Group’s goal is to keep homegrown engineers thriving in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD (25 News Now) - This is National Engineering Week, and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois (ACEC Illinois) is lobbying for legislation helping the state recruit and retain engineers.

The organization believes the Rebuild Illinois Program has given Illinois a competitive edge when it comes to attracting engineers, and in two years, Illinois State University plans to enroll its first class of students in the new College of Engineering.

ACEC Illinois is supporting bills in the legislature that would offer a tax credit of 10% of the salary for graduates and 5% for out-of-state graduates.

“Our goal here is what we can do to give Illinois firms a competitive advantage to not only keep the engineers that we grow here, but also to recruit ones from across the nation,” said Kevin Artl, who is ACEC Illinois’ president and chief executive officer.

The group would also like to see legislation giving the Illinois Department of Transportation the ability to help its employees with student loan payments. Also on its wish list is for the state to create a tax credit to bring more research and development programs to Illinois.