
MARCH 14, 2019 Chamber Connection
Calendar of Events Import Art of Soul 2019 03/14/2019 Annual Rummage Sale @ FCC 03/14/2019- 03/16/2019 Wine, Appetizers, & Entertainment at Poppy's 03/15/2019 Little Miss & Mr Highland 03/15/2019- 03/16/2019 Chalk Couture DIY Pillows 03/15/2019 St. Patrick's Day Party 03/15/2019 Family Game Night @Tibbets House 03/16/2019 Children's St. Patrick's Day Celebration 03/16/2019 American Red Cross Blood Drive 03/18/2019 Chess Club 03/18/2019 Grief Support Group @HSHS 03/19/2019 Polymer Bead Making Class Cardinal Shaped Beads 03/19/2019 Protecting Your Assets 03/20/2019 Art of Soul 2019 03/21/2019 BAH - Kloss Furniture 03/21/2019 Wine, Appetizers, & Entertainment at Poppy's 03/22/2019 Pieces of Highland 03/23/2019 Hooray For Hollywood Trivia Night 03/23/2019 Bullet Journal Class 03/23/2019 Highland Garden Club's Annual Garage Sale 03/23/2019 Grief Support Group @HSHS 03/26/2019 Fraud prevention by Lt. Kristopher Tharp 03/27/2019 Book Club at the Library 03/28/2019 Wine, Appetizers, & Entertainment at Poppy's 03/29/2019 HHS Presents - Shrek the Musical 03/29/2019 Chamber of Commerce Annual Fundraiser & Awards 03/30/2019 HHS Presents - Shrek the Musical 03/30/2019 LarryPalooza 03/31/2019 HHS Presents - Shrek the Musical 03/31/2019 Grief Support Group @HSHS 04/02/2019 Book Club at Tibbetts House 04/06/2019 70's Trivia Night 04/06/2019 Easter Egg Hunt and photo's with the Easter Bunny 04/06/2019 American Legion Post 439 Breakfast 04/07/2019 Grief Support Group @HSHS 04/09/2019 Blood Drive - St. Joseph's Hospital 04/10/2019 BAH - Highland Chamber of Commerce & Highland Area Community Foundation 04/11/2019 LOL - Spring Family Weekend Retreat 04/12/2019- 04/14/2019 Easter Egg Hunt 04/13/2019 Breakfast with the Easter Bunny 04/13/2019 New Article Lunch 'n Learn Protecting Your Assets presented by Lisa Sauer - State Farm Insurance March 20, 2019 12:00 Noon 1216 Main St. Highland, IL 62249 Register by emailing Penny at penny@highlandillinois.com. New Article BAH March 21, 2019 5:00 - 7:00 pm 1100 Broadway Highland, IL New Article Chamber Office Hours Monday - Friday: 9am - 3pm DEADLINE for getting information in the Chamber Connection and Highland Weekender is Tuesday by 3:00pm. We will be adding events to the calendar on Tuesday & Friday. If you miss the cut-off date, we keep your information for the next publication. Please submit your information to penny@highlandillinois.com.	New Article Annual Awards Dinner & Fundraiser The winners have been announced. You can find out who was chosen by visiting our Facebook page, and then get ready to celebrate with them on March 30th. Purchase your tickets here! Thank you to our: PLATINUM SPONSORS Highland Rural King The Korte Company Korte & Luitjohan Contractors, Inc. The Olde Wicks Factory Tri Ford, Inc. GOLD SPONSORS Becker Jewelers Bradford National Bank Bulldog Radio CASA of Souwestern IL FCB Bank Frey Properties of Highland L.L.C. HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital Plocher Construction Co. Inc. Scheffel Boyle TheBANK of Edwardsville SILVER SPONSORS Advanced Radon Mitigation Embrace Edward Jones - Kevin Dewaele Highland Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine Highland Physicians K-Five Contracting Company Lee's Fine Jewelry, Loans & More Lisa Sauer - State Farm Agency Luitjohan Flooring America Mazzio's Italian Eatery McGinley, Inc. Meridith Funeral Home Oberbeck Grain Co. Plaza Dental Care, LLC Poppy's Inc. Rosenthal Optemetric Subway Terra Properties The Burgett Group The Smile Shoppe New Article ADVOCACY UPDATE PROPOSED GRADUATED INCOME TAX RATES On Thursday, the governor proposed his vision for a graduated income tax rate structure. Notably, his proposal would raise the "regular" portion of the corporate income tax to 7.95 percent from the current 7 percent rate. It would also provide that individuals subject to the highest rate, 7.95 percent, would be required to pay tax at the 7.95 percent rate on all income, not just the income in excess of $1,000,000. The governor's graduated income tax proposal could only go into effect if there is an amendment to the Illinois constitution to authorize the imposition of a graduated income tax structure. The earliest such an amendment could be placed on the ballot for approval by the voters is November 2020. As a result, the likely earliest date a law adopting a graduated income tax structure could be effective would be January 1, 2021. To view the details from the Governor's Office, click here. The IL Chamber opposes amending the constitution to authorize a graduated income tax structure. EXCEPTED BENEFIT BILL SB 1596 passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate floor this week with a vote of 8-2-0. The bill creates unlimited workers comp / occupational liabilities for employers. Instead of the protections provided by the WC/OD Acts, employers will now face civil actions with unlimited awards from cases where the action has been previously barred. The Chamber is opposed. BILL ACTION SB 1240 (Link) passed the Senate Revenue Committee unanimously. The bill creates the Checkout Bag Tax Act and would apply a seven cent tax on each checkout bag (paper, plastic) at a retail establishment. The Chamber is opposed. In addition, the Chamber's government affairs team is tracking roughly 1,200 pieces of legislation. To see a complete list of bills with staff assignments, click here. News from IL Chamber of Commerce. Member Updates MEMBER UPDATES LOL Could Use YOUR Help April is coming quickly and preparations are already underway for our Spring Family Weekend Retreat and our Easter Bunny visit to Cardinal Glennon. Here's where we need YOUR help.... Spring Family Weekend Retreat - this retreat is FREE to the families and is designed to connect families affected by childhood brain tumors/cancers over the weekend with Fun, Food and Entertainment. We are currently in need of small bottled water, 100% juice boxes, individual snacks (chips,crackers,cookies,etc.) and pool toys Easter Bunny - LOL is honored to be the only Easter Bunny to visit the entire Cardinal Glennon hospital bringing gifts and making memories for all the inpatient kids during this time. We are currently in need of Easter cellophane bags, small gifts for all ages, small increment gift cards (DQ, iTunes, Google, Amazon, etc.) for teens, and Get Well cards. The Easter Bunny cannot bring in any stuffed animals or food. If you would like more information or have a donation for pick up, please call 618-410-7212. HSHS Athletes Advantage Trainers honored during National Athletic Training Month (BREESE, GREENVILLE, HIGHLAND, IL) – The Certified Athletic Trainers of HSHS Athletes Advantage Sports Medicine at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese, HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Highland are celebrating National Athletic Training Month during March 2019. National Athletic Training Month spreads awareness about the important work of athletic trainers. “ATs Are Health Care” is the theme of this year’s National Athletic Training Month, which is sponsored by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). Certified Athletic trainers (ATs) are health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide...continue reading Share In The Easter Joy First Mid Bank & Trust is once again collecting filled Easter baskets for less fortunate children in our area. Join in the fun by picking up an empty basket at either First Mid branch in Highland. Fill the basket with goodies for children ages 10 & under and return it by Monday, April 8th. Baskets will be distributed by Highland Area Christian Service Ministries to less fortunate children in our area. If you need any other information, please call me at 618-654-1111 option 1. Hurray for Hollywood! Join Hard Road Theatre Productions for a night of trivia fun. Test your knowledge against others in a fun filled evening of wit and wisdom. Details can be found here.
Chamber Connection - MARCH 14, 2019