By Stephen Nelson
At their January 10 meeting, the Kankakee County Board adopted a resolution to the General Assembly opposing the Protect Illinois Communities Act (HB5855).  The point may be moot, since the legislation already had passed in the state House and Senate and a reconciled form of the measure is expected to be passed in a few days.
It would essentially ban the ownership of assault-style weapons and raise the age for obtaining a Firearm Owner’s ID card from 18 to 21. Board Member Robert Ellington Snipes called the exercise “making noise just to make noise.”  He added that just issuing an opinion doesn’t do anything to move the legislative process forward.
In other business, board members heard the Kankakee County Economic Alliance annual report that finds Kankakee is the number five manufacturing hub in the nation for the second year in a row, among small metropolitan areas. The Alliance report says that means manufacturing accounts for $5 billion in total economic output for Kankakee County.
Manufacturing jobs employ 20 percent of the total workforce in the county, with an estimated $933 million in salaries and benefits. Alliance Director Tim Nugent said $1.6 billion in manufactured goods are exported around the world from Kankakee County annually.  The report also says the average weekly wage has risen 27 percent in the past five years. In 2017, it was $811, while in 2022, it was $1,033.