Governor Quinn Pushes for More Asian Americans in State Workforce

CHICAGO – The third in a series of workshops designed to boost the number of Asian Americans in the State workforce will be held at Harper College in Palatine next week.

Hosted by the Governor’s Asian American Employment Plan Advisory Council, the free workshop will feature speakers from various state agencies who will describe what jobs are available, what qualifications are required and how to navigate the State’s online employment application system.
           
“Asian Americans comprise five percent of Illinois’ population yet represent only 2.5 percent of the Illinois government workforce,” Governor Quinn said. “Our goal is to double the number of Asian Americans in state government to better reflect our diversity and more effectively deliver services to residents who need them.”

The workshop will be held Thursday, August 1 at 1:00 p.m., at Harper College, Building J Theater, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine. Previous workshops have been conducted before large audiences in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood and Chatham (near Springfield).

It is being co-hosted by Harper College, Hanul Family Alliance, Hamdard Center, Punjabi Cultural Society, Lao American Organization of Elgin, Federation of Indian Associations, Korean American Resource and Cultural Center, Hyderabad Society, Islamic Center of Western Suburbs, Muslim Society, Midwest Islamic Center and others.

To address the longstanding underrepresentation of Asian Americans in the workforce, Governor Quinn pushed for legislation in 2012 to create the Asian American Employment Plan Advisory Council, and charged the newly-appointed members with the task of doubling the number of Asian American state workers. A thorough review of the hiring and promotions practices by each agency is underway.