The LCCPAC auction highlighted the April Membership Meeting. It was a wonderful event. Our PAC Auction Committee chaired by Steve Dalbec, worked long and hard to make this event a success. Over 130 items were auctioned off. I want to thank all of you for not only your generous donations, but for your participation in the auction as well.

The auction was held at the Lake County Conference & Banquet Center in Gurnee. The food was good, but the camaraderie was exceptional! It is always great to see everyone and there were many new faces as well. The evening started with cocktails and a silent auction. After dinner, Ritchie Bros, Auctioneers donated their services to conduct our live auction. The bidding was lively and fierce. In fact, auction items went for over 88% of their value! At times, competition for items involved people from the same company - sitting at different tables!

Many of us will be enjoying the summer by attending sporting events and golf outings, drinking many bottles of fine wine and dining at great eating establishments - and to make our working hours easier, tools and building products were purchased as well. By the end of the evening we raised $61,239.00.

The money raised will be put to good use. We have many legislative issues that will affect the way we can and will be conducting our businesses. If we cannot remain competitive, we will soon be out of business. And if the legislature continues to tax and spend as it has in the last few years, we will all be looking for another career. These funds will assist us in promoting these issues and supporting legislators that support us as well.

Cudahy Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc.
P.O. Box 100525, 4801 S. Whitnall Ave.
Cudahy, WI 53110
     Phone: (414) 483-7100
      Fax: (414) 483-3148
CONTRACTOR
      David Kielpinski, President
Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractor.
Sponsor: Rick Grabowski, Pickus Construction & Equip.

Midland Standard Engineering & Testing, Inc.
26575 W. Commerce Dr., Unit 607
Volo, IL 60073
     Phone: (847) 270-0832
     Fax: (847) 270-0836
ASSOCIATE
     William Prigge, President
     William Wyzgala, Vice President
Geotechnical Engineering/Construction Materials Testing.
Sponsor: Mike DeNinno, Lake County Grading Co.

The 2007 PAC Auction was a great success. Thanks to the efforts of Steve Dalbec, Jos. J. Henderson, and his committee, the PAC raised over $60,000, almost $20,000 more than the last auction in 2005. A special thanks to the LCCA Members who provided the items that were auctioned off. The variety and creativity contributed to the auction's success and the enjoyment of the bidders. The following is a list of LCCA members who donated items:

Althoff Industries, Inc.
Air Con Refrigeration
Baker Corp.
Becker Electrical
Blue Boy Portable Toilets
Boller Construction Co., Inc.
Brydges Riseborough
Burris Equipment
Cady Aquastore
Camosy Construction
Campanella & Sons
Chicagoland Construction Safety Council
Circle Concrete Construction
Clean Cut Tree Service
Columbia Pipe & Supply
Continental Electric
Corporate Imaging Concepts
Dahme Mechanical
Dam, Snell & Taveirne
Drydon Equipment
Flow Technics
First Midwest Bank
Green Mechanical
Jos. J. Henderson & Son
Hard Rock Concrete Cutters
Hilb Rogal & Hobbs
H.H. Holmes Testing Laboratories
Industrial Technology Group
Keno & Sons
Landscape Concepts Construction
LCCA
Ley & Associates
Lincoln Financial Advisors
Lintech Engineering
Lite Technology, Inc.
Maddock Industries
Manusos General Contractors
Mason Contractors Assn.
Maxim Construction
Maximus Painting
Mechanical, Inc.
Meyer Material
Morse Electric
Northern Illinois Mack, Inc.
Northfield Block Company
NorStates Bank
Ogletree Deakins
Osco Oil
Ozinga Concrete Products, Inc.
P&S Painting
Palatine Oil Co.
Peterson & Matz
Pickus Construction & Equipment
Prairie Material
Premium Concrete Cutting
Rockenbach Chevrolet
Roughneck Conc. Cutting
RSC Equipment Rental
Ryan Inc. Central
Seidenberg Investment Group
Spancrete of Illinois, Inc.
Stellmach Electric
Sunset Logistics
Taylor Financial Group
Thelen Sand & Gravel
Tonyan Bros.
U.S. Cellular
Vulcan Construction Materials
Waukegan Roofing
Wellenstein & Sons
Wunderlich-Malec
Zeigler & Associates

May's Membership Meeting - May 24, 2007 at Country Squire - brings you the answers to all your technology related questions. The May meeting will be our Technology Night where you will have an opportunity to hear from a futurist on where business technology is headed and to ask the experts one-on-one on how wireless internet can benefit you, how to get a new ring tone and learn what the difference is between an iPod and an MP3. This will also be a great opportunity to see what's new in consumer electronics!

We will also be recognizing the recent graduates of the Supervisor Training Program. This year 26 completed the four-night program on Improving Productivity at the College of Lake County.

And to top off the evening we'll be having a 50-50 raffle. Be sure to buy your tickets early and often. The program begins at 6:00 p.m. at Country Squire Banquets in Grayslake. Don't forget to mark May 24th on your calendar!

The 2007 Supervisor Training Program graduated 26 students. Improving Productivity was the subject and with the diversity of companies represented, interesting discussions were the norm. Once again, Wayne Pratt was the instructor but unlike past STP classes, the College of Lake County hosted the seminar and opened the class to other interested student.

Graduates will be presented plaques at the May Membership Meeting to recognize their accomplishment.

Last month, Tim Staples, Camosy, Inc., and Gary Dowty, LCCA, interviewed 13 graduating seniors in the Lake County Tech Campus Building Trades Program looking for students who would be a good fit for the construction industry. Students were graded on math scores, experience, extracurricular activities and physical ability. We identified six who will make good carpenters and two who are interested in joining the Laborers trade.

If you are looking for a motivated apprentice Laborer or Carpenter, contact Gary at the LCCA Office. Last year we placed several students and they are working out very well for their employers.

Laborers Landscape/Cleanup Letters - Recently many LCCA Members received letters from the Laborers District Council regarding Landscape and Clean-up Work. The Laborers Agreement, like many other labor contracts, contains a subcontracting clause that requires you to subcontract covered work to contractors who also are covered by the labor agreement. The intent of these clauses was to ensure that non-union contractors were not subs on a union job. Unfortunately, they are used today to fight for work that is also covered in another union agreement creating a "jurisdictional dispute."

We continue to advise members to not change the way you have traditionally treated the work. If a dispute results in an NLRB case, the historical assignment of work is a key factor in deciding who wins the case.

Negotiations Underway - Negotiations have started for most trades and the intensity will pick up as we approach the June 1 expiration. In addition, we will be receiving distributions from the unions shortly. We will be sending updates on negotiations distributions to Contractor Members as we receive them.

Vignocchi and Wysockey Appointed to Operators Craft Committee - President Micky Day has appointed Bill Vignocchi, John Keno & Company, and Mike Wysockey, Thatcher Foundations, to the MARBA Operators Craft Committee. According to Day, "We need to look to the future and get younger members involved in the negotiating process. This is an opportunity for Bill and Mike to get involved but still have the old hands to learn from."

MARBA Labor Contracts CD Available - MARBA has issued an updated CD with all MARBA Agreements in a searchable format. LCCA has a limited supply of CD's that we will make available to members at a nominal cost. Contact the LCCA Office if you would like a copy for your office.

Taxes - The debate rages in Springfield as the Governor and Senate President Emil Jones push for the Gross Receipts Tax while other factions are pushing increases in Personal Income, Corporate and Sales Taxes. The bottom line is to expect a tax increase of some type. The exact blend is yet to be determined and will probably not be decided until the final week of the legislative session.

HB 750 is the other tax bill that would increase personal income tax from 3% to 5% and the corporate tax rate from 4.8% to 8%. It would also extend the sales tax to cover services. The bill is estimated to generate nearly $7 billion in new revenue to increase education funding by $2.7 billion and provide $2.7 billion in property tax relief.

The other piece of the revenue puzzle is the proposed expansion of gambling. According to sources, a bill would add three sites (Waukegan, Chicago and the Southside) along with other expansion that would be used to fund a capital program. Each site would be sold for $350 million up front generating over $1 billion for roads and other infrastructure improvements.

If you are looking for a tax-friendly place to live, you might be surprised by a recent report in CNN Money that rated states on their individual Tax Burden as a percentage of income. Illinois ranks 22nd with a Tax Burden of 10.8%. By comparison, Wisconsin is ranked 7th at 12.3%, Iowa is 18th at 11.0% and Indiana is 25th at 10.7%. Tax Burden considers all taxes paid by an individual as a percentage of income. In Illinois, the average Tax Burden is $4,594 per person. By comparison, Wisconsin residents pay an average of $4,736 per person. By the way, Vermont tops the list with a Tax Burden of 14.1% followed by Maine (14.0%) and New York (13.8%).

Right now, you should be living in Illinois and have your business in Wisconsin. That could change dramatically if a multi-billion dollar tax increase is approved!

If you look at Sales Tax, Illinois is 9th in the country with a 6.25% rate. The highest rate in the country is in Mississippi, New Jersey, Tennessee and Rhode Island - all at 7.0%! When you add the "local option" sales taxes, it is even more of an issue.

LCTA Reception - Government Affairs Chairman, Steve Dalbec, Jos. J. Henderson, and Executive Vice President Gary Dowty joined County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt, LCDOT Director Marty Buehler and LCTA Chair JoAnn Eckmann in hosting a reception in Springfield for the Lake County Delegation to stress the importance of getting some road funds into Lake County this year. If taxes increase as expected, we need to be in line to get our share or Chicago and other big players will just take the money and spend.

Among the legislators who attended the reception were: Sen. Terry Link, Michael Bond and Susan Garrett, and Representatives Kathy Ryg, and Sandy Cole. We appreciate them taking time to visit with us.

Legislative Directories Sent - 2007-2008 Legislative Directories were mailed last month to all LCCA Members. If you would like additional copies, please contact Sherry at the LCCA Office.

Last year the American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) Board of Directors approved the creation of an "Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day" (OSHP) to recognize the ongoing efforts of occupational safety, health and environmental professionals to protect people, property and the environment. This year OSHP Day will be held on Wednesday, May 9, 2007. It falls every year on the Wednesday of North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (NAOSH), which runs from May 6 - 12, 2007.

"They are the ones that make sure you go to and come home from work safely and without injury every day," ASSE President Donald S. Jones Sr., P.E., CSP, said.

Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day also aims to further raise awareness and pride in the occupational safety, health and environmental profession, a profession where one is qualified by education, training and experience, who identifies hazards and develops appropriate controls for these hazards all aimed at preventing occupational injury, illness and property damage. Safety and health professionals follow a Code of Professional Conduct and bring to bear technical knowledge, skill and expertise along with management abilities developed through years of continued education and practical experience. Currently there are about 100,000 occupational safety, health and environmental practitioners in the U.S. today in what is one of the most challenging, growing and rewarding career fields.

"Thank your occupational safety and health professional today," Jones said. "It will mean more than you know."

Thilman Filippini HRH Hires Construction Expert - Thilman Filippini, a Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company, has named Jeff Biesen as Vice President of its downtown office. Biesen brings 18 years of insurance industry experience to Thilman Filippini/HRH. Specializing in the construction sector throughout his insurance career, Biesen designs risk management and insurance solutions for contractors and developers in the Chicagoland area.

Burris Equipment Co. is celebrating Case's 50 Years of World-Class Backhoe Leadership with the 2007 Case Rodeo Series on Saturday, June 9, 2007. The top five winners will receive awards. The local rodeo champion will head to Las Vegas to compete at the 2008 Case North American Championship Event. Everyone is invited to a full day of activities - Rodeo Competition, Equipment Demonstrations, Food & Drink, and Family Entertainment. Contact Burris Equipment (847-336-1205) for more information.

NAWIC's Block Kids Events, will be held Friday, May 11, 2007 at Big Hollow School in Ingleside. NAWIC is looking for child sponsors ($10 per child) or volunteers to help the day of the event as a Judge. If you are interested, contact Jamie Shirling at Jos. J. Henderson & Son (847-244-3222).

The Block Kids Building Contest, free to all participants, was designed to promote interest in future careers in the construction industry, as well as familiarize children with the construction process in a positive manner. NAWIC's goal is to make children aware of the construction industry by providing them with a chance to use their imagination, creativity and knowledge to build something today and possibly something for the future.