Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn joins Metropolitan Planning Council and Affordable Housing Corporation of Lake County to address businesses in support of employer-assisted housing.
Business always is looking for an edge, and housing leaders say they have an easy fix that would benefit companies and make employees happy.
Yet, an employer assisted housing initiative is catching on slowly, despite providing tax breaks to businesses and up to $15,000 in cash for first-time home buyers.
"We kind of compare it to day care," said Samantha DeKoven, housing associate for the Metropolitan Planning Council, the not-for-profit group that originated the idea.
Years ago, businesses considered child care a personal matter, she explained, and were reluctant to sign on to what now is considered a valuable employee benefit.
DeKoven and others, including Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, say helping employees live closer to work has many benefits, including easing traffic congestion.
"This whole program has many dividends," Quinn told a small gathering of housing and businesses leaders Friday at Bittersweet Golf Club in Gurnee.
"It's very, very important to have loyal employees who stick with you. The last thing you want is for people to leave."
Employer-assisted housing is one of several initiatives being pursued by a 35-member task force on affordable housing created late last summer by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Quinn is launching a statewide push for employer-assisted housing in his role as a task force member.
Nationally, about 450 companies have used the program. About 20 companies in Illinois have given it a try since 2000, when System Sensor in St. Charles became the first. The company reported saving $100,0000 in training and other costs due to reduced turnover.
"It's small incremental steps, but they're solid steps," said Casandra Slade, executive director of the Affordable Housing Corporation of Lake County. The group administers the program at the local level.
In Lake County, Allstate Insurance Co., in Vernon Hills, Rosenthal Brothers in Deerfield and the city of North Chicago are the only participants.
"You are giving employees a benefit they probably can't get anywhere else," said Lilly Eng, Allstate's director of diversity for work life.
Click here for more information about employer-assisted housing.