Economic Opportunity

              Welcome to our new
E-newsletter!
We’re taking advantage of the
tools technology offers us to
keep you up-to-date on the
programs offered through our
Economic Development Divi-sion
and how they can best
benefit you and your business.
Through our E-newsletter,
we’ll share new programs that
are being developed, as well
as changes to our programs
and success stories. We’ll
also talk about other pro-grams
of the State Treasurer’s
Office and how they’re working
for the people of Illinois. We
welcome your comments and
suggestions and look forward to
hearing from you!
Welcome from Illinois State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka
News from the Field- $12,500 in Scholarships Awarded
In cooperation with Flanagan
State Bank our office recently
funded Myles Harston’s AquaR-anch
through the Agriculture
and Alternative Agriculture
Loan Program. AquaRanch,
located in Flanagan, Illinois is an
organic aquaponic greenhouse
that grows both Talapia fish and
Genevese Basil. This value-added
agriculture project em-ployees
four full-time employ-ees.
The uniqueness of this
project is that the fish provide
the nutrients in the water,
which feed the basil plants. The
basil plants act as a filter to
clean the water for the fish.
This system is a symbiotic rela-tionship
between fish and plants.
This type of value-added agricul-ture
is a perfect example of how
a project becomes a reality
through the use of low interest
financing available through the
State Treasurer’s Agriculture
and Alternative Agriculture loan
program.
ILLINOIS STATE FAIR
The 2005 Illinois State Fair is all
but a memory…but a good
memory at that! Agriculture
Day at the 2005 Illinois State
Fair is always a favorite time for
Treasurer Topinka. Our day
began by honoring five young
agriculture students that were
chosen to receive a $2,500
scholarship designated for high
school seniors who wish to
pursue a degree in an agricul-ture
related field of study. The
Excellence in Agriculture Schol-arship
Program Awards Break-fast
held on Ag Day, gave these
students a chance to meet
Treasurer Topinka and network
with agriculture industry lead-ers.
The 2005 Scholarship Winners
include: Daniel Lepper from
Ashland, Illinois; Wm. Travis
Meteer from Blue Mound, Illi-nois;
Andrea Steele from Mar-seilles,
Illinois; Andrew DeSutter
from Woodhull, Illinois and
Michelle Milstead from Delavan,
Illinois.
ILLINOIS
STATE
TREASURER
Volume 1, Issue 1 September 15, 2005
SPRINGFIELD OFFICE
Cory Jobe
217-557-6436
cjobe@treasurer.state.il.us
Christie Sullivan
217-557-6436
csullivan@treasurer.state.il.us
Mindy Varley
217-558-6215
mvarley@treasurer.state.il.us
David C. Freeman
217-558-6222
dfreeman@treasurer.state.il.us
CHICAGO OFFICE
John Hoffman
312-814-1244
jhoffman@treasurer.state.il.us
John Cieslik
312-814-1788
jcieslik@treasurer.state.il.us
Michael Smith
312-814-8951
msmith@treasurer.state.il.us
Inside This Issue
Business Leaders
Agriculture Loans
Alternative
Agriculture
Small Business
Our Own Home
Smart Women
Smart Money
We’re on the web @
www.state.il.us/treas/
Office of the Illinois State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka
Division of Economic Opportunity
Springfield Office Chicago Office
300 West Jefferson Street 100 West Randolph, Suite 15-600
Springfield, IL 62702 Chicago, IL 60601
Fax 217-557-6439 Fax 314-814-3716