With the state’s unemployment rate in double-digits, Robin will use her authority as Treasurer to create and retain jobs in the technology and small business sectors. As chief of staff, Robin has testified before the Bipartisan Job Creation Task Force in support of two job creation programs that she would promote under her administration.

•Help Create Technology Jobs
Under my leadership, the Treasurer’s Office authored Senate Bill 3655, which would allocate up to 2 percent of the state’s portfolio to venture capital investments and create a private investor matching fund. As Treasurer, I would invest in Illinois venture capital firms that then invest in promising technology start-ups. In 2006 - the state allocated 1 percent of the portfolio – the equivalent of $75 million, producing successful companies like Sittercity.com, the nation’s lead website for matching parents with child care providers, and iCyt, a biotechnology company, which was recently purchased by Sony Corp. However, nearly all of the money has been invested and only $6 million of the original allocation remains. I will work to get SB3655 passed so we can transform Illinois into the Silicon Prairie and ensure that our state grows its own venture technology ecosystems.

•Spur Small Business Job Creation
In response to a request by the General Assembly’s bipartisan jobs task force, I’ve recommended Illinois lawmakers create a new Employ Illinois “loan guarantee” program as an alternative to the existing “interest rate reduction” program. Under the new program component, the Treasurer’s Office would offer a 10 percent guarantee on loans to small businesses that pledge to create jobs within one year.  A guarantee of up to 20 percent would be available to small businesses that are minority, woman or veteran-owned or that employ union workers. Initial estimates show that the Employ Illinois loan guarantee program would create more than 1,000 jobs that would not have been created otherwise. Modeled after similar plans in other states, lenders support this plan because they need assistance in help mitigating the risk of business loans during this trying economic time.  I believe small business hiring will be the key to our economic recovery.