State employees to be rewarded for money-saving suggestions      

[JULY 25, 2005]  SPRINGFIELD -- Six employees of the state of Illinois who submitted money-saving suggestions to the State Employees Suggestion Award Board, resulting in government savings, will be recognized and financially rewarded for their submissions in an upcoming press conference, said state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield.

Bomke, chairman of the suggestion board, explained that the board was created in 1985 in hopes of reducing needless expenditures in state government, identifying areas where revenues could be increased and promoting fiscal awareness among state employees and retirees.

The program allows state workers to submit money-saving suggestions throughout the year, and the board reviews each of the suggestions at its monthly meeting. If the board believes the suggestion is feasible, the submission is forwarded to the appropriate agency for analysis to determine if the proposal is original, if it will result in savings to the state, and if it will be possible to execute.

"This is just one more tool that the state has implemented to try and achieve the highest savings possible for the taxpayers of Illinois," Bomke said. "So far the program has been extremely successful. At the impending press conference, members of SESAB will be distributing monetary awards totaling $8,100 to six state employees who submitted a suggestion that resulted in savings or increased revenues. We will also hand out one certificate of merit in recognition of an individual who made a suggestion that did not produce significant savings but was still a good idea that we believe should be acknowledged."

The State Employees Suggestion Award Board will have the press conference to reward these enterprising employees at 2 p.m. today (Monday) in the Blue Room at the Capitol. The six recipients are:

• Adrianne Frederick, with the Department of Human Services, will be awarded $7,000 for her suggestions. Ms. Frederick introduced a proposal which will allow the Department of Human Rights to establish a registration fee for the PC-1 Employer Report Form, which will generate an estimated $750,000 per year. She also suggested that the Department of Human Rights should have the authority to charge fees to private companies for training offered by the department's Institute for Training and Development, which has an estimated revenue projection of $120,000-$180,000 per year. Also, she will be awarded a certificate of merit for her suggestion to use the funding from the new training fees to expand the department's training operations in Springfield.

• Clinton Barnhart, Jerry Iams and Michael Tappan, with the Department of Transportation, will be awarded $500 for their suggestion to create an auger welding station within the Department of Transportation, which saved the department approximately $11,380 in labor and repairs in 2004.
• Chuck Rocek, with the Department of Children and Family Services, will be awarded $500 for his suggestion, which will allow the department to change the way the department's Day Care Licensing Individual License Summary Report is printed, once the suggestion is implemented. Production of the report will be available for online completion. Rocek's suggestion is expected save the state $14,364 per year plus shipping.
• Janis Walden, with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, suggested that the department change the processing procedures for its work opportunity tax credit employer applications, which will save the state approximately $1,242 per year. Walden will receive $100 in recognition of her suggestion.

Serving on the State Employees Suggestion Award Board along with Bomke are Lisa Groesch, the vice chairman, from the Illinois Department of Agriculture; Paul Campell, secretary, ex-officio member and acting Director of Central Management Services; former state Sen. Howard W. Carroll; Rep. Terry Parke, R-44th District; Rep. James Meyer, R-48th District; Rep. Gary Hannig, D-98th District; Rep. Bob Flider, D-101st District; and John Filan, an ex-officio member of the board, director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.

Guidelines and a suggestion form are available online.

[News release from Illinois Senate Republicans]