• Posted: April 7, 2021
• better communities

Last year brought unprecedented challenges and upheaval to nearly every sector of the economy, including the construction and union electrical industry in Chicago and Cook County. In order to fulfill the industry’s commitment to Better Construction, Better Careers, and Better Communities, Powering Chicago’s members led efforts to help their neighbors get the essentials needed to stay safe, continued to work on Chicagoland’s critical infrastructure products, developed programs to ensure businesses and its employees can safely return to the office place, and even lit up the Chicago sky during the holidays.

Today, as we mark just over One Year Later since the pandemic changed the way we live, Powering Chicago’s commitment to its core principles has never been stronger.

Powering Chicago electricians and member contractors have charged into 2021 by tackling projects that directly meet the challenges we face today. From retrofitting building automation in Oak Brook to building out a new state-of-the-art Cancer Center at Rush University Hospital to ensuring Chicago’s commitment to a greener future with all-electric buses have the charging stations needed, Powering Chicago continues to help Chicago get back on track.

Following the success of its Contactless Office campaign in 2020 that details how businesses and building managers can make it as safe as possible for employees to return to work, Powering Chicago has recently launched a new tool aimed at ensuring Chicagoland residents can safely enjoy their dining experiences. Back to Business: A Guide to Safely Reopening Chicagoland Restaurants with Increased Capacity, is a new ebook for restaurant owners and general managers with solutions to help businesses thrive while staying healthy and safe during COVID-19. The book details considerations that restaurants should take to make outdoor dining as safe as possible. These include whether to utilize individual heat huts or larger outdoor tents, making sure they have the ability to provide electric heating to patrons outdoors, and installing technologies like air filtration systems and UV lighting for indoor dining.

None of Powering Chicago’s work could be done without the continued dedication from its members. That’s why throughout Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March, Powering Chicago spent time highlighting some of its members that continue to push the industry forward. Whether it was the leap of faith Shon Harris and Angela Drexel took when starting LiveWire Construction, or Michael Evans’ rise from apprentice to Managing Member of Evans Electric, LLC, to the dedication Russell Ponder and Maurice King have in making the industry better than it was when they entered, Powering Chicago’s African American members have continued to push the industry to new heights.

In March, Powering Chicago’s Moran Electric has highlighted for nearly three decades of female leadership thanks to a “let’s see how this works out for us” mentality from Eileen Moran and her husband, Jim. Today, after almost 27 years, Moran Electric is still going strong. Another influential member of Powering Chicago and IBEW Local 134 is Carole Pollitz, who started her career in the industry in 1986 when a friend suggested she check out the electrical apprenticeship program. That nudge by a friend has resulted in a successful career for Pollitz with stops as a journeyperson electrician, instructor at the IBEW-NECA Technical Institute, and an IBEW Local 134 Business Agent.

The end of the year’s first quarter also brought two new partnerships into the fold. In an effort to increase the industry’s visibility and continue its charitable contributions to Chicago and Cook County residents and businesses, Powering Chicago has partnered with Comcast Sports Net and Marquee Network during the 2021 baseball season for in-game commercials on Cubs and White Sox TV broadcasts. These new agreements, in addition to ongoing partnerships with the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bears, provide Powering Chicago a partner to help advance the industry’s commitment to Better Communities.

The first three months of 2021 have continued many of the challenges from 2020, but union electricians and contractors have shown the grit needed to continue moving the industry forward. Powering Chicago’s members are the backbone to the industry’s successes and commitment to its core principles, and as we mark One Year Later, Chicago’s union electricians and contractors continue to invest every day in Better Construction, Better Careers, and Better Communities.