PLAINFIELD – State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) is encouraging people who lost work during the ongoing public health crisis to take advantage of jobs brought to the 49^th District by an $825,000 economic recovery grant.

“The COVID-19 pandemic put people throughout the state and Will County out of work, and many of those people have been struggling to find new jobs for months,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “Dozens of jobs have now opened up in Will County that will benefit not only the people who are hired, but the county as a whole. I encourage anyone who is seeking a steady job to apply immediately.”

Will County Northeast was awarded $825,000 in economic recovery grants to train and hire workers to fill high-demand positions and assist local disaster relief programs. The money – totaling $16.6 million for the state – comes to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Security (DCEO) from the National Dislocated Worker Program.

The state distributed the funds to 12 Local Workforce Innovation Areas to expand education and training opportunities throughout Illinois. DCEO will partner with local workforce agency partners to assist with filling high-need, temporary roles to help mitigate COVID-19 in communities, including contact tracers, COVID-19 protocol workers, building sanitization workers, temperature screeners, and food preparation and distribution workers.

Training and hiring for new workforce programs are expected to begin this fall. Local workforce agencies will prioritize applicants who have been laid off or otherwise lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis at the time of their application. A full list of available training and hiring opportunities is available on Get Hired Illinois.