GSDC

Recently, GSDC's Industrial Division - in collaboration with the new City Colleges of Chicago Workforce Institute (CWI), the Chicago Public Schools' Department of College and Career Preparation (DCCP), the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), and RetroTax - organized a workshop to 1) highlight the many federal, state, and city job tax credits local employers can take advantage of in hiring residents local to job sites and 2) showcase local workforce resources such as CWI and DCCP.

Held at the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture in West Lawn, the event drew a crowd of government agencies, non-profit organizations, and local businesses.

In the first half of the meeting, 4 basic tax credits were discussed:

• "BHIP" (download app PDF) - administered by the City of Chicago, program reimburses up to 50% of a qualified new hire's wages (up to $3500 per employee, max 15 employees).
• "WOTC"(download pdf) - Federal credit, max of $2400 per qualified employee annually, intended as incentive to hire individuals from underemployed groups.
• "Empowerment Zone Credit" (download pdf) - federal credit up to $3000 per qualifying employee. Credit is retroactive up to 3 years. Company & employee must be in Empowerment Zone.
• "Renewal Community Initiative Credit" (download pdf) - federal credit up to $1500 per qualified employee. Credit is retroactive. Company & employee must be in Renewal Community zone.

WOTC, Empowerment Zone, and Renewal Community Credit info is provided by RetroTax, one of the workshop presenters; the pdfs also describe what services RetroTax provide on behalf of companies to deliver credits. A firm, however, is not required to apply for these credits.

These programs tend to be underutilized and can offer companies valuable savings in the current economic environment. If you are interested, please call our office - 773.362.3379 - or email Piotr Korzynski: p.korzynski@greatersouthwest.org.

In the second half, CWI and DCCP reps presented the job training and workforce resources available to companies looking to hire and/or train current employees.