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Grants allow Illinois parks to hire 760 teen workers

It was a stroke of good fortune for teens who couldn’t land summer jobs in our sluggish economy.

Suddenly, park districts around the state announced in early July they were hiring workers to fill about 760 posts through the end of summer.

And with more than 25 percent of Illinois teens unemployed, according to data analyzed by the nonprofit Employment Policies Institute, that was a pleasant surprise.

“So many teens had given up on finding jobs,” said Mark McKinnon, Addison Park District executive director.

Funds to pay workers came through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which awarded more than $2.3 million in grants to about 70 park districts throughout the state.

And while that meant more lifeguards, camp counselors and conservation workers — as well as extra income for cash-strapped teens — the timing of the initiative created a glitch.

“Most kids aren’t going to be able to work until Aug. 31, because they have to go back to school,” McKinnon said. “Plus there are applications, interviews and training. So if the program starts July 1, it’s July 15 or so before they are actually working. At the same time, you don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Good intentions

Although summer hiring at park districts typically begins in March, lawmakers don’t budget money for the program until May.

Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget spokeswoman Kelly Kraft said Quinn set aside $8 million from his discretionary money to pay for the jobs through the Illinois Youth Corps program.

That money — which aimed to create 3,100 new jobs — wasn’t available to spend until the state’s fiscal year began July 1, well past the time most districts do their summer hiring.

Still, the response was overwhelming, officials said. Applications more than doubled the number of positions the grants would cover.

In general, park officials say the program is a good thing.

“I commend Gov. Quinn on finding money available to hire youth, (since) I can’t remember when the Illinois Youth Corps was funded last,” said Peter Murphy, CEO of the Illinois Association of Park Districts.

But organizations such as the Crystal Lake Park District can’t use all of the grant funds.

Human resources manager Anna Olaf said this late in the summer, Crystal Lake needs older workers to do jobs with safety restrictions. But the grant restricts park districts to only hire teens ages 16 to 19.

Other park districts, including Roselle’s, easily filled jobs but had to interview several candidates to find teens who could work 40 hours a week.

“Kids’ schedules today are so programmed with activities and sports, so it’s tricky to find teens so quickly who can work full time,” said Rob Ward, Roselle Park District executive director.

Ward was able to hire eight workers with a $24,000 grant, but grant mandates did not allow him to, for example, hire 16 part-time workers.

In addition, if an employee leaves for college in mid-August, park districts cannot hire another worker to fill the post until Aug. 31 and use up the money.

Such rules are among the reasons agencies like Addison Park District also are unlikely to use all grant funds, McKinnon said.

Nevertheless, Ward called the grants “a blessing.”

“When I walk outside our facilities I can see a direct result of the grant money,” he said.

More jobs to come

Ultimately, unused funds won’t go to waste, Kraft said.

Instead, they will immediately be reinvested into a new round of grants, this time through the Illinois Conservation Corps.

Teens and young adults looking for jobs should keep an eye out, since Kraft said hiring starts immediately after the summer jobs initiative ends.

Grants will be used to hire young adults, ages 18-25, for up to six months and will create up to 175 new jobs for this winter and spring 2012, Kraft said.

Murphy said he hopes the General Assembly will fund the Illinois Youth Corps program early next year as part of the state budget and that it will become an annual program.

“It’s a great thing when you can hire young people who are desperately searching for work,” Murphy said.

  Eric Thomason is among hundreds of teens who found summer jobs in early July, when about 70 park districts across the state received roughly $2.3 million in grants to hire teen workers. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com

Youth Corps grant recipients

<B>Addison:</B> $75,000 for 25 jobs

<B>Bloomingdale:</B> $42,000 for 14 jobs

<B>Carol Stream: </B>$15,000 for five jobs

<B>Crystal Lake:</B> $78,000 for 26 jobs

<B>Elgin:</B> $18,000 for six jobs

<B>Elk Grove: </B>$45,000 for 15 jobs

<B>Dundee Township:</B> $12,000 for four jobs

<B>Glen Ellyn:</B> $12,000 for four jobs

<B>Hampshire:</B> $12,000 for four jobs

<B>Hoffman Estates:</B> $114,000 for 38 jobs

<B>Lake Bluff:</B> $18,000 for six jobs

<B>Mount Prospect:</B> $15,000 for five jobs

<B>Mundelein:</B> $15,000 for five jobs

<B>Oakbrook Terrace:</B> $9,000 for three jobs

<B>Prospect Heights:</B> $3,000 for one job

<B>Roselle:</B> $24,000 for eight jobs

<B>Schaumburg: </B>$9,000 for three jobs

<B>Vernon Hills:</B> $6,000 for two jobs

<B>Wauconda:</B> $6,000 for two jobs

<B>Waukegan:</B> $6,000 for two jobs

<B>West Chicago:</B> $36,000 for 12 jobs

<B>Westmont:</B> $18,000 for six jobs