Year: 2015

For the first time ever in the Chicago area, the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) headquartered here is launching a leadership and entrepreneurial comprehensive training program for Latina business owners. Focused on four key areas – leadership, mentoring, volunteerism and strategic business planning – the Latina Entrepreneurial Accelerated Development (LEAD) Program kicks off February 11 with a three-day opening retreat to build peer-to-peer connections and set the stage for the 12-month program.

“We have had a Latina Business Program for over a decade, and now we’re shifting the focus to provide relevant and targeted programming in a closed group setting to established business owners poised for growth,” says WBDC President and CEO Emilia DiMenco. Structured in three phases – planning, activation and assessment – the program will provide participants with connections to non-profit and Latino business leaders in the Chicagoland area to further their community commitment and business development.

Participation is limited to 25 Latina business owners headquartered in Illinois who have at least two employees and have been in operation for two years or more. Funded through Discover Financial and UPS, the program will be offered two to three times throughout 2015. Additional dates to be announced online. To learn more about the LEAD program, visit www.WBDC.org or contact the WBDC at 312.853.3477.

Cook County has recycled more than one million pounds of old documents, reports and miscellaneous paperwork in the last year-and-a-half, confronting a decades-old problem of records storage as well as generating savings and revenue for the County.

Over the past 18 months, the Records Management and County Salvage divisions of the County’s Bureau of Administration have overseen identification and review of paper that was eligible for destruction. Among the documents collected for disposal were old financial spreadsheets, dated legal journals, files from long-ago settled court cases, years-old dog bite incident reports, and documents from expired bond transactions.

Some of the paperwork dated back to the 1960s. All of the documents were eligible for destruction under local records statutes. Certificates for disposal of the paperwork were obtained from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, as required for official government documents.

Importantly, none of the 1.14 million pounds of paper was sent to a landfill. Instead, the paper was sold for recycling through a contract with a County vendor. Revenue from the sale of the paper to date has yielded the County more than $20,000 and removing the paper from County offices and facilities has cleared more than 71,000 cubic feet of space.

Records Management will continue its pro-active outreach to all County departments to identify, collect and dispose of old paper records that are eligible for destruction, Preckwinkle said.

AT&T announced it’s bringing back its popular “Rollover” concept – but this time for data. Beginning January 25, all new and current AT&T Mobile Share Value customers will automatically receive the Rollover Data feature at no additional cost. Now, all Mobile Share Value customers will have their unused, shareable plan data in a given month roll over to be used within the next month. The best part is that it is simple and easy to track, and Rollover Data benefits the whole family or business – across all smartphones and devices on the same Mobile Share Value plan. AT&T is making it easier for customers to do more with their data on their terms. All on the nation’s most reliable LTE network with the nation’s strongest LTE signal. AT&T Mobile Share Value customers will be able to share the data that rolls over from the previous month, a big advantage for families and businesses. With truly sharable data rolled from the previous month, AT&T Mobile Share Value customers enjoy more freedom and ability to use their data on their terms across devices. How it works:

• All levels of AT&T Mobile Share Value plan customers automatically receive the Rollover Data feature – no signing up, no additional cost.
• Rollover Data can be shared with everyone on the same Mobile Share Value plan.
• If you do not use your full allotment of plan data in a given month, the extra amount automatically rolls over and is available to be used within the next month.
• Within a given month, you will use your plan allotment first, before you begin using your Rollover Data. Unused Rollover Data does not carry over.

Governor Pat Quinn issued two executive orders to help support the state’s undocumented immigrants in their integration into communities across Illinois. The orders create the Governor’s New Americans Welcoming Initiative and the Governor’s New Americans Trust Initiative to help undocumented immigrants apply for federal administrative relief and to improve cooperation between immigrants and law enforcement agencies. The action is part of Governor Quinn’s agenda to support comprehensive immigration reform and make Illinois a welcoming place for all people.

The Governor’s New Americans Welcoming Initiative will coordinate state efforts to assist those in Illinois seeking federal administrative relief. The initiative will help applicants obtain necessary records to verify state residency such as immigration, medical, employment and school immunization records. State agencies will provide information on how to obtain records and designate a liaison to coordinate agency efforts. Illinois’ 10 Welcoming Centers will serve as information centers for administrative relief applicants and include translators to assist applicants. An estimated four percent of Illinois’ population may be eligible for temporary administrative relief.

A second executive order creates the Governor’s New Americans Trust Initiative, which will improve cooperation between the immigrant community and law enforcement. Under the new initiative, state law enforcement agencies may not stop, arrest, search or detain a person based solely on the individual’s immigration status or on the basis of an immigration detainer or administrative immigration warrant. Law enforcement agencies will also provide training to state police officers on U and T nonimmigrant visas and other remedies for immigrant survivors of criminal activity. These measures are intended to improve public safety across the state by protecting victims and encouraging more people to report crimes.

Por primera vez en el área de Chicago, Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) con oficinas aquí, lanza un programa de entrenamiento empresarial integral para propietarias latinas de negocios. Enfocado en cuatro áreas claves – liderazgo, tutoría, voluntarismo y estrategia de planeación comercial – el Programa Latlina Entrepreneurial Accelerated Development (LEAD) se inicia el 11 de febrero, con un retiro de apertura de tres días, para establecer conexiones de compañera a compañera y establecer el escenario para el programa de 12 meses.

“Hemos tenido un Programa Comercial para La Mujer Latina por más de una década y ahora estamos cambiando el enfoque para ofrecer una programación relevante y enfocada a un grupo específico para establecer propietarias de negocios preparadas para el crecimiento”, dijo la Presidente y CEO de WBDC, Emilia DiMenco. Estructurado en tres fases – planeación, activación y evaluación – el programa ofrecerá a las participantes las conexiones a organizaciones no lucrativas y líderes del comercio latinos claves en el área de Chicago, para ampliar su compromiso comunitario y desarrollo comercial.

La participación se limita a 25 propietarias latinas de comercios en Illinois, que tengan por lo menos dos empleados y hayan estado en operación por dos años o más. Patrocinado por Discover Financial y UPS, el programa se ofrecerá dos o tres veces en el 2015. Fechas adicionales serán anunciadas en línea. Para más información sobre el programa LEAD, visite www.WBDC.org o comunicarse con WBDC el 312-853-3477.