DuPage board candidates debate job training

Two Aurora residents vying for the same spot on the DuPage County Board have differing views on whether the county is doing enough to help unemployed and underemployed residents find jobs.

Republican incumbent Tonia Khouri is seeking re-election to her District 5 seat on the 18-member board. Her district includes parts of Aurora, Lisle, Naperville, Warrenville and Woodridge.

Khouri's Democratic opponent in the Nov. 4 election is Regina Brent, who was chosen by her party after no Democrat ran for the District 5 seat during the primary.

During a recent Daily Herald endorsement interview, Brent said there are some people living in DuPage who are "struggling at the bottom." She said county government must serve a role in helping those individuals find jobs where they can earn a living wage.

"What we need to do is to teach, train and prepare those particular people who are at a disadvantage," said Brent, who is a 60-year-old retired state employee. "Bring them up to a better quality of life by offering skills so that they can become independent and live the same type of life and come up to the same standard that DuPage County serves as an example."

Specifically, Brent said she would like to the see the county bring in manufacturing companies that are willing to train the people they hire. She also would like the county to partner with colleges and high schools to teach job skills.

But Khouri, who is the chairwoman of the county board's economic development committee, told Brent DuPage already is doing everything she's suggesting.

"While I commend all your great ideas, I'm with you," the 44-year-old business owner said. "We're already doing those."

In addition to providing grant money to nonprofit agencies that offer job training, the county has a program that helps 18- to 21-year-olds start careers in manufacturing, she said.

Earlier this year, DuPage provided seed money for a program focused on helping unemployed and underemployed residents get manufacturing jobs in the suburbs. The county board set aside $200,000 for the Metro West Manufacturing Workforce Collaborative, which is expected to train and find jobs for 100 to 150 people a year.

Khouri said the goal of the collaborative effort is to address a "skills gap."

"On one hand, we have manufacturers who have openings but people don't have the necessary skills to fill those openings," she said. "On the other hand, we have unemployed and underemployed individuals who need a job. So this initiative, this collaboration, matches up the two."

Still, Brent said she's been hearing from young people who say they can't find work. "Where are the companies that are hiring these people?" she said.

Khouri countered by saying there's an increasing number of jobs in DuPage. She referred to county data indicating that roughly new 2,500 jobs were created last year by 102 business projects.

The candidate who wins the election on Nov. 4 will get a 4-year term representing District 5.