WORKLOCAL.ORG Community Jobs Initiative

The Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Council and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA), in conjunction with the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing & Economic Development, have developed an innovative job placement program, called the “Community Jobs Initiative.” This demonstration project integrates economic and employment development as one component of a larger Green Exchange sustainable development project.

Located at Diversey and Rockwell, adjacent to the Kennedy Expressway, the Green Exchange has evolved from a community struggle to replace hundreds of lost jobs which resulted from the closing of the Cooper Lamp Factory in 2005. Soon after the Cooper Lamp Company announced its intention to shut down the factory in 2004, neighbors in Logan Square and nearby communities formed the Cooper Lamp Task Force. With the leadership of then-Alderman Flores, 1st Ward (and continued support from Alderman Moreno), the community succeeded in identifying a business/jobs-focused adaptive reuse by Baum Development to replace a proposed conversion of the building to luxury condominiums. Baum Development collaborated with various neighborhood planning entities and the Cooper Lamp Task Force to develop the concept for the Green Exchange.

The Green Exchange is a 270,000 square foot facility dedicated to leasing space to tenants offering sustainable products or services. It will offer a unique collection of leading-edge products and services designed to be a draw for environmentally responsible consumers. A number of tenants are preparing for operations at the site. These companies have pledged cooperation with the developers, as well as LSNA and the LEED Council, to provide employment opportunities to residents.

The job placement program targets low-income community residents from the area including residents of the Chicago Housing Authority’s Lathrop Homes, as well as laid-off workers of the Cooper Lamp Company, for placement with the new tenant firms locating in the Green Exchange. The goals of the Community Jobs Initiative project are to:

• Develop a workforce initiative that facilitates local hiring for new jobs in the Green Exchange helping to strengthen the community with head-of-household employment;

• Identify and utilize workforce talent and experience among community residents and former Cooper Lamp employees; and

• Create the program infrastructure to expand job training and placement services to businesses in the Rockwell Industrial Corridor.

The nearby community has long sought to retain the former Cooper Lamp building as a place for jobs and economic benefit for the local community. Development of the Green Exchange and the commitment to leveraging quality jobs for local residents through the “Community Jobs Initiative” developed by the LEED Council and LSNA is helping to capture these benefits for the community.

Rockwell Sustainable Business Corridor

The Local Economic & Employment Development [LEED] Council will be facilitating the development of a “Sustainable Business Corridor” in the Rockwell Industrial Corridor. Bordered on the north by Belmont, on the south by Diversey, on the east by Clybourn, and on the west by Elston, this corridor is a viable location for businesses and jobs in the community, with its proximity to the Green Exchange and the Kennedy Expressway. Redevelopment of this area would create the opportunity to support the manufacturing, assembling and warehousing needs of the Green Exchange project; to enhance connections to the surrounding residential community; and to provide access to high-quality jobs.