Usually I focus the monthly message on a timely
policy issue that is or will be on the Illinois General Assembly’s
agenda. This time I want to inform you about Illinois Chamber
communications and how to make the best use of this valuable member
benefit.
Our staff produces a number of electronic
publications each month on issues of interest to the membership:
taxes, employment law, legislative developments, Illinois economic
news, and information on our latest HR seminars and books. We bring
you grassroots action alerts and our expert analysis on policy
issues and breaking news. Because we know it’s challenging for you
to keep up on such a broad range of business issues, we select the
topics and level of detail you need to stay informed without feeling
overwhelmed. Our staff possesses a significant level of expertise on
each of these topics. You can follow up with them by phone or email
to obtain additional information.
We know that every communications vehicle isn’t
ideally suited for every individual’s needs or interests. Although
our membership sales team is responsible for matching interests and
reviewing distribution lists during the annual renewal process, if
we miss anything or need to add recipients, let us know. We are here
to serve your needs and the broader needs of your employer. Since
the employer usually purchases Illinois Chamber memberships you
should be aware that multiple individuals within your organization
are eligible to receive Illinois Chamber communications.
Your company or organization can receive greater
benefit for your investment if the right people are being informed
and engaged. Whether the task is compliance with existing laws and
regulations or helping to fight for a better business climate by
engaging in legislative change or litigation, it may require that
more people within your business should be receiving news and
information from the Illinois Chamber than are currently being
served. If your company is a large organization this could include
branch offices or multiple facilities. You are encouraged to forward
or redistribute portions of Illinois Chamber publications to your
friends, colleagues and business associates whenever you find a
message that you think deserves greater circulation.
If your Illinois Chamber membership is for a trade,
professional or regional organization or a local chamber, it might
be appropriate to consider requesting that volunteer officers, board
of directors and members of the legislative or PAC committee be
added to the distribution list for your organization. You also have
permission to reproduce any of the monthly President’s Messages in
organization publications or newsletters as long as content is not
changed without prior permission and the source is appropriately
identified.
Government Affairs
Our Government Affairs team, Todd Maisch, Laura
Minzer and Sarah Frye, oversee two e-publications. The Government
Affairs Report goes out each Friday afternoon during session,
summarizing the activities at the Capitol that week and highlighting
what we expect next. The newest publication, the Council Policy
Report (CPR), is distributed the last Tuesday of each month. The CPR
is our first publication that summarizes the latest news from all of
the policy councils: readers get a digest of news items, council
actions and meeting information from the Chamber’s Tax Institute,
Employment Law Council, Healthcare Council, Infrastructure Council,
Economic Development Council, and the Illinois Environmental
Regulatory Group.
While each of these councils regularly communicates
to and among their members, the CPR is our first endeavor in
providing highlights of each council’s news to a broader audience
that includes all Illinois Chamber members. We’ve been getting good
feedback to this new e-publication and expect it to give you
increasingly more valuable information on six key business arenas in
which every business owner or decision maker needs a fundamental
understanding.
The Government Affairs team convenes a weekly
conference call when the General Assembly is in session for member
government affairs professionals. The team also provides legislative
update conference calls for local chambers of commerce on a regular
schedule. Though the calls are tailored to these audiences, all
interested chamber members are invited to participate.
Government Affairs also send out time-sensitive
alerts on breaking legislative developments and requests for
grassroots action so legislators hear directly from their
constituents and Chamber members on key business issues. These bear
the same banner as Government Affairs Reports with an added “Call to
Action” label, and these are sent through Voter Voice, a web-based
grassroots email tool. This tool quickly uses your location
information such as a zip code to direct your contact to your
legislators.
Issue Councils
The Chamber’s six councils are tailor made for
members with subject matter expertise, companies with an interest in
helping forge Chamber policies and business leaders who want to
engage in proactive issue advocacy.
Tax Institute members receive frequent messages from
our tax expert Connie Beard, and Employment Law Council members are
updated at least monthly by our HR authority, lobbyist Jay Shattuck.
Laura Minzer is the new liaison for our ever-growing Healthcare
Council. Jim Farrell has rejoined the Chamber staff and is the new
Executive Director for the Infrastructure Council and prepares the
InfraWorks newsletter. Mike Laube of Laube Companies, a member of
our Economic Development Council, serves as editor of this group’s
EDC Report, and DK Hirner, Executive Director of IERG, shares
developments and seeks feedback from the Illinois Environmental
Regulatory Group’s (IERG) membership.
If you recognize one or more of these topics as
critical to the success of your company’s future in Illinois, it may
be time to step up your chamber activity level and direct the
appropriate individuals in your company to participate in council
work. Each issue council has special meetings, programs, reports,
conference calls and electronic communications; an archive of some
messages and more information about each council are available on
our web site.
Publications for the General
Membership
Two flagship e-publications provided to Illinois
Chamber members for many years are the Exec Report and the HR Exec,
both issued monthly. Wood McComb, one of the Illinois Chamber’s
greatest assets for nearly a decade, has edited both publications.
Wood’s wealth of experience in management, administration,
strategic/operational planning and information technology has not
only guided him in compiling the most valuable information for
business and human resource executives in these publications, he has
contributed much behind-the-scenes value to the Illinois Chamber.
Because of health issues, Wood will be leaving active involvement
with us in early 2008, and we know you join us in thanking him for
outstanding dedication and work on behalf of Illinois employers.
Director of Communications Deb McCarver assumes
editorship of both publications. She will continue to use Wood’s
sources to compile the Exec Report. She will also work with our
Human Resources Information Manager Pam Holleman to keep providing
the most current answers to members’ questions from our HR Helpline
on matters regarding staffing, compensation, FMLA and all employment
law topics.
During the past year, Chamber members have received
regular emails from Business Services VP Gloria Guy about our
emerging successful new venture into human resources seminars, law
posters and books via our HR Illinois, as well as invitations to
easily register for those programs or purchase those products
online. Realizing the obvious advantages, we plan to merge HR Exec
and these HR Illinois messages together to maximize your access to
the best information and education available, including information
on our new Safety Helpline and the thriving Drug-Free Illinois
Workplace Program.
Unique Communication for Local
Chambers
Local chambers are encouraged to pass on news and
information from the Illinois Chamber’s e-publications to their
local members. They learn about chamber industry news and statewide
programs and share ideas and best practices through the monthly
Local Chamber Update from our Local Chamber Relations Director, Liz
Kerns. Additional communications are sent to local chamber
executives in Illinois as topics of interest arise throughout the
year. Liz also provides staff and editorial support for an
associated professional development organization, the Illinois
Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (IACCE). The IACCE
newsletter is being transitioned from a bi-monthly print newsletter
to a monthly electronic version in 2008. Members of IACCE also have
an interactive online forum and will have a redesigned web site in 2008.
Getting Better Information &
Service
Did you realize how much information is available to
Illinois Chamber members? It is a challenge to speak to and for our
diverse geography, industries and sizes of businesses without
overstating or understating issues. I not only welcome your feedback
on the content, quantity and quality of our communications, I
encourage it.
We recognize that our subject matter knowledge and
desire to keep you informed sometimes exceed our technical means to
distribute our messages. You may have noticed emails coming through
different channels including our internal email server, our
publications server, and outsider service providers including
iContact, Cvent, and VoterVoice. In 2008 we will endeavor to
centralize our publications distribution to simplify and streamline
your ability to choose which emails to receive and which to decline.
In the meantime if you wish to change those specifications, either
click on the name of the individual listed as the editor or the
provided link at the end of each email to change your preferences,
or email our Communications
Director.
As more and more email services and Internet Service
Providers attempt to protect us from spam, you might unexpectedly
find you're not getting emails you subscribed to. To keep the emails
you value from falling into a false positive spam trap, you can
'white-list' senders you want to receive emails from. No matter what
email system you're using, if you add the address in the "From" line
to your address book, those emails should bypass spam filters. We
encourage you to white-list each Illinois Chamber sender so you
won’t miss valuable information.
Providing you with timely, informative and accurate
political and business related information is one of the primary
reasons for investing your company’s money with the Illinois
Chamber. It is our desire to satisfy your business and civic
responsibilities by helping you make better decisions through the
knowledge that the Illinois Chamber is a reliable, responsive and
credible resource for your information needs. Know too that the
Chamber staff seeks to produce communications that satisfy, so you
are always encouraged to be engaged. Please do not hesitate to
contact us with suggestions for improvement.
