Governor Quinn, AT&T Announce 200 New Jobs Across Illinois

CHICAGO – Governor Pat Quinn today joined AT&T Illinois to announce the communications company’s plans to create about 200 new jobs across Illinois. The jobs include retail staff and technicians. With unemployment at its lowest point in almost five years, today’s announcement is a part of Governor Quinn’s agenda to create more jobs and drive Illinois’ economy forward.

“Illinois is a technology hub for the nation and we’re thrilled that AT&T is creating 200 new jobs in our state,” Governor Quinn said. “As Illinois’ economy continues making a comeback from the worst recession since the Great Depression, AT&T’s commitment to Illinois and our workers is another step forward.”

“With these new jobs, Illinois and AT&T are moving forward together,” AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza said. “Through Project Velocity IP (Internet Protocol), AT&T has invested billions in Illinois over the past few years and through it we plan to invest even more in our wired and wireless broadband networks to help our customers get the most out of the internet economy of today and tomorrow. As consumer demand drives the transition to broadband communications infrastructure, modern policies are essential to allow Illinois to enjoy the full economic benefits of the broadband world.”

The new jobs will be located in cities throughout Illinois, including Chicago, Aurora, Elgin, Buffalo Grove, Northbrook, Libertyville, Champaign and Springfield. AT&T currently employs more than 14,000 workers in Illinois. Those interested in learning more about AT&T job opportunities or seeking to apply online can visit www.att.jobs.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 21 (IBEW 21) President - Business Manager Paul Wright said he is pleased to see AT&T creating more jobs in Illinois. “Our partnership with AT&T to get updates to Illinois’ communication law solidifies our relationship and demonstrates our Union’s commitment to work with AT&T to create more union jobs while bringing broadband communications to more customers in Illinois,” Wright said.

"We're pleased to learn about these new Union job opportunities at AT&T," Linda Hinton, Vice President of Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 4, said. “These Union jobs are important to working families in Illinois.”

AT&T invested nearly $4 billion in its wired and wireless networks in Illinois between January 2010 and July 2013. Through Project Velocity IP, AT&T is expanding its 4G LTE wireless network ? a superfast mobile broadband network ? to cover 300 million people by the end of 2014.

Since recovery from the recession began in January 2010, Illinois has added 280,000 private sector jobs. Unemployment was at 11.3 percent at the height of the Great Recession and today it is at its lowest point in almost five years. Since last May, Illinois has led the Midwest in new jobs created. According to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, in the next six months Illinois is projected to have the best economic growth of the five largest states in America.

In his 2014 State of the State address, Governor Quinn laid out a five-year blueprint for jobs and economic growth in Illinois. The Governor's blueprint calls for three key things: creating more jobs, making early childhood education a top priority and building an economy that works for everyone.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV service with the AT&T U-verse? brand. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/aboutus or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.