184 185 PREFERRED VENDORS n M & J Underground, Inc. www.mjunderground.com n Robbins Schwartz www.robbins-schwartz.com n Spirit Wrecking & Excavating, Inc. www.spiritwrecking.com PARK FOREST, ILLINOIS compressed natural gas. Part of the agreement in us helping them is that when we start to convert our fleets–our police cars, or public works vehicles, or fire trucks into CNG–we can also use their filling stations.We also have this natural gas line to our business park where we can attract other business- es that are interested in doing similar things.” While assisting local businesses with city services, tax abatements, grant funding, and the like, the Village is also mindful of the need to train the next generation of workers, and so, it has worked, closely, with local partners to advance workforce education. “Last year, the Village,working with the high school district and Image Works (a local manufacturing company,making products for the marketing indus- try) and a local community college, Prairie State, im- plemented a programwhere 11 high school grad- uates could have full immersion at Image Works in every aspect of the business - from accounting and finance, intake,HR, production, packaging, design –and then have their full tuition covered at Prairie State College, and in some cases,with transporta- tion. Image Works is also committed to retaining the students for the full four years of their undergradu- ate degree program.” Another partner is OAI–OpportunityAdvance- ment Innovation.“They do workforce development, helping to provide qualified staff for manufacturers in the south suburbs,” says Kingma.“They also work closely with our high schools in training high school students who may not be on a path to go to college. They can come right out of high school and get good jobs in the manufacturing world.” In 2014, Kingma applied for, and received, a Small Business Administration (SBA) grant for the seed money for the “Southworks MakerLab,”which OAI nowmanages.AMakerLab is a community resource with tools and materials for the creation and build- ing of physical and electronic items.“So, now,we have a 3,000-sq.-ft., fully outfitted,MakerLab with 3-D printers, laser cutters, lathes,” says Zoellner.“Us- ing the MakerLab, they have hands on training for people that they evaluate for placement in long- term positions in the manufacturing community between here and Chicago.”Kingma also wrote a second application for another SBA award for staff- ing and promotions,“making the facility even more robust than it was in the beginning.” From its early days as a planned development for returning veterans, the Village of Park Forest has matured into a business-friendly, sustainable community that Kingma says is “not only a good place to work, but a good place to live.We are a family-oriented community where we do a ton of things to support local businesses. Because of our focus on family and sustainability and what we’re willing to do to bring business to town,we can do a lot of things that a big town can’t do.” At Robbins Schwartz, we understand that your questions need to be answered quickly and more importantly, correctly. With nearly 50 years of experience, our attorneys skillfully provide practical options, reasonable solutions and strong advocacy. By networking across our offices throughout Illinois, we are able to ensure that someone is readily available to respond to every question. Construction Law • Education Law • Employee Benefits • Taxation Labor & Employment • Litigation • Municipal Law • Public Finance Bolingbrook • Champaign-Urbana • Chicago Collinsville • Rockford Contact Us Today 312.332.7760 www.robbins-schwartz.com Helping you navigate change for nearly 50 years Spirit Wrecking and Excavation, Inc. is a forward thinking minority owned demolition company. Our sole objective is to meet and exceed the expec- tations of our clients. We are licensed and bonded with the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. Spirit Wrecking and Excavation, Inc. perform various demolition projects for residential and commercial clients at affordable prices. We stand by our work and the client. spiritdemo@sbcglobal.net www.spiritwrecking.com 10 E. Garfield Boulevard // Chicago, IL 60615 Office: 773-924-5560 // Fax: 773-924-5580