Springfield Business News - The State Journal

Transcription

Springfield
Business News
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Where local businesses keep in touch.
BEFORE
AFTER
The do’s and
don’ts of home
businesses
By KATHLEEN OSTRANDER
STAFF WRITER
kathleen.ostrander@sj-r.com
someone to come and immediately start boarding up the
area so the rain doesn’t continue to damage the house.
Homes damaged by fire also
have to be secured,” said Dave
Marsh, president of Repair
Masters’.
Evans, Peerless, Servpro and
similar companies, clean up the
damage from fires or water damage and they use Repair Masters’
to reconstruct the building but
One-chair beauty salons, businesses where items are delivered
and then distributed — such as
Mary Kay Cosmetics or the Pampered Chef and day-care centers
can be operated out of a home in a
residential district.
Joe Goodin, zoning administrator for the city of Springfield, said
the zoning ordinances got a major
overhaul in 1966. Some homebased businesses may have been
‘grandfathered’ or allowed to remain, but as a general rule of
thumb, look to the municipal code
to see what is and is not a permitted home business.
The city’s complete municipal
code can be found at www.municode.com
Go to “online library” in the top
tabs, click on the state when the
map of the United States comes up
and then click on Springfield.
Home occupations are listed in
section 155.045. Home occupations are to be registered with the
zoning office.
In addition to one-chair beauty
and barber shops, these are also
permitted home occupations:
See PRESERVE on page 6
See HOME on page 8
Photographs courtesy of Evans Disaster Restoration Services, Peerless Cleaning & Restoration Services, Servpro and Repair Masters’ Construction
Protect and preserve
When catastrophe strikes, it’s time to call a professional
STAFF WRITER
After a fire or flood, surrounded by sodden or charred and
soaked personal items, the enormity of the cleanup can seem
overwhelming.
What to do first?
Experts involved in the physical recovery in that type of situation all say the same thing: Time
is not on your side and call a professional.
Three of the largest firms in the
Springfield area that aid in home
restoration are Evans Disaster
Restoration Services, Peerless
Cleaning & Restoration Services
and Servpro.
Along with Repair Masters’
Construction, they board up,
pick up, clean up and if necessary, dispose of items to help
make homeowners whole
again.
The first call is to an insurance
agent or a claims specialist for
the insurance agency. The next
call involves mitigation of the
damages.
“We may get the call in the
middle of the night or the next
day,” said Bob Krell, a division
manager for Evans. “No matter what time it is, the first
thing to do is to secure the
building.”
That usually means a call by
the restoration company to Repair Masters’ and they dispatch
someone to start right away.
“Insurance companies require you to mitigate the damages. That means if the top of
your house is ripped open and
it’s raining — you have to get
Q&A
Check scanning
Stimulus spending
Geoff Isringhausen joined Isringhausen
Imports in 1984 and is now president
of the company.
Page 4
Remote remittance is the newest
technology for streamlining payment
processing.
See how other Americans
are spending their rebate
checks.
Page 8
Page 14
Page 2
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER/SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS NEWS
Springfield, Illinois
BusinessNews
Springfield
CONTENTS
Column: “What’s in a name?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
News Briefcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Q&A with Geoff Isringhausen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
County sheriff honored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
An adviser by any other
name still is an employee
O
ne of the most fascinating
questions asked during
my financial workshops
is, “What’s in a name?”
This month’s column warns of
three traps investors should avoid
and how to escape if you find
yourself caught in the Name
Game.
Trap No. 1
Trauma cleanup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
▲
Remote remittance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Learn more on what
is and isn’t allowed if
you want to run a home
business . . . . . . . . 8
Assumed businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Ribbon cuttings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Teach Children to Save Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Milestones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Spending rebates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Contact us
Editor
John Moody, john.moody@sj-r.com
Designer/Copy Editor/Photographer
Erica Cusumano, erica.cusumano@sj-r.com
Writer
Kathleen Ostrander, kathleen.ostrander@sj-r.com
MAIL:
The State Journal-Register
Springfield Business News
P.O. Box 219
Springield, IL 62705-0219
PHONE:
(217) 747-1289
TO ADVERTISE:
Lisa Seaton, 788-1320
lisa.seaton@sj-r.com
Don’t be fooled by authoritative
sounding titles such as “Senior
vice president” or “first vice president.” The simple fact is a “VP”
designation on your financial advisor’s business card rarely indicates any level of management
control in the company. Most
often, VP is used to indicate the
level of commissions an individual
generates for his employer — the
bigger the title, the bigger the
salesman.
You can escape and even avoid
the “VP trap” by asking three
questions: 1) Is your title based on
revenue? 2) If so, how much revenue? And, 3) What does your average customer pay you in commissions? Discovering these answers will help you better assess if
you are in the right relationship.
Remember, time is money, and
the more money you generate for
a VP may increase the amount of
time he is willing to invest with
you.
Trap No. 2
Don’t assume that the title of “financial advisor” on a business
card automatically implies objective advice or financial planning.
The simple fact is a financial advisor title is a generic term adopted
by Wall Street several years ago to
mask the image that most stockbrokers are commission-based
sales representatives of their employers. Prior to this title, most
stockbrokers had titles such as
“account executive,” “registered
representative” or “investment
representative.” These names obviously are more indicative of
where the sales capacity is paramount.
You can escape and even avoid
the “FA trap” by
asking three
questions: 1) Do
you serve in a fiduciary role over
the management
of my assets? 2)
David
Do you assume
Lisnek
discretionary
trading authority over my investments? And, 3) Do you provide
comprehensive financial advice
beyond the scope of investment
recommendations that you can
broker? The fact is very few people in the industry can legally answer yes to all three questions.
These are the fee-only advisors
and financial planners not typically associated with major Wall
Street dealers.
Trap No. 3
Don’t assume that a plethora of
abbreviations after a name indicates any higher degree of safety.
In fact, many Wall Street firms
have created their own special
designations to help their employees appear to be more competent.
I have chosen to disarm just two of
the many (and I mean many) “credential traps.”
The CFP designation, which
stands for Certified Financial Planner, still remains the most desirable credential. It is earned by individuals who successfully study
for and pass a comprehensive financial exam. Once the designation is earned, these individuals
must complete additional hours of
continuing education every year
(and pay annual dues) in order to
legally promote themselves as a
CFP practitioner.
The trap that investors should
avoid is assuming that a person
with a CFP designation is actually active in developing financial
plans. You would be surprised at
the number of stockbrokers who
have earned a CFP designation,
but do not yet provide financial
planning of any great significance to their customers. They
simply maintain the designation
as a means to attract customers.
If you want to avoid these people
just ask how many financial
plans they’ve developed in the
last year and how many clients
retain their financial planning
services.
AAMS designation, which
stands for Accredited Asset Management Specialist, can also be
earned through the College of Financial Planning by successfully
passing a test. The course covers
the theory of asset allocation,
which continues to be the buzz
phrase used in almost every clientadvisor relationship — the old
“don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
The trap investors should avoid
is assuming their advisor has a
functioning asset-management
policy in place. All too often an
advisor has hundreds of clients
with hundreds of portfolios that
bear little resemblance to a managed approach, especially when
dealing with individual stocks
that come in and out of favor.
Simply ask to see the investment
models they use and the performance history over the last five
years.
While both of these designations are reputable (I don’t mean
to imply otherwise), just be aware
that it does not mean that your advisor is acting in that capacity.
There are still dozens of abbreviated credentials we could cover. I
suggest you ask your present advisor what they stand for, how they
earned them and if they are specific to just their employer.
Industry regulators have begun
cracking down on violations of the
Name Game, especially those that
suggest specialties in IRA
rollovers, senior citizens and
wealth management. Even the
title of financial advisor is on the
chopping block as Wall Street begins to shift back to a more transparent and accountable form of investor disclosures and conflicts of
interest.
David Lisnek is a professional
speaker, financial expert and the
author of “How to Hire & Fire Your
Financial Advisor.”
NEWS
BRIEFCASE
Chamber to honor
person of the year
at annual luncheon
The Greater Springfield
Chamber of Commerce’s Small
Business Person of the Year
Committee will celebrate the
accomplishments and successes of
six nominees at the 23rd Annual
Small Business Awards Luncheon
at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 1,
at the Crowne Plaza.
The Committee has canvassed
the community in search of outstanding entrepreneurs and business advocates. For more information, contact Sharon Theison at
the Chamber, 525-1173. Cost to
attend is $25 per person or $30
after June 17.
Staff Carpet’s Shaw
Design Center earns
Pinnacle Award
Staff Carpet, Springfield’s
exclusive Shaw Design Center has
been given the Pinnacle Award
having achieved the largest percentage in overall growth for 2007.
Shaw Industries acknowledges
three Design Centers out of 165 in
the country.
Categories are: Achievement of
largest percentage overall growth,
largest increase in sales volume
and showroom of the — new
store.
Staff Carpet was eligible for two
of the three awards.
Hanson’s marketing
department honored
Hanson Professional Services
Inc.’s marketing communications
department was recently recog-
nized by the Society of
Marketing Professional Services,
St. Louis chapter, with two
Archie awards.
Their entry, “Jeff Tatarek contributes to U.S. efforts in Iraq,”
received first place in the feature
writing category, appearing in
The Military Engineer;
University of Illinois’ CEE magazine; The State Journal-Register;
Society of American Military
Engineers, Rock Island Post
Notes; Sacred Heart-Griffin’s
Vision newsletter; Hanson’s
Insight publication; and on
WCFN–TV.
The article highlighted
Hanson’s Jeff Tatarek, P.E., S.E.,
and his volunteer work to assist
deployed military engineers in
Iraq.
The department also received
an honorable mention for their
video, “The Hanson Legacy,” a
one-time production piece featuring company founder, Walter E.
Hanson.
Shown at the 2006 Annual
Stockholders’ Meeting, the fiveminute video emphasized the
company’s core values since its
inception, capturing Hanson’s life
story and his beliefs in starting the
firm.
Seminar slated
for human resource
professionals
A seminar for human resource
professionals at all levels, supervisors, managers, executive officers,
office administrators and any individual with employee relations
responsibilities is set for June 11
from 9 a.m. to noon at the
American Red Cross — Illinois
Capital Area Chapter
1045 Outer Park Drive.
Attendees will learn:
■ Do’s and don’ts of interviewing
■ How to use effective behaviorbased interviewing to get the right
people on the bus
Page 3
■ How to develop an interview guide to target the correct
skills, knowledge and attitude
needed to build solid probing
skills
■ How to take the “we” out of
your candidate’s response and
turn it into an “I” with results that
will truly help you assess their fit
for the job
■ Information and tools to
assist you in successfully managing the performance of your
employees
■ Mechanics of the performance review process
■ Why documentation of performance is important
■ How to tie the salary review
process to the performance review
process
Cost for the seminar is $20
per person for chamber members or $60 per person for nonmembers.
For more information call, 5251173.
Compiled by niche publications staff
Corporate challenge
golf outing set for
July 10 at Piper Glen
The 13th Annual Chamber
Corporate Cup Challenge Golf
Outing, presented by Health
Alliance, will be held on Thursday,
July 10 at Piper Glen Golf Club.
The Chamber is asking the local
business community to support
the golf outing by donating various items to award as
prizes to our outing
participants.
Prizes of all
sizes are
appreciated.
The items
can be golf
related or
they could
be gift certificates,
office accessories, or business promotional
items. Donations will be
acknowledged in the Chamber’s eUpdate.
To donate an item, contact Julie
Donohue at 525-1173 x216 or by
email at jdonohue@gscc.org.
Prizes can be dropped off at the
chamber office or arrangements
can be made to pick up the donated prize or prizes by Monday, July
7.
Hole sponsorships and team
openings are also still available.
For more information about the
outing, call 525-1173 or e-mail
info@gscc.org.
636058
2008
SHOWCASE OF HOMES
“HOME STYLES FOR OUR COMMUNITY”
July 11-13
& 18-20
Fri 4-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm,
Sun 12-5pm, Admission $7
www.springfieldareahba.com
www.viewshowcasehomes.com
Page 4
B U S I N E S S
L E A D E R
Q&A with Geoff Isringhausen, president and co-owner of Isringhausen Imports
Name
Geoff Isringhausen
got home and told Rob the story
we went out looking for them.
We found them, and he broke
the eggs they had over their
heads.
Title
President, co-owner
What is your education?
Bachelor of Science degree in
mechanical engineering from the
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.
What is your hometown?
Born and raised in Springfield
Tell us about your family.
Married to Jennifer for 23
years. We have three children:
Geoffrey, 22; Brittney, 19; and
Hayley, 15. Geoffrey will be a
senior at California Baptist
University in Riverside, Calif.
Brittney will be a sophomore at
Calvin College in Grand
Rapids, Mich. Hayley will be a
sophomore at Glenwood High
School. The kids were raised
on Lake Springfield, and we
have all enjoyed our life near
the water.
How would family and friends
desscribe you?
My kids would probably describe me as a little uptight. My
wife and friends would describe
me as easy going and compliant.
Name a childhood hero.
My older brother, Rob, was
two years older than me, and he
No other salon
in Springfield has tanning
beds like the beds you’ll
find at Exotic Tanning...
was always there to look out for
me if situations arose with conflict that were over my head.
Once when I was trick or treating with a friend, some guys
were bullying us around. When I
How did you select this career??
Studying engineering at
UIUC was a very gratifying albeit rigorous experience. I thoroughly loved it and thought my
career would be built around
engineering after I graduated in
1982. I took a job with a
pipeline company in Atlanta,
Ga. I worked for them for a
couple of years, but did not find
that the corporate world provided the same satisfaction that
the academic engineering environment had.
My brother, Rob, had started
Isringhausen Imports in the fall
of 1981 in a small building at
11th and Stanford. He encouraged me to join him. I thought
the cars were awesome. It looked
like it could be fun. So, I joined
him in January of 1984. I really
enjoyed the business environ-
2008
SHOWCASE OF HOMES
July 11-13 & 18-20
Fri 4-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm,
Sun 12-5pm, Admission $7
Call for info on our
special tanning packages!
525-TANN (8266)
Contact SAHBA at
(217) 698-4941
Featuring Homes by:
• All-C Construction
• Brady Homes
• Evers Construction
• JNC, Inc.
• Moughan Bldrs., Inc.
• Roth Homes, Inc.
• Zinn Construction LLC
425 E. Washington
Springfield
www.exotictanninginc.com
Bring in this ad for a FREE TAN!
(First time customers only)
What were your previous jobs?
Paper boy; Wabash Car
Wash; aluminum siding applicator for Eddy Hayes siding; a
carpenter framing houses; electrician assistant; independent
home repair and maintenance;
and Colonial Pipeline in Atlanta.
What is the best part of your
current job?
The most rewarding part of
my position is the opportunity
to help people. Isringhausen
Imports has a team of employees that have been together for
many years. Our environment
is like a family. I truly care for
the people who work here, and
I believe they truly care about
me. Our average tenure for employees is over 10 years. It is
very gratifying to see this
group of employees provide
fabulous experiences for our
customers. Our customers rate
their experiences with us in the
very top tier of dealerships in
the entire country. We have received numerous awards for
our level of customer care. It is
very rewarding to find people
pleased with what we have to
offer.
What is the worst part of your
current job?
There are really no inherently
bad parts of my job. I love the
people who work here, the people we serve and the community
we work in. I also love the products we offer. The worst and
most challenging part of my career here was the loss of my
brother, partner and best friend
on January 14, 2006. This created
professional and personal trials
on many fronts.
Take Veterans and go west along Spaulding Orchard Rd., head north on Cockrell.
636056
ment and meeting people from
all over the country as well as
dealing with very fun cars. So,
my career goals migrated from
engineering to the auto business.
It has been a very satisfying career choice.
See Q&A on page 5
Q&A
■ From page 4
What talents do you bring?
Engineering taught me to be
good problem solver. Time and
experience have taught me to stay
calm when difficult situations develop.
How’s business?
Business is very good. We continue to steadily grow due to the
customer care provided by longterm competent employees.
Tell us about your first big success in business??
Our first big success was getting a Saab franchise in 1985. Our
biggest success in business was
when were able to consolidate our
Decatur and Springfield operations into one location here in
Springfield with the three brands
— Mercedes-Benz, BMW and
Porsche — that we are most impassioned about.
What is the best advice you received from a mentor?
My greatest mentor growing up
was my father. A wise man, who
pointed me to my Christian faith,
which has become the root of my
commitment to integrity in business dealings. Keep your word
and make sure people get what
they bargain for.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
When people take hours of a
salesperson’s time and discount
the value of that time and expertise to zero by purchasing out of
town without giving the salesperson the courtesy of a call back.
on a problem until it is solved to
the customer’s satisfaction. I wish
some of those people could benefit from what we have to offer
today.
ble in automobile racing.
Iff you were 21 and graduating
from college what field would you
pursue today?
We have something unique in
the car business, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it.
But, I am not sure that what we
have built could be duplicated.
Math, physics and engineering are
so mentally stimulating that I
would probably go that direction
again. I still enjoy learning how
things work.
What is your favorite way to unwind from work?
Running.
What is your favo
orite vacation
spot? Why?
Several places in Colorado. I
love the mountains in summer
and winter for the recreational opportunities and natural beauty.
What do you do for fun?
Off-road motorcycle racing,
snow skiing, boating, tennis, running, mountain and road biking,
and recently have started to dab-
Name something you can’t live
without.
I think I could learn to live without almost anything except my
family and Christian faith —
which keeps me pointed in the
right direction when confronted
with moral or ethical choices. Not
that I always make the best choices, but the Bible is a guide to help
me gauge my direction. My wife is
my greatest supporter and encourager. She helps me stay motivated
and striving for constant improvement. I wouldn’t be close to where
I am today without her.
Wh
hat are you currently reading?
“Physics for the Rest of Us” and
“The Shack,” a book about an encounter a guy has with God.
What is your favorite quote?
An Abraham Lincoln quote on a
bench in Lincoln Memorial Garden that I often run by: “To ease
another’s heartache is to forget
one’s own.”
How would you like to be rememb
bered?
As an approachable leader who
cared about other people.
From the Heart of the Amish Country
ETL A
N
I
N
B
Sangamon County
deputy sheriff Wes Barr,
the man behind the
Toys for Tots program,
is the recipient of the
Leadership Springfield
Distinguished Alumni
Award. This award is
presented to an alum
Barr
whose achievements in
business and in the community reveal prominent leadership skills.
Leadership Springfield is an
eight-month series of seminars
in which participants gain leadership skills and in-depth exposure to critical issues affecting
the Springfield area.
Leadership Springfield Class of
2008: Morgan Beck, Security
Bank; Kyle Belz, American Red
Cross, Illinois Capital Area Chapter; Lisa Bernet, Kerber, Eck &
Braeckel LLP; Douglas Blade, Internal Revenue Service; Haylee
Bobell, Bank of Springfield;
George Cain, Crawford, Murphy
& Tilly, Inc.; Michael Cowles, The
Horace Mann Companies; Judy
Donath, Senior Services of Central
Illinois, Inc.; Dr. Kevin Floyd and
Kevin C. Floyd, DDS, Ltd.; Andrea
Fry, Bank of Springfield; Roger
German, Cowdrey & German dESIGNED aRCHITECTURE; Randy Helms,
AIG American General;
Ross Hewitt, RSM
McGladrey; Michael
Horstman, Sorling,
Northrup, Hanna, Cullen &
Cochran, LTD; Samuel
Jackson, Samuel Jackson
Consulting; Brenda Kochmann,
Hanson Professional Services,
Inc.; Ron Lanton, H D. Smith; Rae
Long, Sangamon County Medical
Society; Amanda Lundeen, Giffin,
Winning, Cohen & Bodewes, P.C.;
Andrew Paoni, Sikich Cozad Asset
Management, LLC; Nicole Ralph,
Lincoln Land Community College;
Alicia Rawlings, Standard Mutual
Insurance Company; Barbara
Rowe, Junior League of Springfield, Inc.; Farah Salim, Children’s
Miracle Network at St. John’s
Children’s Hospital; Sarah Tapscott, United Way of Central Illinois, Inc.; Kyle Tarr, Habitat for
Humanity of Sangamon County;
Jill Toepfer, SIU School of Medicine; Mac Warren, Lincoln Land
Community College; Nzinga West,
YWCA of Springfield; and Ryan
Wolfe, Marine Bank.
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Tell us about a particularly difficult business lesson and what you
learned from the experience.
In the infancy of our company
we only sold pre-owned cars. We
had no manufacturer support.
Several people around Springfield
purchased cars that later developed technical problems that we
could not correct. We did not have
the experience, capital or manufacturer support to solve the problem. I know there are a few people
around town today who will not
buy a car from us because of a
bad experience at that time. I have
since learned to continue working
Page 6
PRESERVE
■ From page 1
also to make sure every bit of
water or fire damage to the structure is repaired.
Soot is acidic; the longer it sits on
an item, the more damage it does,
said Todd Garner of Peerless.
The longer water sits on a rug
or against a wall, explained Dutch
Nave of Servpro, the more the
water works itself up into the walls
and beyond, under the rug and
into areas where it’s not visible,
but it’s still doing a lot of damage.
The restoration company will
pack up the household items and
take them offsite to clean while
the house is being restored.
“If it’s a small job, we can work
around the items — like a kitchen
fire where walls have to be cleaned
and items wiped down,” Nave said.
But larger jobs mean the contents
of the house are packed up and
taken to the restoration company’s
warehouses.
All of the companies do an initial emergency walk-through
where items needed immediately
are collected.
That would be changes of clothing. But it could also be a child’s
BEFORE
favorite toy that he
or she can’t be
without, Garner
said. Or it could be
high school football
uniforms or a favorite blanket,
Nave said.
Those items are
cleaned immediately and then dropped
off at the hotel or
wherever the residents have gone.
Soot is acidic and
will do further damage to an item if it
isn’t wiped off.
Employees of the
restoration companies begin sorting
through items in the
house, wiping them
off in some cases, slapping a bar
code on them and packing them up.
“The bar code means we can
track them through the process,”
Krell said. “That way a person can
call up and say, ‘Hey, we need
this’ or ‘Did you pick this up?’”
Then it’s off to the warehouses.
In the case of Evans, the items are
taken out, cleaned and then set up
so homeowners can look at them
before they are taken back.
“We want people
to come and look at
their furniture
under bright lights
before we take it
back to make sure
everything is
cleaned to their satisfaction.”
Household items,
using a variety of
processes, are
cleaned and repacked. In the event
something is damaged beyond what
an insurance company would pay for,
the homeowner has
several choices.
“There’s a decision to make. If it’s
an item that can be
purchased new, people decide on
that,” Garner explained.
“If it’s something that can’t be
replaced, it may be worth it for the
homeowner to have it repaired.”
If the repair value exceeds the
value of the item, Krell said,
homeowners have the option of
paying the difference that the insurance company won’t pick up.
While clothes and other items
may be cleaned on an emergency
AFTER
DADS
DESERVE
BEST
THE
Know your policy’s limits
A basic homeowner’s policy covers most of the problems a resident
may have, but extra coverage is needed for earthquake and flood damage.
Insurance professionals caution those buying policies to make sure an
extra endorsement — which details the extra coverage — is added to a
policy to ensure total coverage.
If a home is damaged by fire, that is normally covered under a homeowner’s policy, said Bonnie Kruger of American Family Insurance. Likewise, wind damage and hail damage, referred to as “weather perils” by
some insurance policies, are covered, explained Missy Lundberg, a
spokesperson for State Farm Insurance.
So if the wind rips a house roof off, that’s usually covered, Lundberg
said, but if a tree falls on the roof, it will depend on the policy.
After the most recent earthquake, agents got lots of calls. Kruger said
her office fielded numerous calls from Springfield area residents wanting
to know about earthquake coverage.
There is a moratorium on allowing people to get earthquake insurance
right after an earthquake. If a person’s home is within 100 miles of what
is classified as the epicenter, they can’t get earthquake insurance for 30
days, said Lundberg.
Kroger said many people, after the last quake, decided they wanted insurance and more than two dozen called the day the moratorium was lifted to add that insurance.
Earthquake insurance varies with the type of home, for example brick
versus wood. It costs more to insure a brick home because it usually
costs more to rebuild a brick home, Kruger said.
Lundberg said a lot of people farther out from the epicenter may have
had damage, but they didn’t file claims. “You have to look at the deductible; the cost of filling a crack off of the foundation doesn’t warrant filing a claim if it’s less then the deductible,” she said.
It is a myth that insurance companies offer termite insurance, said
both Kruger and Lundberg.
“That’s a common-sense thing. People are expected to take care of
their house and that means checking for termite infestation if that seems
to be a problem.”
Water damage claims fall into two areas. Damage in a home from a
sewer backup or the failure of a sump pump is covered under an endorsement to the original homeowner’s policy.
Flood damage is a separate policy, said Lundberg. “If your home is located on a floodplain, your agent will usually suggest flood insurance.
The federal government offers the insurance, but it is administered and
the policy is written by a local agent.”
Kroger said there are different degrees of insurance depending on
where in the flood zone a home may be located and it also depends on
the construction of the home and even whether the home is a two- or
three-story dwelling.
When in doubt, they said, ask if a situation is covered when getting
homeowner’s insurance. Don’t assume every event is automatically covered.
— Kathleen Ostrander
Show Dad how much you
appreciate all that he’s done
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basis, Nave said if homeowners go
immediately into a rental unit, that
may mean living room and bedroom sets are needed immediately.
In that case, they are cleaned
and dropped off. If homeowners
want all their furnishings moved
back at once, the companies store
them until the job is finished.
The restoration companies
work as a team with the firm that
does reconstruction. Marsh said
he is in on the original walkthrough of a home damaged by ei-
ther fire or water, and they talk
about what will be repaired first
and that’s the order in which the
cleaning is done.
“If water sits on something,
you’re going to get mold and if a
home damaged by fire sits, it’s
harder to clean,” Marsh said.
“The best thing you can do is to
get working on it right away.”
Water turns to steam as it hits a
See PRESERVE on page 7
PRESERVE
BEFORE
AFTER
■ From page 6
fire. Steam opens the pores in
wood, wooden items, plaster and
even granite.
As it cools, Marsh said, the
pores close and trap the smoke
molecules in a surface.
Closed closet doors and
closed cabinets don’t stop the
steam, so items not immediately
subjected to a fire will still be
damaged.
Companies such as Repair Master’s check and re-check for
residue smoke as well as mold
when they are on the job.
Carpets that have stain barriers,
such as those used to prevent pet
urine from going into a rug pad,
also prevent easy drying, Krell
said.
That moisture ‘wicks’ up into
the walls, and in some cases, into
the insulation where it starts to
mildew and mold.
“That little house fan you bring
in to dry a rug after water damage
is probably not doing the trick,”
Nave said.
“The water goes into a lot
more places then you realize.
Depending on the structure, it
may take three or four more
days of drying — past when
someone thinks everything is
dry, to really get it back to normal.”
Fire or water damage creates
not only physical wreckage, but
also emotional damage.
“You see the homeowners and
they are crying and distraught.
They just want things back to normal, to be able to do that is very
gratifying,” Krell said.
Page 7
Garner and Marsh said the
initial visit to a home turns
everyone into a trauma counselor.
“I’ve had people cry on my
shoulder and you just have to tell
them that they will get through it,”
Marsh said.
“Sometimes you have to use a
little humor and tell them it’s a
bad way to get a really nice remodel.”
“We know when we are out at a
job initially that there is no way
anyone is going to remember
what we tell them,” Garner said. “I
know we are going to have to repeat things and explain things a
couple of times and that’s no
problem if it makes people feel
better.”
“It is gratifying to put people’s home back together,” Krell
said.
“We may not be able to bring
back an entire priceless photograph, but we clean up what we
can and bring it back not smelling
of smoke or mold. People really
appreciate it and know we’ve done
our best for them.”
Dealing with home trauma cleanup
Sometimes the unthinkable can
happen. A loved one commits suicide in a home, someone dies and
the death isn’t discovered immediately or someone dies in a home
as a result of a crime.
Several restoration companies in the Springfield area handle what they call trauma
cleanup.
Evans Disaster Restoration
Services, Peerless Cleaning and
Restoration Services and Servpro
have employees trained to clean
up what is considered a biohazard
situation.
“Employees that clean up after
a trauma incident wear full biohazard gear including respirators,”
said Bob Krell, division manager
for Evans. Servpro and Peerless
have similar teams.
While no one wants to talk
about needing that type of
cleanup, it needs to be done, acknowledged Dutch Nave of
Servpro.
“We do it as efficiently and as
quickly as possible,” he said.
Items are cleaned and sani-
tized.
If they have to be taken offsite
for cleaning, that is also done,
said Todd Garner of Peerless. If
the families want items taken and
disposed of instead of being
cleaned, that is also handled,
Krell said.
Because body fluids seep into
wood and into carpeting, those
materials have to be cut out and
replaced.
One of the companies used to
match paneling, wainscoting or
put a room back together is Repair Masters’ Construction. Dave
Marsh of Repair Masters’ said it’s
not a particularly appealing aspect
of the job, but people need their
home or a home set right to get
past what is a devastating event in
their life.
“Some people think they will get
past it if the physical evidence is
gone,” Marsh said. “But the sad
fact is most people don’t get past
that and they end up moving from
the home.”
— Kathleen Ostrander
636021
Page 8
New payment option offered
STAFF WRITER
Illinois National Bank has
added remote remittance in addition to remote deposit capture.
The services allow remote
banking that cuts down on paperwork at the participating
businesses as well as at the
bank.
“It’s just another way to get
your money working quicker for
you,” said Lisa Ellis, director of
marketing for INB.
Currently INB is the only area
bank that has remote remittance.
Remote remittance allows
businesses to scan in a check
received as a payment and immediately have the payment
credited to their account “So if
you are a business that has
monthly billing and have to key
in a lot of data this is perfect,”
Ellis said.
It’s a perfect service for customers that send out regular bills,
said Sarah Phalen, senior vice
president at INB. Utilities, cable
companies, medical services can
all benefit from remittance capture.
It also is useful for businesses
that bill from several different locations because the checks and
bills can be scanned in from all
the locations and they will dump
into a central account which then
balances and gives a bottom line
figure.
The information from the
checks and the bills can go in a
data base, adds Tom Gihl, a senior vice president at INB.
The data can be compiled in a
report that has the businesses’
logo and other information on it
for corporate reporting purposes.
The scanner, which is about
the size of a toaster, also “reads”
the information on a check and
gives whoever is operating the
system the option of accepting
the payment if it doesn’t match
the bill — or rejecting it.
Phalen gave the example of a
customer paying a bill who has
already paid some on the outstanding balance, but that payment may not be credited. The
scanner does read handwriting,
said Gihl, so it eliminates manual
data entry.
“It also will give whoever is
using the scanner the option of
rejecting a payment if it has already been credited before so it
prevents duplication,” Gihl
added.
The system can be programmed to reject checks over a
certain amount or under a certain
amount.
“There is an initial time where
the software is being installed
that is a down time,” Gihl said,
“but after that, it can scan as fast
as a person can put through the
check and the bill — it’s a great
labor saver.”
A one-chair beauty salon can be operated from the home,
according to Springfield’s municipal code.
HOME
Sparc golf outing this Friday at Piper Glen
The Mike Ference Scramble
for Sparc is Friday at Piper Glen
Golf Club. The tournament honors the memory of Ference, who
worked in banking and was a
champion for the disabled.
The best ball scramble starts
with registration, lunch and a
putting contest at 11 a.m. Shotgun start is at 12:30 p.m., followed by cocktails, dinner,
awards and drawings from 5:30
■ From page 1
to 7:30 p.m.
Entry fee per golfer is $100 and
$385 per foursome. For more information, call Steve Bridge at
793-2100, ext. 167 or Kristy Martin, ext. 151.
636020
■ Tutoring, but no more than
eight students per day and no
electronic amplification of sound.
■ Mail-order operations.
■ Home crafts for offsite sale.
■ Telephone sales.
■ Home and health-care products for offsite sale such as Mary
Kay, Avon, Pampered Chef or
Amway.
■ Independent contractors as
long as there is no storage of
equipment involved.
■ Authors/writers.
■ Composers.
There are restrictions on home
businesses to make sure they
don’t have an adverse impact on
neighborhoods.
According to the ordinance,
there should be no alteration of
the outside appearance of a home
as a result of the home business.
Whatever business it is, the majority of the residence should be
used as a ‘home’ rather than a
business.
The home business cannot involve anything that may include
the outside storage of materials
and storage of materials inside the
residence for the business cannot
exceed 25 square feet.
A sign identifying the home
business may not be illuminated
and it should not exceed the size
of two square feet.
A home business should not
cause any additional noise, vibration, light, odor, dust, fumes,
smoke, traffic, or other conditions
that can be heard or detected outside the residence.
To be classified as a home business, whatever it is, it should not
take up more than 200 square feet
inside the home and that includes
storage of materials or products.
If the business involves customers coming to a home, there
should be no more than eight customers visiting the residence in
one day. The hours of operation
for a home business, if it involves
clients or customers, is limited to
7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
A family day-care operation,
Goodin said, has guidelines listed
under 155.016 of the municipal
code. Most home day-care operations would mean up to 12 children operating during the hours of
6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
A S S U M E D
B U S I N E S S E S
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Business names registered with the
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421 South Grand Ave. W.
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Springfield, IL 62704
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Tom’s BBQ and Catering
3511 S. Douglas Ave.
Reynolds Auction Company
680 West Camp Sangamo Road
Rt. 66 Sonrise Donuts Coffee Bar
& Diner
1109 So. 9th St.
Frog Cottage Jewelry
408 S. Adelia St.
Springfield, IL 62704-1632
Mark Commean’s Little Warriors
P.O. Box 962
Pawnee, IL 62558
A Custom U
716 W. Fayette Ave.
Vestal’s V-Twins
3449 S. MacArthur Blvd.
RGM Homebiz
1623 Jerome Ave.
Sweet Life
3259 W. Iles Ave.
Blue Ox Tree Service
2911 S. 12th St.
JDH Transmission and Auto Repair
1326 N. Grand Ave. E.
Pioneer Catering
1102 E. Sangamon Ave.
Sno Shak
2806 E. Andrew Road
Sherman, IL 62684
Color Matrix Painting
3401 Ridge Ave., Trailer 46
Doug’s Lawn Care
312 N. Violet Drive
Auburn, IL 62615
Star Treatment Errand Service
3890 Ostermeier Road
Auburn, IL 62615
James R. Hazzard
504 N. Main St.
Loami, IL 62661
Majic Carpet Cleaning
1617 N. 7th St.
Joey Karter
715 East Adams St.
Riverton, IL 62561
Timbursmoke
3217 Lake Plaza Dr.
Carmen L. Crockett
2903 Cronin Drive
A Sign From Above
308 E. Monroe St.
Auto Complete Care
54 Lambert Lane
Memories By Faith Photography
365 E. Washington St.
Auburn, IL 62615
Arrowhead
d Stables
6370 Old Rt. 36
Riverton, IL 62561
Heaton’s Caffe
407 E. Locust St.
Chatham, IL 62629
Extreme K-9
8 Hyde Park
Dream Lawns
1106 N. Lincoln Ave.
Home Improvement Resource
Guide of Greater Spfld.
4301 Harvard Drive
Policies issued by COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company® and COUNTRY Casualty Insurance Company®, Bloomington, IL.
Lee Miller
Larry Bunting, CLU MSFS
Tom Hale, CLU
120 W. Walnut, Chatham
483-4355
FAX: 483-4156
3601 W. Wabash, Ste 103
Springfield
546-4267
Robert Vance
Todd O'Neill
Steve Bowen
2406 Denver Dr.
Springfield
391-2341
3501 South 6th St.
Springfield
529-7200
Leonard Williams
Duane Schmedeke
Brenda Beyers
Mike Baumann
3501 South 6th St.
Springfield
529-7200
1200 E. Lincoln
Riverton
629-9640 or 486-6453
3601 W. Wabash Ste 103
Springfield
698-3456
Respite Providers Needed
Thom Wessels
318 Crossing Dr.
Sherman, IL 62684
496-2341
Mike O'Brien
Family Service Center of Sangamon County Respite Program is looking for people who would be
interested in caring for children on an occasional weekend. Many of these children may have
special needs and may require close attention. Requirements include being a licensed foster parent which involves having medical exams, background checks, character references and training.
For further information please contact
101 S. Main St.
Athens
636-7177
3501 S. 6th St.
Springfield
529-7200
Darrell Lynch
Springfield
698-3456
2925 S. Meadowbrook
Rd. Ste C, Springfield
547-1401
506 S. 5th St.
Pawnee
625-8424
Brian Holmes
2925 S. Meadowbrook Rd Ste C
Springfield
547-1401
Bill Ringer
3501 S. 6th St.
Springfield
529-7200
Chris Berger
Springfield
698-4325
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1308 South 7th Street • Springfield, IL 62703
(217) 528-8406
Page 9
Page 10
R I B B O N
C U T T I N G S
Illinois Nurses Association
Galaxy Hair Design and Boutique and Tanning
A ribbon cutting was held at the Illinois Nurses Association, 911 S. Second St. Cutting
the ribbon are Mayor Tim Davlin, Melissa Taylor and Catherine Sweeney. Also pictured
are board members Terri Williams, Joanie Larsen, Pam Robbins, Mildred Taylor, Queen
Gallien Patterson, executive director Susan Swart, program director Edward Thompson,
INA members, Joe Williams, Gloria Ward, Marva Evans and chamber ambassadors.
A ribbon cutting was held at Galaxy Hair Design, 118 W. Walnut St., Chatham.
Cutting the ribbon are owners Cindy and Eric Allard along with friends and
chamber ambassadors.
PERFECT GIFT FOR DAD.
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R I B B O N
Page 11
C U T T I N G S
Fifth Street Renaissance SARA center
Nehemiah Affordable Housing/ Windsor Development
A ribbon cutting was held at the Fifth Street Renaissance SARA center, 1327 N.
Fifth St. Cutting the ribbon is Penny Harris, along with Alderman Sam Cahnman,
board president Deb Williams, former mayor Karen Hasara, Deb Grant of IDPH,
Sandy Robinson and staff members. Also pictured are chamber ambassadors.
A ribbon cutting was held at Nehemiah Affordable Housing, 1005 S. Wheeler Ave.
Cutting the ribbon are president of NAH LP Silas Johnson, president of Windsor
Homes Michael Niehaus and Jim Donelan, executive assistant to the mayor. Also
pictured are board members, friends and chamber ambassadors.
INB employees participate
in Teach Children to Save Day
savings, covering topics such as
budgeting, the difference between
needs and wants and why it’s important to save. Students had an
opportunity to apply concepts and
practices through games and
other hands-on activities.
“Bankers are experts at saving
and investing, so it’s a natural fit
for us to visit classrooms to teach
students how their money can
grow,” Mangiaracina said.
“Students who become smart
savers today can become smart investors and money managers tomorrow.”
Materials used during the national teach day was supplied by
the National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics, the National
Council of Teachers of English
and the Family and Consumer Sciences.
INB employees were at Mt. Pulaski Elementary School, Riverton
Elementary School, Blackhawk
Elementary School, Southern
View Elementary School and
Farmingdale Elementary School.
636421
Employees from Illinois National Bank recently participated in
National Teach Children to Save
Day. The annual nationwide event
is designed to teach children their
“financial ABCs.”
“Studies show that people who
learn to save early in life usually
make smarter financial decisions
later. While today’s children can
receive email through their cell
phones or use a CD-ROM to do
their homework, many don’t know
the basics of saving and money
management,” said John Mangiaracina, assistant vice president
and branch manager at Illinois
National Bank.
Sponsored by the American
Bankers Association Education
Foundation, National Teach Children to Save Day is a day in April
when bankers make presentations
in schools across America to students in kindergarten through
12th grade.
Participating INB employees
taught nearly 600 3rd and 4th
grade children about money and
2008
SHOWCASE OF
HOMES
July 11-13 & 18-20
Fri 4-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12-5pm ~ Admission $7
Featuring Homes by:
All-C Construction • Brady Homes • Evers Construction • JNC, Inc.
Moughan Bldrs., Inc. • Roth Homes, Inc. • Zinn Construction LLC
Contact SAHBA at (217) 698-4941
Page 12
R I B B O N
C U T T I N G S
Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Center
Xanadoo
A ribbon cutting was held at the Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Center, 5230 S. Sixth
St. Cutting the ribbon are: CEO Scott Viniard; COO Mark Littrell; Coordinator
Outpatient Services Bob Fickes; Quality Manager Deb Dilello; Director of Nursing
Elaine Shemroske; CFO Tim Sides and Medical Director Dr. David Decker. Also
pictured are employees, colleagues and chamber ambassadors.
A ribbon cutting was held at Xanadoo, 4343 Conestoga Drive. Cutting the ribbon are Mark
Pagon, CEO and chairman of the board; Rory Lindgren, COO; Howard Verlin, executive vice
president; Phil Keith,VP sales and customer management; Scott Warunek, general manager;
and Wayne Peipenbrink, sales manager. Also pictured are: Jamie Hinton, store manager;
Jack Dunn, executive director, Chatham area chamber of commerce; Gary Plummer,
president,The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and chamber ambassadors.
J. P. Kelly’s Pub and Package Liquor
Party House Liquors
A ribbon cutting was held at J. P. Kelly’s Pub and Package Liquor, 300 E. Adams St.
Cutting the ribbon is Grandpa J. P. Kelly, the owner’s children, Ava and Alio
Giacomini, grandma Norma Kelly and daughter Maria, Coleen and Dan McDonald,
owners Matt and Ellen Giacomini, along with Matt’s mother Connie, uncle Tom
Timoney, sister-in-law Maria Stacey and manager Mike Groesch.
A ribbon cutting was held at Party House Liquors, 3211 W. Iles Ave. Cutting the
ribbon are owner Tom Ware, general manager Dave Fuiten and assistant manager
Leah Bolen. Also pictured are chamber ambassadors.
2008
SHOWCASE OF HOMES
At RECORD SYSTEMS, we
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organize and move your
business forward.
July 11-13 & 18-20
Fri 4-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12-5pm ~ Admission $7
Featuring Homes by:
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Moughan Bldrs., Inc. • Roth Homes, Inc. • Zinn Construction LLC
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Page 13
M I L E S T O N E S
Kenneth G. Smith, P.E., recently
joined Hanson’s Professional
Services Inc. He
will be working
out of the
Springfield
headquarters.
As a senior
civil engineer,
he serves in
Hanson’s enerSmith
gy and industry
market. Smith has more than
30 years of experience in the
industrial construction and
environmental services industry.
He has served as project manager for demolition, fuel storage
systems, fiber-optic facilities, coal
gasification plant remediation,
hazardous wastes, and landfill
and surface impoundment projects.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in
civil engineering (1971) from the
University of Florida.
Suzanna L. Simpson has joined
Hanson Professiional Services
Inc.’s Springfield
headquarters.
As a geologist, she serves
Hanson’s energy and industry
market. Her
previous experience includes
Simpson
preparing grant
applications, budgets and management plans; performing site
characterizations; investigating
soil and ground water; and analyzing data and preparing
reports for various sites across
Illinois.
Simpson holds a bachelor’s
degree (2003) in geology and a
master’s degree (2005) in hydrogeology, both from Illinois State
University.
Annette Piper has been elected
the 2008-09 president of Illinois
Women in
Leadership.
Piper is vice
president of
trust & investment management at Marine
Bank.
IWIL encourPiper
ages and develops leadership and management
skills through education, mentoring, networking and community activities. Each year, the
group awards college scholarships to promising girls. Its
theme for the 2008-09 membership season is “Leadership One
Step at a Time.”
Other newly elected IWIL officers are: Sheryl Daugherty, vice
president; JoDeen Roley, secretary; and Sally Quinn, treasurer.
Karen Westbrook serves in the
role of immediate past president.
The IWIL 2008-09 board of
directors includes: Theresa Boley,
Connie Dicenso, Jill Leka, Kathy
Maslouski, Linda Nickerson,
Sarah Pavlik, Carlissa Puckett,
Brenda Shutz, Darlene Weaver,
Val Yazell and Julie Zara.
Todd Missel has recently been
promoted to vice president of
Harold O’Shea
Builders. With
more than 11
years of construction experience, Missel
helps lead both
individual project
teams and
Missel
construction
field operations at O’Shea.
Missel has completed the
Associated General Contractor’s
Project Manager and Advance
Management Programs, as well as
the Construction Leadership
Institute at Southern Illinois
University in Edwardsville. His team
leadership experience includes oversight and on-site project management for commercial building,
health care, education, religious,
financial, and retail projects.
Missel received his bachelor’s
degree in civil engineering from
University of Illinois in Urbana and his
master’s degree in civil engineering
from Southern Illinois University in
Edwardsville. He is also a licensed
professional engineer in the state
of Illinois.
Springfield native, Tom Fitch has
recently been promoted to vice
president of
Harold O’Shea
Builders. Fitch is
a senior engineer
with 16 years of
managerial, business development, project
management,
Fitch
and technical
design experience. His broad-based
responsibilities include project
development and budgets, managing project workflow and opera-
tions, and developing and reviewing all design concepts.
Fitch received a bachelor’s degree
in civil engineering and a master’s
degree in structural engineering
from University of Illinois in Urbana.
He is also a structural engineer
licensed in the state of Illinois.
maintaining client relationships,
preparing cost estimates, organizing and scheduling manpower,
material and subcontractors.
Jarrett received his associate
degree in construction technology
from Southern Illinois University
in Carbondale.
Jeff Jarrett has recently been
promoted to vice president at
Harold O’Shea
Builders. Jarrett
celebrated 20
years at Harold
O’Shea Builders
in September
2007, and continues to lead
project teams
Jarrett
with an eye to
quality, efficiency and always
meeting our client’s needs.
Jarrett joined Harold O’Shea
Builders as a union carpenter in
1987. Upon completion of his
apprenticeship training, he was
promoted to Project
Superintendent where he was
responsible for coordinating,
scheduling and maintaining the
day-to-day operations for job-site
projects.
In 2003, Jarrett began working
at the corporate headquarters as a
project manager, establishing and
Jana Richey recently has been
promoted to corporate treasurer at
Harold O’Shea
Builders.
Charged with
establishing the
financial framework for the
continued
growth of the
company,
Richey
Richey is
responsible for the accurate and
timely reporting of all financial,
treasury and budget matters.
Prior to joining Harold O’Shea
Builders in 2006, Richey worked
for eight years in public accounting, and brings her considerable
talent and experience to the company to help create innovative and
efficient accounting and financial
systems.
Richey received a bachelor’s
degree in business administration
from Southern Illinois University
in Edwardsville.
Master the
Next Level
Master of Business Administration
Master of Science in Management
and Organizational Behavior
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NOWLEDGE
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Omni Communications Group
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Ruehling
services to assist
in the development of marketing
strategies, coordinate marketing
and advertising programs, and
create new business opportunities
for existing and prospective Omni
clients.
Ruehling will serve as a liaison
between clients and various
departments of the agency to
ensure the timely completion of
various agency projects, including
new product launches, web sites,
internet, logos, branding, collateral materials, print, radio and television.
Prior to joining Omni, she
worked in Iowa as a marketing
consultant for Wells Fargo Home
Mortgage and the Des Moines
Register. Ruethling is a graduate
of Wayne State College in
Nebraska with a bachelor’s
degree. in journalism and broadcasting communications.
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636057
Page 14
Many consumers spend early
rebates on soaring cost of living
By DAVE CARPENTER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Many Americans
allowed themselves to fantasize
about large-screen TVs, European
vacations and other luxuries when
they learned of the federal rebates
they’d be getting this spring and
early summer.
Or maybe — shh, don’t tell the
president — they’d pay off a credit
card or set the rebate aside for a
big purchase in the future,
notwithstanding Washington’s
intentions that they pump it immediately into the flagging economy.
“It’s not often you get a windfall
like that that you can just stash
away for something you need
later,” said Sara Jackson, 29, a
graphic designer in Chattanooga,
Tenn.
But reality has interfered, in the
form of ever-climbing food bills
and $4-a-gallon gasoline. While
some consumers got their dream
TVs, as confirmed by a spike in
April retail sales in anticipation of
the economic stimulus payments,
day-to-day living costs have
sopped up the checks for many
other early recipients and spoiled
their rebate fantasies.
Based on a small but broadly
diverse group of consumers who
tracked their rebate spending in
detail for The Associated Press,
there was no mass rush to the
malls for shopping sprees after the
payments started showing up in
bank accounts in significant numbers in May. The greater economic ramifications may not be seen
for months.
Vanessa Church, a 49-year-old
Chicagoan with six children,
was grateful for the rebate but
found there wasn’t much left
over after big payments for utilities and other basic needs were
taken care of. “Things are getting tighter and tighter,” she
said, adding jokingly: “I’m thinking they should do this twice a
year.”
Brandi Dobbins, 26, and her
fiance each got their $600 checks
just before their May wedding on
the coast of Maine. The combined
amount was spent almost instantly when their caterer called and,
after asking ’Are you sitting
down?’, informed her that due to
food inflation their bill for the
wedding was jumping from
$46.50 per guest to $59 — virtually the entire $1,200. “In the economic grand scheme of things,
I’m not quite sure that’s what they
intended us to spend our money
on - inflation — but that’s where
ours went,” Dobbins said.
Derek Houck, an actor in North
Hollywood, Calif., planned to
allow himself an indulgence or
two with whatever was left of his
rebate after he’d taken care of
necessities. It turned out to be
more modest than he’d thought.
When his personal finance software program showed him he had
a whopping 50 cents left from the
$600, he still celebrated by
shelling out $49.95 for a new Wii
game.
■ ❐ ■
All told, 131 million households
are to receive a total of $110 billion by the time the last payments
are doled out in mid-July. What
people do with them will help
shape the direction of the sputtering economy.
The last time Washington
undertook such a program to combat an economic slowdown, taxpayers got rebates of $300 or $600
in the summer and early fall of
2001. The eight-month recession
was over by November, but it’s not
clear how much the payouts
helped. The amount that people
See REBATES on page 15
M. Spencer Green/The Associated Press
Vanessa Church, a 49-year-old Chicagoan with six children, says
she was grateful for the federal rebate she received in early May
but found there wasn’t much left over after big payments for
utilities and other basic needs were taken care of.
636187
636158
REBATES
■ From page 14
actually spent — excluding saving
money, investing or paying down
debt — was lower than many
economists expected, although
estimates vary so widely an exact
total is hard to peg.
This year’s program provides
more money, aimed at delivering a
bigger shot of adrenaline to the
economy by inducing people to
buy items they didn’t otherwise
have the cash for.
Most individual taxpayers are
getting checks of up to $600, while
couples receive $1,200 plus $300
for each eligible child under 17.
People earning too little to pay
taxes but at least $3,000, including
seniors whose only income is from
Social Security, get $300 if single
or $600 if a couple. And there are
no payments for the wealthy: The
amount starts to phase out for
those with incomes over $75,000,
or $150,000 for joint filers.
Based on economists’ preliminary assessments, and echoed by
the AP sample group of more than
two dozen people, Americans are
not hesitating to spend the money
— but more for essentials than
was anticipated. It’s easy to understand why: Gas prices are up more
than 30 percent since the rebate
check amounts were first
announced and food prices are
projected to increase 5 percent or
more in 2008.
Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S.
economist at Deutsche Bank, thinks
at least half the rebate money may
go toward energy costs alone.
“It’s not going to give you the
bang for the buck as originally
envisioned,” he said. “The odds of
Ric Francis/The Associated Press
Derek Houck plays his newly purchased Wii video game in North
Hollywood. When his personal finance software program showed him
he had a whopping 50 cents left from the $600 rebate, he still
celebrated by shelling out $49.95 for the game.
it having a longer-lasting impact
on the economy are less. . . .
People were not planning to use
so much of it on energy and food.”
Diane Swonk, chief economist
for Mesirow Financial in Chicago,
also estimates that consumers will
spend more than half of the rebates
— but much of it on the higher cost
of living, citing evidence of a “very
stressed consumer.”
That would be dramatically
higher than what they signaled in
an Associated Press-Ipsos poll in
February, when only 19 percent of
respondents said they would
spend their rebates. Some 45 percent said they planned to pay off
bills, 32 percent said they would
save it or invest it, and 4 percent
said they would donate it to charity. Consumers in the past have
tended to spend significantly more
than they told pollsters they
thought they would.
Swonk says economic growth
won’t be affected by where people
spend it — but consumer confi-
dence will, which can influence
the longer-term outlook. Over the
long haul, spending on staples
won’t provide the boost the government hoped for.
Millions of Americans can testify to the psychological impact of a
fat check, whether or not they
agreed with the idea.
“Honestly, I think it’s kind of
silly that the government is paying
us money when it’s having such a
hard time paying its own bills,”
said Jackson. “But shoot, who’s
going to turn down money when
they give it to you?”
■ ❐ ■
Some economists are now saying we will avert a recession, or at
least a severe downturn. Don’t tell
that to people who have seen their
living standards squeezed by the
markups in supermarkets and at
the pump — like Church, who’s
raising six children on Chicago’s
often hardscrabble West Side.
Page 15
“We’re definitely in a recession —
I can feel it,” she said over a sandwich in the cramped, bustling
offices of the weekly neighborhood
newspaper where she is a lifestyles
and religion writer. “We get so
much less for the same money. Milk
and eggs and bread and vegetables
and fruit are all very expensive. So
the rebate was a good idea for that.”
Being pinched didn’t prevent
Church and her husband from
contributing $120 of her $1,200
rebate to their church — they tithe
10 percent of everything they earn,
in good times and bad.
The rest went fast: $350 for a
son’s eighth-grade class trip to
Washington, D.C., $345 for an
end-of-winter balloon payment on
their heating bill, $225 for a
daughter’s water-damaged cell
phone and bill, $100 for their 15year-old son’s savings account and
$60 on transit passes. Another
$600 is expected later - her husband filed separately - and living
costs are likely to gobble up the
bulk of that, too.
“I don’t know how it affected
other people’s budgets overall, but it
helped our money stretch,” she said.
“I thought it was a really cool
thing. It made me see my president in a different light. I was like,
’Attaboy George!’ I can be swayed,
I can be bought!”
■ ❐ ■
The rebate couldn’t have come
at a more perfect time for Dobbins
and her fiance: just when payments for their wedding were
coming due. Every penny was
devoted to the big event, which
will have cost about $24,000 by the
time all the bills have been settled.
“When I learned about the tax
payment I was thrilled,” said
Dobbins, an account supervisor for a
marketing firm in Washington, D.C.
“I immediately factored that into
what we would be able to pay off.”
The fact that the entire amount
was consumed by food inflation,
in the form of their caterer’s price
hike, was appropriately ironic
given the backdrop to today’s economic malaise.
“Do I think it accomplished
what they wanted?” Dobbins said
of the rebate. “No, because it’s
going into people’s gas tanks, into
their food bills or to pay off their
credit cards. The cost of living is
going up so fast that it’s really not
going into the stores. It’s just
keeping up with everyday costs.”
■ ❐ ■
The most troubling economic
indicator to Houck this year has
been the cash flow predictor in his
Microsoft Money software, showing his finances going “down,
down, down, down, down.” So
when the $600 rebate appeared in
his bank account, it allowed the
24-year-old to splurge a little for
the first time in months.
Splurging is relative for an
actor-for-hire doing everything
from carpentry to backstage lighting work to video game bug-testing in order to pay the rent.
Besides $30 on tickets to see a
play a friend was in, his big “fun”
purchase was the Wii game —
“Super Smash Bros. Brawl.” He
allowed those indulgences only
after spending $245 on new head
shots to get his face and name out
to directors, $68 to renew his subscription to an acting submission
service, and most of the rest on
food, gas, laundry and bills.
“I don’t think I helped save the
economy with my contributions
from the rebate, but it worked well
for me,” Houck said.
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Springfield Business News - The State Journal

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