Two prominent entities are teaming up to offer more Chicago summer jobs.

The City Colleges of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Family & Support Services are working together to provide hundreds of youths with summer jobs this year. The jobs are being funded by $15 million the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gave to DFSS, which then provided CCC with $945,000 to fund the program.

About 450 people between the ages of 19 and 24 have been provided with summer jobs, which range from positions at Washburne Culinary Institute’s Sikia Restaurant to administrative positions at the district office and colleges. Overall, the program aims to place young people in areas where they already have an interest or prior experience and to allow summer workers to explore career programs available at CCC.

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A new high-speed rail network could help created thousands of Chicago construction jobs, as well as construction and permanent jobs in other states.

In all, eight states are coordinating a bid for a share of $8 billion in federal stimulus money for the project. Governors from Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio recently met at the Midwest High Speed Rail Summit to further discuss the project.

If constructed, the high-speed railroad would connect 12 metropolitan areas, with Chicago serving as the main hub. Aside from making transportation among states easier, the project also would help reduce road congestion and lower greenhouse gas emissions. If given the go ahead, the project could take 10 to 20 years to complete. It would create 15,000 construction jobs and another 57,000 permanent jobs.

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Even though there are some signs of the economy beginning to rebound, many places throughout the country are still struggling. The City of Chicago is no exception. Even though the city has managed to add jobs on a month-to-month basis, the Chicago unemployment rate recently increased to more than 11 percent.

During June, Chicago saw its unemployment rate increase from 10.7 percent to 11.3 percent, which is higher than the national unemployment rate of 9.5 percent. The city hasn’t seen it’s unemployment rate decrease since October 2008, when it went from 6.2 percent to 6.1 percent.

However, Chicago is faring better on a month-to-month basis. During June, Chicago had a total non-farm employment of 3,713,700 workers, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 3,700,500 workers during May, but a 4.7 percent decrease from last year.

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A new state capital plan will help create jobs in Chicago, particularly in the construction and education-related industries. Click here to learn more about Chicago jobs.

A five-year capital program from the State of Illinois will provide the money needed for critical local infrastructure projects. Under the program, Chicago Public Schools will receive $400 million for school construction, the Chicago Transit Authority will receive $900 million and the Chicago Park District will receive $41 million. Money also will be allocated for work on roads and bridges.

“I want to thank (Governor Pat Quinn) and the General Assembly for meeting the challenge of passing a capital program that will create jobs, fix our schools and roads, support mass transit and pump new spending into our economy at the very time that we need it most,” Mayor Richard M. Daley said. “Combined with the federal economic stimulus legislation that has begun to deliver much-needed support to people all across the country, this new state program is a critical step in helping get our economy moving again.”

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Several Chicago government jobs are hanging in the balance.

Mayor Richard M. Daley recently announced that 1,500 union city employees will be laid off if labor unions don’t agree to various steps that would reduce the city’s personnel costs. The cuts would result in $76 million in annual salary reductions and would save $34 million this year, including $24 million in the city’s corporate fund. Employees throughout 28 departments will be impacted.

The City Council already approved Daley’s proposal for a series of unpaid furlough days for non-union employees, which will save more than $14 million in the 2009 budget and avoid layoffs for non-unionized staff. Under the proposal, 3,700 employees will have to take 15 unpaid furlough days throughout the rest of the year, including six remaining holidays, six furlough days and three days at the end of the year when the government is closed aside from essential services.

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