The other day I was listening to the radio. The announcer had just wished Abner Doubleday a happy birthday. Most of us remember Doubleday as being credited as the creator of Baseball. As I continued to listen, I learned, however, he was so much more. Doubleday was a career Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. In San Francisco, after the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car railway that still runs there!

This reminded me of Lake County Contractors Association. I bet you are wondering, how the heck did she get there! Well, here goes…. We all joined LCCA for one reason or another – labor, safety, networking, seminars, or whatever. But as we listen and participate, we find that there is so much more to learn. We learn about the other members of LCCA – we learn about the accomplishments and mistakes of our peers. Great friends and allies are made. Personal and professional growth happens. Ideas are shared and developed. Just when you think you know, you learn more. See, I told you I’d get to the point.

Suzanne Zupec of Campanella & Sons is helping on this front. She is chairing a task force to encourage Young Leaders to participate in LCCA. This task force will become a committee. One of the goals will be to show our younger members that in spite of what they might know - that LCCA is a 60 year old organization, it does want fresh, new ideas. They will learn that our seasoned members also have a lot of wisdom and knowledge to share. We want our seasoned members to encourage the younger generation to attend and participate as well. They will learn more than they thought they knew as well.

So, I want to ask those of you seasoned members to take a few minutes to identify who at your company should be encouraged to get involved and identified as a Young Leader and to pass that information on to LCCA. I look forward to seeing what we all can learn from this new focus.

BHFX, LLC
80 W. Seegers Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
    Phone: (847) 593-3161
    Fax: (847) 593-3129
ASSOCIATE 
    Bob Hurckes, President
Blue printer.
Sponsor: Charlene Manusos, Manusos General Contr.

Geotrack, Inc.
P.O. Box 228
Lake Forest, IL 60045
    Phone: (847) 234-0185
    Fax: (847) 574-0383
CONTRACTOR 
    Jonathan Tan, President
General Contractor
Sponsor: Mike DeNinno, Lake County Grading

Gewalt Hamilton Associates, Inc.
820 Lakeside Drive, Suite 5
Gurnee, IL 60031
    Phone: (847) 855-1100
    Fax: (847) 855-1115
ASSOCIATE 
    Michael Shrake, Senior Partner
Civil Engineering, Construction Observation, Certified DECI, Surveying, Signal Design and Timing
Sponsor: Mike DeNinno, Lake County Grading

Hey and Associates, Inc.
26575 W. Commerce Drive, Suite 601
Volo, IL 60073
    Phone: (847) 740-0888
    Fax: (847) 740-2888
ASSOCIATE 
    Steve McChesney, CPESC DECI
Environmental Consulting
Sponsor: Mike DeNinno, Lake County Grading

Merchants Leasing
751 Falls Circle
Lake Forest, IL 60045
    Phone: (847) 735-1671
    Fax: (847) 735-1871
SUPPLIER 
    Carl Neuberger, Director - Sales
Vehicle Leasing (all trucks, cars & vans) and Fleet Management (Maintenance, fuel, registration, insurance).
Sponsor: Brad Stanek, Merrill Lynch

Rand-Tec Insurance Agency
977 Lakeview Parkway, Suite 105
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
    Phone: (847) 367-2633
    Fax: (847) 367-2636
ASSOCIATE 
    Allan Gerszonovicz, Consultant
Full service insurance and bonding agency, specializing in contractors for over 20 years.
Sponsor: Lorraine Kull, Blue Boy Portable Toilets

Saf-T-Gard International Inc.
205 Huehl Road
Northbrook, IL 60062
    Phone: (847) 291-1600
    Fax: (847) 291-1610
SUPPLIER 
    Tim Olson, Senior Safety Specialist
Personal protective equipment, rubber insulating goods and testing services, and confined space supplies.
Sponsor: Fred Rodheim, Abbott Labs

Unisound Contracting Corp.
207 E. Park Street, Suite B
Mundelein, IL 60060
    Phone: (847) 388-3090
    Fax: (847) 388-3095
CONTRACTOR 
    Eli Pagan, President
Commercial carpentry.
Sponsor: Steve Dulek, Enterprise Fleet Services

The Board of Directors has approved joining the Clean Water Construction Coalition. The coalition is a group of 18 contractor associations from throughout the United States. The goal of the group is to get Congress back on track to meet Clean Water goals. In fact, the Federal Clean Water Act has not been renewed for years and annual appropriations for State Revolving Loan Funds that fund local improvements have decreased.

Currently at stake is almost $500 million in funding. The House has approved $1.125 billion in Clean Water funding but the Senate has only included $887 million, what the President proposed. After the Senate approves its FY2008 Appropriations bill, the discussion will move to a Conference Committee to resolve the differences.

Once again, several LCCA Members have graciously agreed to sponsor the Golf Outing. Sponsors to date include:

    Aldridge Electric, Inc.
    Avalon Petroleum Co.
    Meyer Material Co.
    NorStates Bank
    W.B. Olson, Inc.
    Patten Construction Products
    Thelen Sand & Gravel, Inc.

You can win a $500 prize by just sponsoring a new member. The LCCA Membership Committee, chaired by Rick Grabowski, Pickus Construction & Equipment, wants everybody to help with LCCA’s membership efforts and you have a chance to win. The names of everybody who sponsors a new member by September 1 will be put in a hat and one lucky person will leave the September Membership Meeting with a nice prize. Already in the drawing are:

        Jim Becker
        Camosy, Inc
        Circle Concrete
        Mike DeNinno (8 new members)
        Chris Dietz (2 new members)
        Steve Dulek
        Gerry Dumalski (2 new members)
        Bill Krumm
        Lorraine Kull
        Charlene Manusos (3 new members)
        Fred Rodheim
        Mike Ryan
        Brad Stanek
        Vicki Taylor
        Karen Vignocchi
        Tiffany White (3 new members)
        Mike Wolff

Forest Preserve Projects Moving – Lake County Forest Preserve is moving ahead on two building projects. A $14 million public safety building at Fourth Lake Forest Preserves near Lindenhurst is being designed by architects and plans are underway for a $1.5 million expansion of the Greenbelt Cultural Center in North Chicago.

New Library in Vernon Hills – The Cook Memorial Library District board has approved plans to build a new library in Vernon Hills and expand the Libertyville library. The board approved $12 million to add 10,000 sq. ft. to the Libertyville facility and to build a 20,000 sq. ft. library on Aspen Drive northeast of the Vernon Hills Park District Sullivan Center.

More Work at Great Lakes – More than $125 million has been approved by the Senate to help fund construction projects at Great Lakes Naval Station and the North Chicago VA Hospital. $99 million will help construct an outpatient medical clinic and renovate existing space at the hospital. At the Navy Base, $16.6 million will go towards the weapons training facility and $10.2 million in other infrastructure repairs.

Chairman Mike Ryan, H.H. Holmes Testing Laboratories, reports the LCCA’s Annual Conference will be held jointly with the ASA of Chicago again next year. The details:

Date: January 10-14, 2008
Location: Le Blanc Spa Resort, Cancún, Mexico
Cost: $1,350 per person double occupancy (Land only, ALL INCLUSIVE)
Air: Assistance with air transportation is available from Travel by Marcy. Call Marcy Gelber at (847) 597-5911 for more information.

Le Blanc Spa Resort is an adults-only resort that perfectly blends the elements of beauty, luxury and tranquility creating the ideal atmosphere in which you can totally immerse yourself in and release all your worries. The conference also features two seminars to feed the mind. And plenty of food and beverages are included in the package price.

This year’s trip to Jamaica was a great success and we look forward to another exciting trip with ASA members. Meet new friends and renew old acquaintances this year in Cancun. Space is limited so make your plans soon. Book before September 12 and save $50 per person.

LCCA’s Annual Scramble Golf Outing will take the course at Midlane Golf Resort in Wadsworth, on Thursday, August 2, 2007! The field is filling quickly so make your reservations soon if you wish to participate.

Golf Outing Chair, Scott Nelson, H.H. Holmes Testing, explains, “We have made a couple more improvements this year: the morning shotgun will start at 7:00 am and our afternoon shotgun will begin at 1:30 pm. The new times will allow morning and afternoon golfers to share lunch from noon until 1:00 pm. Lunch will feature our program including door prize drawings and the drawing for the 50-50 Raffle. Golfers just need to decide whether they want to golf in the morning or the afternoon.”

Following the afternoon round, we will be offering light hors d’oeuvres and drinks to those who want to hang around and talk about the awesome round of golf they just played. All golf prizes (low net, closest to the pin, etc.) will be announced at the September Membership Meeting.

LCCA’s November Annual Awards Meeting will also celebrate LCCA’s 60^th Anniversary. The Extravaganza will take place on Friday, November 2, 2007, in the heart of Lake County at The Ivanhoe Club in Ivanhoe, IL.

Starting at 6:00 pm, the evening will feature a one-hour hosted cocktail hour, followed by a wonderful dinner and wine. Program Committee Chair Mike Ryan, H.H. Holmes Testing, explains, “The program will include a celebration of LCCA’s 60^th Anniversary and LCCA’s Annual Awards followed by Las Vegas-style entertainer Vito Zato, all at the beautiful Ivanhoe Club. This is the must attend event of the year!”

Ticket prices will be approximately $140 per person. Please keep in mind that this event will take the place of LCCA’s Annual Awards Dinner and the Holiday Party.

Teamsters Local 786 Contesting Distribution – MARBA reports that Teamsters Local 786 has not issued a distribution for their 2007 increase because they are contesting the Training Contribution. They claim that the additional $.05 per hour is in addition to the increase rather than part of the increase. According to a side letter signed by the Teamsters Joint Council and MARBA, the training contributions are clearly a part of the economic package negotiated.

Local 786 has been provided a copy of the side letter but no distribution has been sent to MARBA.

Sprinkler Fitters Claiming Layout and Core Drilling – Sprinkler Fitters Local 281 has sent signatory contractors a letter advising them that they claim “the laying out, cutting of holes, setting of sleeves and inserts including core drilling …” They also note the subcontracting clause in their agreement that requires signatory contractors to only subcontract to firms signatory to the Sprinkler Fitters Agreement.

Bricklayers Claim Masonry Cleaning – The Bricklayers District Council #1 have sent a notice to signatory contractors that reasserts their claim to Masonry Cleaning and warns contractors to not subcontract cleaning work to non-signatory contractors.

Transit May Hold Key to Highway Funding – Negotiators in Springfield and Chicago are still working on a budget and funding for highway construction in Lake County remains very iffy. Some had hopes of a major boost in funding from the expansion of gaming – but that seems to be on the back burner in Springfield. The one piece of legislation that holds some hope is SB 572, a bill that would bail out the public transit agencies in Chicago and the collar counties.

The bill would increase the sales tax in the region by .5% with half of that money targeted to cover transit budget shortfalls. The other half, however, will go directly to the collar counties for local road & bridge projects. Therefore, .25% of the money collected in Lake County will be returned to Lake County. This would provide about $121 million per year in new funding!

Many lawmakers are concerned about the problems that exist in Metra, Pace and the CTA and any bill will likely include significant reforms to help offset any future problems. Some suburban officials likewise do not want to bail out the transit agencies – especially the CTA that has limited service to most of the collar counties. But how much “principle” can we afford?

Congestion is a fact of life making commuting a nightmare. And no amount of public transit expansion can cure that! We need road improvements and this looks like the best opportunity to make a significant impact in the problem – and no referendum will be needed!

Rep Kathy Ryg (D-Vernon Hills) and Rep. Sid Mathias (R-Buffalo Grove) are leading the charge to get Lake County badly needed funds. We now need your help. Please contact any state senator or representative you know and tell them to get behind the RTA bill with the collar county sales tax for roads. In addition, all county board members (in both Lake and McHenry counties) need to hear from you. We are close to a solution. Make a few calls today!

Employee Classification – HB 1795 is intended to prevent employers from classifying employees as “independent contractors” to avoid providing benefits and paying taxes. This has been a hotly contested issue with the construction industry divided on its impact. Since the bill has passed both houses and is awaiting the Governor’s signature, we will soon have a good feel whether it is good or bad.

The legislation was not just an Illinois issue; the national unions have been promoting the bill nationwide. A similar bill has been approved by the New Jersey legislature and is also awaiting the Governor’s signature. With or without a bill, the issue is going to become more focused according to a Bureau of National Affairs report. The IRS has announced that they will be targeting misclassified workers in 2008 and has entered into a data sharing agreement with several states to identify violations. Illinois is not one of the states yet, but expect it to be in the near future!