May 30, 2007

Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony and hosted an open house Wednesday to officially mark the opening of his Mt. Vernon satellite office.

The Mt. Vernon office is the first satellite office operated by the State Treasurer’s Office, which has existing offices in Springfield and Chicago.

“By opening an office in Mt. Vernon, the Treasurer’s Office will better connect with Southern Illinois residents,” Giannoulias said. “This office will act as a one-stop shop for all of our programs and services.”

The Mt. Vernon office will promote the various consumer-related programs offered by the Treasurer’s Office and provide constituent services to residents and organizations south of Interstate 70. The new Treasurer’s office is located in the Municipal West Building, 200 Potomac Boulevard.

“The City of Mt. Vernon is honored to be the site for the new Illinois Treasurer’s satellite office,” said Mt. Vernon Mayor Mary Jane Chesley. “Southern Illinois residents, communities and organizations will now have an enhanced, personal communication link with the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office. We are looking forward to an effective utilization of this facility.”

The Treasurer’s Office offers several programs and services that benefit the lives of Illinois residents. The Bright Start College Savings program helps families save for college. The “Our Own Home” program backs mortgages to borrowers with low credit scores and protects against foreclosure.

In addition, the Treasurer’s Employ, Opportunity and Cultivate Illinois programs offer discount loans to better serve the community. The loans help businesses develop, non-profit services expand, individuals improve their lives, and farmers grow the economy.

“With the cost of college education going up and foreclosures on the rise, I hope having a personal connection to the Treasurer’s Office will encourage Southern Illinois residents to take advantage of all the financial advice and assistance the Treasurer’s Office has to offer,” said State Sen. John O. Jones (R-Mt. Vernon).

The Treasurer’s Office also provides schools with Bank At School financial literacy curriculum and runs seminars for youths and adults on money management skills. Nearly 700 students per week are reached by Bank at School during the year, with hundreds more state residents attending financial seminars each month.

“I appreciate the Treasurer’s outreach in Southern Illinois. Too often, elected officials forget about the Southern part of the state,” said State Rep. Kurt Granberg (D-Carlyle).

Former Carbondale City Council member Sheila Simon said the office illustrates Giannoulias’ commitment to the state.

“Alexi continues to show his passion for public service,” said Simon, a law professor at Southern Illinois University. “By opening an office in Southern Illinois, he will be able to serve us even better.”

During the open house, Treasurer Giannoulias awarded the first of five Excellence in Agriculture Scholarships. Miranda Morgan of Salem in Marion County was selected by a panel of agriculture experts earlier this month to receive a $2,500 Bright Start account. She plans to study agriculture business at Rend Lake College in the fall and will be honored with other scholarship recipients in August at the Illinois State Fair.

The Treasurer’s Mt. Vernon office will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. A Cash Dash computer will also be available so residents can search the state’s online database to determine if the state owes them any unclaimed property or cash.

To learn more about the Treasurer’s Office and the programs it offers, visit www.treasurer.il.gov or call the Mt. Vernon office at (618) 244-8369.