The Illinois Business Journal

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
April 2005 issue - Vol.5, No.7, 24 pages

We Mean Business. Illinois Business.

Eastward Ho: Missourians moving to Southwestern Illinois
By ALAN J. ORTBALS

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   Missourians are moving to Southwestern Illinois and have been for more than 10 years, according to David H. Laslo, director of metropolitan information and data analysis services of the Public Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
   Laslo uses data collected by the United States Internal Revenue Service; the agency tracks social security numbers on tax returns from year to year and the origin of those tax returns. The IRS counts movement as a migration if the origin of the return moves from one county to another from one year to the next, according to Laslo.
   Figures provided by Laslo show that a total of 41,162 people moved from the Missouri portion of the [continue]

Missourians moving to Southwestern Illinois
(1993-2003)

Over 41,000 people moved from the Missouri to
the Illinois sides of the St. Louis metropolitan
area from 1993 through 2003 according to David Laslo
of the University of Missouri - St. Louis and based
upon U.S. Internal Revenue Service data.

Southern Illinois Carpenters' Training Center

As the region's homebuilding boom continues, Southwestern Illinois' construction industry continues to welcome women into its ranks.

Local union halls aim high to recruit and retain more women
By KERRY L. SMITH

Although the Southern Illinois Carpenters' Training Center continues to recruit women into the construction trades, labor leaders say the ultimate success in putting these individuals into construction jobs rests on the shoulders of those who are willing to hire them and give them a chance.
Gary Eversmann, apprenticeship coordinator, has been a carpenter since 1969 and heads operations at the Belleville-based school, operated under the Carpenters' District [continue]

Carpenters recruit minority workers to replenish area workforce
By KERRY L. SMITH

   When it comes to hiring minorities, the Carpenters' District Council of Greater Saint Louis and Vicinity fares well compared to national statistics on blacks and Hispanics working in construction jobs.
   Marvin Sanders, business representative and organizer for the Carpenters, says the council continues to be successful recruiting minorities into the trade, but as with efforts to recruit and retain women in the field, it can be a formidable challenge to see minorities complete their apprenticeships, find work and stay in the union.
   The council's entire territory includes 33 counties across Southern Illinois and 44 in Eastern Missouri. Its total membership

Opportunities abound for minorities trained as Carpenters journeymen in Southwestern Illinois.

exceeds 22,000.
"Typically we're hiring anywhere from six to 10 percent (minorities)," Sanders said. "We do much better at the intake level.
The magic number we'd like to see as the minimum is 10 percent. It's a four-year (apprenticeship) program, and [continue]

Look inside our print edition for more Southwestern Illinois Construction articles!