Deerfield Review - Schneider's Efforts Aim for Job Creation

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By Steve Sadin

While Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Deerfield) votes on legislation aimed to help create jobs in Washington, his efforts at home in the 10th District this month also targeted the same goal.

Schneider introduced legislation to direct funds from the Small Business Administration to start-up companies on Feb. 18. He also facilitated an internship program between Wheeling High School and a Northbrook manufacturer Feb. 20, after holding a job fair in Palatine with Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Hoffman Estates).

And after presenting a speech to the Waukegan Chamber of Commerce last week on small business growth and workforce development, Schneider headed to the Lake Forest Business Accelerator to introduce a bill.

Dubbed the Accelerate Our Start-Ups Act, the proposed legislation provides Small Business Administration grants to start-up businesses operating in incubators like the Lake Forest Business Accelerator.

"They have to have skin in the game. There must be an investment by the (entrepreneur)," Schneider said of the bill's requirements. "There must be formal mentorship, access to capital and professional services."

The Accelerator does just that. When a person joins with an idea, there is some rent to pay. What they get is a cooperative spirit with like-minded people for sharing ideas and mentorship.

Tom Horan, managing partner of 80/20 Business Solutions, is using the Accelerator to grow his new business that focuses on cloud computing. He finds the environment critical to what he is trying to do.

"The interaction gives us accountability," Horan said. "If you decide to do something, the others will be asking you about it. It gets you immersed in a community."

He also said he feels it brings accountability.

When people like Horan become successful and grow out of the Accelerator, they will become tomorrow's job creators, according to Schneider.

"Helping people with vision dream (propels) them to success," Schneider said.

Meg Barnhart, the founder of The Zen of Slow Cooking, got her start at the Accelerator. She credits Susan Kelsey, the manager and Lake Forest's economic development officer, with some of her success by taking her out of her comfort zone. After she got started she felt she was ready for the Lake Forest Farmer's Market.

"You have to bring something to sell," she said Kelsey told her. She did, she said, and challenges got easier after that.

But not every budding entrepreneur is an adult.

Lake Forest High School sophomore Jacob Farkas and senior Geno Quaid own Soy by Boy. They make candles from soy. Quaid handles the marketing and Farkas the production.

Though all teenagers are not starting their own businesses, students at Wheeling High School are learning skills that aim to provide them a middle class lifestyle through skilled manufacturing jobs.

Schneider put Wheeling High School Principal Angela Sisi together with the owners of Panek Precision in Northbrook, and a micro internship program sprouted from the connection. It gives students a chance to put what they learn in their STEM (science, technology engineering and math) labs to work on a plant floor for a short stint.

"If they start and like it, we'll be able to bring them on longer over the summer," Vice President Brian Panek said. "They can get hands on before they make a career choice."

The extended programs will be paid internships. Among other things, the company makes parts for General Motors.

Assistant Township High School District 214 Superintendent Laz Lopez, Sisi's predecessor at Wheeling, created the STEM program there so students could graduate with a certification in an area of manufacturing and immediately go to work.

"This can lift entire families out of poverty," Lopez said referring to the partnership with Panek. "If students can engage they'll earn more than anyone in their family."

Schneider wants to see more programs like the STEM labs at Wheeling High School and the Lake Forest Business Accelerator. He also wants more partnerships like the one with Panek and schools in the 10th District and beyond. It brings the kind of jobs that offer prosperity, he said.

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