Elk Grove Village puts people to work with airport fund surplus
Though a communications electrician by profession, Rick Wrzala spends his days clearing sewer drains and painting buildings to make ends meet.
"I stress that no task is too large or too small," says the 50-year-old Elk Grove Village resident who was recently laid off, but has been doing odd jobs to survive.
Wrzala has been without work since November and is worried about making mortgage payments and providing for his family.
He caught a break when Elk Grove Village started a temporary jobs program.
Wrzala has been helping out with painting village hall, firehouses and parking lot light poles, as well as clearing sewer drains after heavy rains.
"I'm just very grateful for the work itself," Wrzala said. "I love Elk Grove. And then, to work for the village is especially rewarding. It makes me feel like I'm doing something to help the community that I live in."
Village officials started hiring people five weeks ago for the jobs program with roughly $60,000 the O'Hare Legal Defense Fund, dissolved after the village reached agreement with Chicago on O'Hare expansion. Officials said the money will be used to hire roughly 23 residents for part-time work such as janitorial, construction, landscaping and helping with city events.
Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said the impetus for the program came from phone calls and letters he received from residents who recently lost their jobs and were looking for work.
"It was more than I've ever gotten before," Johnson said. "And then, I finally got some letters that really tugged at my heart - offering to clean toilets and (do) anything else. We wanted to do something to help bridge that gap for people. It didn't require us to take money away from any of the (village) projects."
The village has been hiring two part-time employees per week for roughly the past five weeks and plans to continue the program through the fall.
The employees are paid $10.50 an hour without benefits, and are only allowed to work limited hours to still be eligible for unemployment benefits, Johnson said.
The workers have been helping with set up and clean up during city events such as the Village Green concert series, and will do the same for the upcoming Tour of Elk Grove bike race.
"We do have full-time, unionized public works employees so they cannot take away their work," Johnson said. "They're filling in the gaps or picking up areas that we have with the new village hall."
The program also creates a pool of candidates for future hiring should the village need full-time employees, he said. The village board will review the program later this year and decide whether to extend it.