McCormick Place
July 11
Arlington Park Racecourse
July 18
Mystic Blue at Navy Pier
August 6
Warwick Allerton - Chicago
August 20
Harborside International
Golf Center
September 17
Tuckaway Golf Club, Crete
October 22
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Bloomington-Airport
October 23
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington
October 30
Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel
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STRATEGIC PARTNERS
GOLD SPONSOR
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In addition to talking about the quality jobs that hotels create or the economic benefits that we generate for the state, one of the frequently overlooked aspects of our industry is the service we provide the communities that we live and work in. This was evident earlier this month when nearly 100 Illinois hotel professionals convened to put together cosmetic and toiletry bags for mothers and women who are victims of domestic abuse. A project of our Women in Lodging network, the event commemorating Mother's Day was one small example of our industry giving back to those who are less fortunate than us. It is examples like these that remind us all how lucky we are to be part of an industry who cares so much about our neighbors and the people we serve.
Next week will be a special one for IHLA in more ways than one. On Tuesday, hundreds of hotel and tourism colleagues will come together to honor several great friends of our industry at our Hospitality Awards Luncheon. Marc Gordon and Arnie Karr will receive our J. Patrick Leahy Lifetime Achievement Award and Holly Agra and Tony Klok will receive or Ambassador of Hospitality Award. Each of these individuals have contributed so much to the Illinois travel industry and we look forward to celebrating their achievements. Today is the final day to purchase a table or tickets for the luncheon, which also includes full admission to the National Restaurant Show and access to our hotel industry panel which will include AHLA CEO Chip Rogers and will focus on the future of our workforce. Then, on Thursday, IHLA will host our first-ever Educational Foundation seminar in the suburban Chicagoland area. I hope that you can join us for our Employment Law session which will take place at the Renaissance Schaumburg.
Michael
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Michael spent the week in Springfield last week where he held numerous meetings about IHLA's priority issues being considered, especially on the hotel tax collection allowance. While it continues to be an uphill battle, we are working hard to convince lawmakers that this line item in the Governor's budget would add another financial burden on the backs of our hotels. If you haven't done so already, please reach out to your legislators and oppose the elimination of the hotel tax collection allowance.
Also last week, the bill to require implementation of employee safety devices for certain hotel employees (SB 75) passed unanimously out of the House committee and is now awaiting final passage, which we expect to happen in the next week. Similarly, the bill to create a human trafficking training requirement (HB 3101) for hotel staff passed out of committee last Wednesday and is now awaiting a final vote in the Senate.
SB 119, which IHLA supported and would require "gig-economy" companies (i.e. Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.) to issue their contractors 1099 forms and begin paying their state income tax, failed to pass out of House committee after breezing through the Senate. We are continuing to advocate to pass this important bill before the end of the legislative session in two weeks.
We have also been asked for our position on hot-button issues like the legalization of cannabis and sports gambling. IHLA continues to evaluate the impact that these proposals would have on hotels statewide and are engaged in discussions with key lawmakers, but as an organization, we have not yet taken a position on either issue. If you have feedback on either, please feel free to let us know your thoughts.
IHLA Board Members Meet with Elected Officials
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Left: Mark Aleman and his team attending a Legislative Breakfast Update with Representative Randy Frese
Right: Michelle McConnell meeting with Senator Jason Barickman
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UPCOMING EVENTS & PROGRAMS
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IHLAEF Seminar: Employment Law
May 23, 2019
Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel
 Join IHLA for an educational seminar with Robert T. Bernstein, Partner at Laner Muchin, Ltd. discussing
key labor and employment topics to help best protect your hotels including: An update on more recent Illinois, Cook County and Chicago employment laws; important wage and hour developments and trends; and major employment cases and rulings affecting your hotels.
Hospitality Awards Luncheon
In Conjunction with the National Restaurant Association Show
May 21, 2019
McCormick Place South
Honoring the Recipients of the IHLA J. Patrick Leahy Lifetime Achievement Award
Marc J. Gordon
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Arnie F. Karr
And the Recipients of the Ambassador of Hospitality Awards
Holly Agra, President, Chicago's First Lady Cruises
Anthony Klok, Principal, Rebel Hospitality, LLC & 2019 Board Chairman, BW Hotels & Resorts
Master of Ceremonies: Lauren Magiera, WGN Sports Reporter/Anchor
IHLAEF Webinar: Legislative Session Recap
 June 6, 2019 | 10:00-11:00am CDT
Illinois' legislative session is scheduled to conclude on May 31. Join IHLA for a recap of this year's session including what bills passed and what bills didn't. Learn what you need to know in terms of new requirements and regulations for hotels.
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Illinois Hotel & Tourism News
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Welcome New Hotel Members
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320 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60601
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1600 N Main St
Normal, IL 61761
GM: Kalpesh Joshi
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Welcome New Strategic Partner & Allied Members
 USI, named a top 10 insurance broker in the U.S. by Business Insurance, provides property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk and retirement solutions. USI brings broad and deep expertise to the hotel industry by leveraging their USI One proprietary platform. They work to understand the specific challenges that your company faces to provide relevant and meaningful solutions that show actionable and measurable financial impact so you can focus on growing your business.
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 Able Services is America's largest family-owned provider of Janitorial, Engineering, and Facility solutions. Since 1926, Able has consistently delivered world-class service at a competitive value, thereby achieving significant cost savings and efficiencies for our clients.
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 First Mid Insurance Group is an independent insurance agency that has been in the risk management business for over 100 years. They assess your needs and offer a variety of insurance products and services including property & casualty, worker's compensation, EPLI, cyber, crime and D&O coverage.
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 Prairie State Gaming is one of the largest, most respected video gaming terminal operators in Illinois. They are the only one with the financial strength to quickly roll out your games, to back them with the best-in-class support, and the experience to operate in a highly regulated environment.
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IHLA & HHRA Give Back for Mother's Day
In honor of Mother's Day, Illinois Women in Lodging (I-WIL) and Hotel Human Resources Association of Chicago (HHRA) members joined together on May 2nd to help women in area homeless shelters and domestic violence survivors living in transitional housing by donating toiletries, shampoos, soaps and other necessities and assembling gift bags with inspirational messages. 60 helpers from 45 Chicago area hotels participated, and over 700 bags were then distributed by The Night Ministry and
the Domestic Violence Division of the Chicago Police Department.
Thank you to all who contributed to this community initiative!
AHLA Safety Summit
IHLA Board Members, John Wells & Doug Dean, and IHLA President & CEO, Michael Jacobson, speaking on a panel at AHLA's Safety Summit providing insights on implementing employee safety device mandates.
IHLAEF Scholar Spotlight
Congrats to IHLAEF Alumni Scholarship Winner, Andrew Wurtz, on his recent recognition at Marriott as Manager of the Quarter after finishing at 167% to goal! Andrew says he is honored to work for a company that values hard work and dedication and that he couldn't have done it without the support from IHLA. We are thrilled to hear another success story from one of our impressive scholars!
Featured Member
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