Elmhurst Chamber News & Notes
Amendment Prohibits Discrimination
An amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by employers with 15 or more employees or with a state contract (as well as lenders and landlords) was signed into law by Governor Rod Blagojevich on January 21. Visit http://www.vedderprice.com/docs/pub/3529c3bb-3350-471e-89e0-df890c0ec723_document.pdf for more info.
Bankruptcies Medical-Related
About half of all bankruptcies result from the inability to pay medical bills, even though 75 percent of those bankrupt were covered by some form of health insurance, according to a Harvard University Medical School study published in the medical journal Health Affairs, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce reported February in The Exec Report. Visit http://www.chamber2u.com/pub/plib/pr2.asp?id=10000000103031b0&p=129819109023 for more info.
Chamber Anniversaries
The following four businesses and not-for-profits are celebrating Chamber Anniversaries in March:
20 Years—Chase Root Beer Corp. (867 North Addison Avenue);
10 Years—Chief Enterprises Inc. (922 North Oaklawn); and
5 Years—Development Systems (631 Hawthorne) and The Morton Arboretum (4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle).
Drug Testing Report
A Chamber company that “reluctantly” implemented drug testing was “shocked” to learn that half of the employees tested positive (despite advanced warnings), one in every four employees eventually lost their jobs (even though those who tested positive for marijuana were given a second chance) and three of four job applicants fail the test. Since then, accident rates and petty theft have declined and the company has become more attractive to insurers.
New Members
The following 12 businesses joined the Chamber in the past three weeks:
Automatic Data Processing (1431 Opus Avenue, Suite 500, Downers Grove 60515), payroll services, Aleita Anderson, 276-1543;
Builders Landscape Management (381 North York Street, Suite 9), landscaping, Jerry Olive, 833-8770;
Cafй Amano (105 South York Street, Suite 100), cafй and coffeehouse, Chris DePodesta and Marco Conte, 279-9333;
Champion Container Corporation (430 West Wrightwood Avenue), industrial and shipping supplies, William R. Shanklin, 530-1990;
Countrywide Home Loans (100 West 22nd Street, #110, Lombard 60148), mortgage banking, Carl Melby, 628-3420;
Dawsons Tree Service, Inc. (P.O. Box 1363), tree service, John Dawson and Kelly Meisner, 834-3409;
DRY CLEANING TO-YOUR-DOOR (15W329 Concord), dry cleaners, Setve Giusti, 359-5505;
Law Offices of Laura H. Urbik Kern, LLC (386 North York Street, Suite 204), attorneys at law, Laura Kern, 993-1230;
Leonard Family Dental (110 South York Street), dental health care, Dr. Chris Leonard, DDS, 941-7200;
National City Mortgage (One North Franklin, Suite 725, Chicago 60606), mortgage banker/loan officer, Paul McCann, (312) 384-6923;
Quality Lawn Care & Landscaping Inc. (580 Elm Street), landscape contractor and lawn maintenance, Scott Wyllie, 834-1136;
Quinn Morris & Associates (257 East St. Charles Road), website design and hosting, and e-commerce development, John Kowieski, 359-4100; and
Thatcher Oaks Awnings (718 Industrial Drive), awnings, Jim Patten, 833-5700.
Newsmakers
Cyber Com, Inc. (289 West Van Buren Street), a 1995-founded producer of business marketing websites, won a Member’s Choice Award from the Greater O’Hare Association of Industry & Commerce for “exceptional customer service, innovation, ethics and leadership” after being nominated for the second year in a row.
Cathy Bajkowski of CB Health Insurance and The MONY Group opened her new office at 118 Industrial Drive, Suite 226, on March 7. She has new numbers for phone (279-1739) and fax (279-1791) and e-mail address (cathy@cbhealthinsurance.com).
Midwest Open MRI (321 North York Street) announced Denise Buroff and Sue Dillman as the new Marketing Representatives in Melrose Park and Darien, respectively.
Elmhurst College (190 Prospect Avenue) has added an eighth graduate-level program of a Master of Science degree in Nursing through its Deicke Center for Nursing Education, with classes to begin next August. Call 717-3300 for more info.
Community Bank of Elmhurst (330 West Butterfield Road) donated $500.00 to Elmhurst College’s Center for Professional Excellence after Dr. Lawrence “Buckets” Carroll, the Center’s Director, sank a free throw and 3-point shot in the bank’s Bluejay Halftime Challenge during the February 16 home win over Wheaton College.
Special Events
Immanuel Lutheran Church and School (142 East Third Street) is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 19, at 10:00 a.m. for preschoolers and Kindergarteners, and 10:30 a.m. for children in Grades 1-3. It is free and open to the public. Call 832-9302 for more info.
With sponsorship from the City of Elmhurst (209 North York Street), Chamber and many Chamber members, the 9th Annual Elmhurst St. Patrick’s Day Parade will step off at Spring Road and Wilson on Saturday, March 19, at 12:00 noon. Visit www.elmhurststpatsparade.com for more info. The parade will air on “Elmhurst Our Kind of Town” on Channel 6 of Comcast this month on Sundays and Mondays at 1:00 p.m. and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., with Colleen Callahan, Marketing Director, Elmhurst Park District, and Chamber President John Quigley as announcers.
Boutie Q Boutique (263 North York Street) and the Elmhurst Jaycees (P.O. Box 235) are co-sponsoring a Spring Fashion Show in the Swank Martini Lounge at 100 South Chop House & Grill (100 South York Street) on Friday, March 25, starting at 7:00 p.m. with a cash bar. A $5.00 donation will benefit The Family Violence Prevention Fund. Call 530-1051 for more info. Boutie Q Boutique will also be partnering with The Spice Merchant & Tea Room (108 W. Park Avenue) in an informal modeling of some of the new spring fashions during afternoon tea on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 at the tearoom from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
“State of the City” Mayoral Address
The Annual “State of the City” Mayoral Address, featuring Elmhurst Mayor Thomas D. Marcucci, co-sponsored by the Chamber and Community Bank of Elmhurst, will air on “Elmhurst Our Kind of Town” on Channel 6 of Comcast throughout March on Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 19, at 8:00 p.m.