Crain's Chicago Business reports:
Recent grads may think their biggest challenge will be landing full-time employment, but some Illinois professionals are finding it's even tougher to get their hands on a piece of paper that allows them to do their job.
The state's professional regulation department is short 25 percent of its staff due to retirements and transfers. This has led to delays in licensures in some industries, particularly massage therapy and cosmetology, which hamper employers and new hires alike.
Matt Kemp, who co-owns a Massage Envy franchise in north suburban Niles, says some of his recently graduated therapists are waiting more than three months to receive the license required to legally touch a client—and therefore to earn a paycheck. In one extreme case, he says, a therapist who spent several months in limbo wound up living in her car.
Massage Envy, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has ballooned to more than 1,000 locations since its launch in 2002, including 37 in Illinois. The company says it could hire 200 therapists in Illinois immediately if licensed candidates were available.
Since opening his franchise in August, Mr. Kemp says his location has turned away 125 potential clients because it didn't have the resources to accommodate them. That translates to about $10,000 in lost revenue, not to mention potential long-term client relationships.
What could be worse?
a therapist who spent several months in limbo wound up living in her car.
The great moments of the regulatory state.
