Easter Seals works to help Illinois veterans find jobs

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Veterans Day is coming up, and groups are focusing on helping our service members after their duty is done. Easter Seals has been helping individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives for nearly 100 years.

Now the group is helping to show the transferrable skills of military personnel into civilian jobs. More than half of separating post-9/11 veterans will face a period of unemployment with Illinois facing higher veteran unemployment rates than the national average.

Recent reports show that 9/11 veterans' jobless rate has improved only slightly from 6.9 percent in 2014 to 6.5 percent in 2015. Illinois is already home to the 10th largest veteran population and by 2017, nearly 90,000 additional post 9/11 veterans will be living in the Land of Lincoln and looking for jobs.

President and CEO of Easter Seals, Randy Rutta, sat down with ABC7 to talk about the issues facing our veterans