Kane Co. job coaches get to keep their jobs for now

Sometimes the best coaching when facing a possible layoff involves getting more money.

The 32 Illinois workNet Center employees facing a layoff the past couple weeks have won a reprieve that will save their jobs at least temporarily. The employees help revamp resumes and retrain people in the area who have recently lost their jobs so they can find new employment.

The irony of that situation wasn't lost on state officials. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has agreed to release some of the $2.5 million it was withholding to force Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties to ink a new agreement for joint use of the Illinois workNet Centers.

The centers and the 32 employees' salaries are funded by a federal grant handed down by the state and administered by Kane County under an agreement written by county board chairmen that are no longer in office.

While the money was released to rescue the jobs of the 32 coaches, the new agreement between the counties is still at an impasse, according to Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay. The issue involves an inability, thus far, to agree on liability and accountability in the use of the grant funds among the counties without increasing administrative red tape and costs.