The department says it expects more than 100 Chicago-area businesses to send representatives to the four-hour job fair.
High numbers of veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars have had trouble finding work when they leave the service. Unemployment rates among veterans have been consistently higher than for the population in general the past few years.
In its announcement, the department says veterans should come to the fair dressed appropriately and with resumes.
The fair will be at The Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue starting at 9 a.m.
MEDIA ADVISORY Governor Quinn Joins U.S. Chamber for Hiring Our Heroes Veteran and Military Spouse Jobs Fair in Chicago
More Than 1,000 Job Seekers and 130 Employers Expected to Participate CHICAGO, IL-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Chamber Foundation will host "-Hiring Our Heroes Chicago http://uschamber.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?13595x1978378x780389 a job fair for veterans and military spouses. Governor Pat Quinn and Chicagoland Chamber CEO Jerry Roper will be among the guests attending. More than 1,000 job seekers and 130 employers are expected to attend.
Also on March 28, Hiring Our Heroes will host a veterans job fair aboard the USS Intrepid in New York City, a military spouse fair in Fort Hood, TX, and a global Military.com virtual hiring fair. Hiring Our Heroes was launched in March, 2011 with a goal of hosting 100 hiring fairs in local communities across the country in the first year. After meeting the goal ahead of schedule, the program is expanding to 400 fairs in its second year. To date, the fairs have connected more than 100,000 veterans and military spouses with more than 5,000 different employers. More than 8,500 of them have landed jobs.
The hiring event is being conducted in partnership with Capital One, TODAY, NBC News, Governor Pat Quinn, the Office of Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, Senator Mark Kirk, Representative Judy Biggert, the Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Services (DOL VETS), the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), Illinois Department of Employment Security, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Student Veterans of America, and Operation Support our Troops.
