By State Senator Mike Halpin

Labor Day is traditionally an opportunity to recognize the generations of working men and women whose skill, sacrifice and determination built our communities. This year, that recognition carries a particularly difficult meaning in Western Illinois.

Just weeks before Labor Day, Tyson Foods abruptly closed its beef processing facility in Joslin, putting roughly 2,500 people out of work with virtually no notice. The announcement was devastating for the employees and families who depended on those jobs, but the consequences extend well beyond the plant. Farmers, truck drivers, suppliers, small businesses and communities throughout the Quad Cities region will feel the impact.

Many of these workers spent years — even decades — helping make that facility successful. They went to work every day, supported their families and contributed to our local economy. They deserved better than to have their livelihoods disappear almost overnight.

My immediate priority has been making sure these workers and their families have access to every resource available to them. I have been working with my legislative colleagues, the Governor’s Office and state agencies to identify employment assistance, workforce training and other services while also looking at the broader economic consequences of the closure. State officials are reviewing notification requirements, mobilizing safety-net and employment-transition services and planning rapid-response efforts for displaced workers.

This needs to be a bipartisan, regional effort. We must help workers find new opportunities as quickly as possible while exploring every reasonable option for the future of the Joslin site and minimizing the damage to agriculture and other businesses that depended on the plant.

That challenge also demonstrates why economic development investments throughout Western Illinois are so important.

Recently, we announced more than $7 million through the state’s Regional Site Readiness Program for projects in our area. East Moline is receiving $5 million for sewer infrastructure serving a 50-acre industrial site, the Galesburg Sanitary District is receiving $1.9 million for infrastructure serving a 90-acre industrial site, and Rock Island is receiving $120,000 for environmental studies and planning at a 53-acre industrial site. These investments help communities compete for employers and create the infrastructure necessary to attract future jobs.

Our region is also benefiting from major transportation investments. Thirteen Rebuild Illinois projects in the Illinois Quad Cities represent more than $1 billion in improvements to roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure. Good infrastructure creates construction jobs today while laying the foundation for economic activity tomorrow.

We are investing in people as well. Five organizations in the 36th District recently received more than $320,000 for adult literacy, workplace skills and related programs, including Augustana College, Black Hawk College, Regional Office of Education 33, Western Illinois University and World Relief Quad Cities. These programs help people strengthen the skills they need to pursue new opportunities.

I was also proud to see several final pieces of legislation from this spring signed into law as summer came to a close. One measure I sponsored strengthens procedures for protecting companion animals seized in cruelty cases, giving prosecutors additional time to seek permanent forfeiture while cases proceed. Another new law I sponsored protects the constitutional and academic rights of students and faculty at Illinois colleges and universities, reinforcing free expression, academic freedom and the independence of our public institutions of higher education.

Those accomplishments matter, but right now my thoughts remain especially with the Tyson workers and their families.

Labor Day may have passed, but our responsibility to working people doesn’t end with a holiday. Western Illinois has endured economic challenges before, and our communities have responded by working together. We will do that again — supporting displaced workers, strengthening our infrastructure, pursuing new employers and doing everything possible to ensure this setback does not define our region’s future.

As always, my offices in Rock Island and Galesburg remain available to assist residents with state programs, agencies and constituent services. Thank you for the continued privilege of serving Western Illinois in the Illinois Senate.