Metro-East Labor leaders named to Port District board

Springfield, IL – Two Metro-East Labor leaders were appointed to the Kaskaskia Regional Port District Board by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, pending Senate confirmation.

Mark Chatham, a journeyman member of Steamfitters Local 439, and Ron Kaempfe, the longtime business manager of Operating Engineers Local 520, now retired, were tapped to serve.

The district’s mission is to promote economic development in St. Clair, Monroe and Randolph counties with projects involving shipping, recreation, ecological assets and water resources along the Kaskaskia River.

Kaempfe was president of the Southwestern Illinois Building & Trades Council before he retired, and Chatham is president of that group’s delegate council.

Kaempfe is a graduate of Chester High School in Chester, IL. Chatham previously worked as a journeyman in Carpenters Local 169, and he graduated from Belleville Township East High School.

THE PORT DISTRICT
The Kaskaskia Regional Port District was created by the legislature in 1965 to be the local economic development group focused on Monroe, Randolph and the southern half of St. Clair counties.

It is authorized to promote multi-modal shipping by developing ports, water lines and roads, and it also deals with fish and wildlife, recreation, water supply, flood control, safety and homeland security.