| About Us |
The Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council (CMRC) is a partnership of the region's labor, business, government, education and community leaders working together to establish the Chicago area as a global leader in advanced, high value-added manufacturing.Manufacturing is the single most important sector of the Chicago area's economy. The industry has the largest positive 'ripple effect' on the rest of the economy: each manufacturing job creates three more in related sectors. The industry is directly and indirectly responsible for over 1.7 million jobs in Chicago.The CMRC's flagship initiative is Austin Polytechnical Academy (APA), an advanced manufacturing-focused public high school on Chicago's west side that prepares students for leadership in all areas of the industry. |
| Support the CMRC |
Your support makes our success possible. We need your help to deliver the resources, networks, and programs to help develop a skilled workforce and keep us on the cutting edge of innovation.
Please make your check payable to the Center for Labor & Community Research and mail it to us at 3411 West Diversey, Suite 10, Chicago, Illinois 60647.
You can also contribute online securely through PayPal by clicking below:
| | Contact Us | 3411 West Diversey, Suite 10
Chicago, Illinois 60647
P: 773-278-5418
F: 773-278-5918
chicagomanufacturing.org
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Austin Polytech delegation captivates Washington, DC
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By Dan Swinney
Executive Director
After my early May meeting with Ron Bloom, President Obama's manufacturing czar, he invited me to bring a delegation of Austin Polytechnical Academy (APA) leaders to Washington, DC, for a presentation to the US Department of Education and possibly others.
He was very interested in the character of our partnerships between labor and business; our focus on smaller, privately held companies; and our ability to sustain a general coalition of labor, business, government, and the community.
So I got to work assembling our team, which included Steve Kersten--president of WaterSaver Faucet Co. and one of APA's most committed partners--and APA junior and aspiring engineer Stran'ja Burge.
Continue reading
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New national policy coordinator: Leonard C. McKinnis, Ph.D.
|  Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Leonard C. McKinnis, Ph.D., our new national policy coordinator at the Center for Labor & Community Research, the primary fiscal and personnel sponsor of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council.
Leonard will concentrate primarily on advancing our development strategy for the Austin neighborhood. He also will support executive director Dan Swinney with national initiatives, such as the Renaissance Council replication in the San Francisco Bay area in California.
Leonard brings to our staff a robust professional and academic background, including a Master's in Theological Studies from Harvard University. He has policy experience working in the Mayor's Office, the US Department of Labor, and the White House.
You can email Leonard at lmckinnis@clcr.org.
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APA students train for NIMS credentials in summer program
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This summer, 12 Austin Polytech juniors will earn their certifications in Materials, Measurements, and Safety from the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS). Instructor Bryant Redd of Wright
College is optimistic about the summer program. "They have to have 70%
of the test correct [in order to pass] and they're around 65%
right now with four more weeks to go," he says.
Above, NIMS summer program students complete the written portion of their certification exams. In order to earn their credentials, students also will need to pass a hands-on test with machining equipment. The eight-week program meets for four hours a day during the afternoon in APA's Manufacturing Technology Center. Each student receives a $200 stipend per month.
To learn about our 32 students participating in summer jobs, see the July issue of Tech Talk!
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The CMRC relaunches its historic Education Committee
| On June 18, the CMRC re-launched its historic Education Committee at its first meeting since 2008. The group unites representatives from Oakton Community College, Wheeling school district 215, Daley College, Chicago City Colleges, South Suburban College, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, and Austin Polytech.
The Education Committee, which will meet quarterly, works to address regional education policy issues. The Education Committee also manages four sub-committees focused on the following areas:
- Secondary education
- Post-secondary education
- Skills standards and credentials
- Labor market research
In the CMRC's earlier years, the Education Committee represented the nexus of our programmatic activity, giving birth to Austin Polytech, our work at City Colleges, and our extensive promotion of NIMS and other skills standards.
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South Suburbs | Delegation investigates local career programs
|  On June 18, a delegation from the CMRC's South Suburban Chapter visited Thornton High School and Thornwood High Schools (pictured) in District 205 to learn more about their technical career programs. The
South Suburban Chapter is very interested in applying elements of the
APA model locally, and believe that these schools could offer an ideal
fit.
The visit to Thornton and Thornwood High Schools followed up on a visit to APA earlier in the year, when the South Suburban Chapter learned about our machining programs, credentialing focus, and industry involvement. Stayed tuned for more news about how the South Suburban CMRC hopes to work to support the District 205's programs and replicate the APA model.
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