Economic Alliance Favors Removal of Barriers to Capital Investment and Innovation

Online, July 24, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Kankakee, IL - Addressing local manufacturers, state and federal legislators, and others today in Limestone, Economic Alliance of Kankakee County President and CEO Mike Van Mill pressed for a continued resolve to ensure common sense industry regulation. The event, held at a Vulcan Materials' quarry, recognized recent amendments to the federal Miner Safety and Health Act, H.R.5663, to exclude aggregate, sand, gravel and mineral mines. The original bill, which made no distinction between the unique safety needs of underground coal mining and non-coal mining operations, would have posed an undue economic hardship on local mining firms and a potential threat to local jobs.

Following is an advance transcript of Van Mill's comments Saturday:

"In its 150 year history, Kankakee County has enjoyed a strong manufacturing base. This very successful foundation built incredible community wealth and a high quality of life for residents of Kankakee County. Only recently, within the past 25 years, have we seen our economy shift from manufacturing- to predominately service-orientated employment. With this shift in employment, our economy has become less stable and predictable and supportive of lower-paying jobs.

"Our changing local economy makes economic development challenging and heightens the sense of urgency to remove barriers that inhibit capital investment, corporate growth and business innovation. To ensure a stable local economy, we need to encourage and build our manufacturing base with high-quality, sustainable manufacturing jobs.

"To that end, we must support legislation at federal and state levels that removes barriers to growth and levels the competitive playing field of global competition in order to protect and build jobs. It is encouraging to witness legislation that does this. I want to thank all of our legislators who support and advance these objectives."