In Illinois’ changing ‘Valley,’ give thanks for jobs

Bill Knight column for 11-25, 26 or 27, 2019

There doesn’t seem to be economic planning behind the slow evolution of jobs in Illinois, so give thanks this week if you’re employed, whether a legacy job or a trendy tech gig.

The state seems to be in a “valley,” as haphazard moves by business and government careen from “How Green Was My Valley” to “Silicon Valley.” The former was Richard Llewellyn’s 1939 novel about coal country (in Wales), adapted to John Ford’s Oscar-winning 1941 film, about changes in coal-mining culture.

“Silicon Valley” is an increasingly mythologized term for the northern California area where Apple, Facebook and tech-industry concerns are located.

Some may see signs of a modernizing economy in changes in Illinois jobs, as high-profile, tech-oriented corporations are adding jobs while 19 more traditional employers are closing or laying off workers, including five coal-fired power plants. But baby-step progress isn’t keeping up with crippling down-sizing. In fact, according to the most recent report on jobs and wages by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released Nov. 20, Illinois’ economy has been mediocre for months, improving a scant 0.3% in employment and 2.4% in average weekly wages from a year ago.

Detailing the state’s 13 largest counties’ experience, BLS showed Will County leading in job gains with just 1.3% more than 2018 and McHenry County leading in wages, with a decent 3.8% increase. On the negative side, Peoria County was Illinois’ worst in jobs, losing 1.7%, and McLean County the worst in wages, dropping 5.8%, mostly due to “financial activities,” BLS reported.

Meanwhile, more than 1,400 workers have lost their jobs in recent weeks, according to the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) and published reports.

Those losses aren’t close to being offset by gains in employment because of Google, the software firm Relativity, or Amazon.

This month Google opened a second site in Chicago, doubling its area labor force from about 600 to more than 1,200; Relativity announced its intention to hire hundreds of software engineers plus customer-support, marketing and sales staffers in coming months; and last month, Amazon said it plans to open a suburban Chicago warehouse that could employ about 500 people when it opens next fall.

However, the state also is suffering 13 companies closing and 6 others laying off workers, highlighted by Vistra Energy shutting down coal-burning plants near Canton, Havana, Hennepin and Coffeen, which are shedding 61, 73, 59 and 99 jobs, respectively.

The largest loss is a fifth power plant, Peabody Illinois Services in Equality, Ill., in southern Illinois, IDOL said, with the company citing a “poor economy” for its decision to close, costing 226 jobs.

Other triple-digit job losses are at CTI Industries in Lake Barrington (154 jobs in a shutdown), Visage Screen-Print in Des Plaines (112 layoffs), and United Facilities in East Peoria (112 layoffs).

Other Illinois employers cutting jobs are:

* AECOM, a Peoria engineering firm, laying off 30;

* Catholic Charities of Chicago, closing two child-development centers, where a total of 60 people will become jobless;

* Halo Top Creamery in Chicago, closing its ice cream production facility, trimming 28 positions;

* Inpax Final Mile Delivery in Lisle and Mundelein, laying off 69 and 79, respectively;

* Maurice Sporting Goods in Northbrook, laying off 44;

* the restaurant chain O’Charley’s closing its O’Fallon location and costing 51 people their jobs;

* Chicago’s Raffaello Hotel, laying off 27;

* the Oak Brook publisher Refinitiv US laying off 33;

* Willowbrook’s Sterigenics testing lab closing, cutting 17 jobs;

* Itasca’s Veritiv Operating Co., a paper wholesaler, closing and eliminating 43 jobs; and

* Wyndham Vacation Ownership in Chicago, closing and making 80 jobless;

Not yet reported by the state, Walgreens recently closed two Chicago stores as part of “cost transformation” involving about 200 U.S. stores closing.

Illinois isn’t yet a Midwestern Silicon Valley, but shuttered coal-fired plants recall the passing of coal mines in Wales and the United Kingdom, so many may be left with thoughts of dying employment and prayers for hope:

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…”