SOUTH HOLLAND | Job seekers packed Living Hope Community Church on Tuesday for a job fair featuring employers ranging from the Chicago Police Department to Avon.

The church has partnered with Empower to Succeed Network in hosting a job fair for the last five years. ETS Program Manager Stanley Martin, who expected at least 500 people to attend, said the idea developed from resources he gathered from his own experiences looking for a job.

"We want to share that information with the community," he said.

Representatives of the Cook County Bureau of Human Resources were on hand to notify attendees of new postings for county jobs such in areas such as accounting, administrative assistance and systems analysts.

Cook County Recruiter Gloster Richardson said one of the reasons the county sends representatives to career fairs is because a lot of people don't know where the county headquarters is located.

"We bring the county to the community instead of the community coming to the county," he said.

The Chicago Police Department was represented at the fair, informing potential recruitments of the requirements in lieu of an upcoming police test.

"Interest has picked up because of the economy," Officer John Halko said.

George Gordon, of Sauk Village, checked out the CPD booth and others. Recently unemployed, Gordon said he's been to about 30 job fairs in the Midwest.

"It's tough but you don't want to give up," he said. "You need a job."

Echoing those thoughts was Megan McGuffey, of Steger, who said she has been applying for positions through online services like snagajob.com.

"I just want a job anywhere right now," she said.