Today marks the one year anniversary that Illinois Democrats passed a 67% tax hike on individuals and a 46% tax hike on employers during a lame duck session of the Illinois General Assembly. State Representative Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) remembers the Democrats’ vote as the hours dwindled late into the night.
Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday issued an outline of his likely budget for the next fiscal year. It won't be pretty.
Most state operations should expect a 9 percent reduction in the next budget, Quinn warned, and "further and larger reductions are needed to stabilize Medicaid costs."
The Illinois Recycling Association announces a ban on the disposal of electronics in Illinois landfills as of January 1, 2012. This is in accordance with a new Illinois State Law SB2106 (P.A. 97-0287), signed by Governor Quinn in August 2011, that has drastically limited the types of items that can be disposed in landfills.
Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation that will improve the quality of life for Illinois’ Veterans. Senate Bill 1587, sponsored by Sen. Antonio Munoz (D-Chicago) and Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago), and Senate Bill 40, sponsored by Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Highwood) and Rep. Lisa Dugan (D-Kankakee), make it easier for Veterans to gain access to employment and health care.
“The men and women who have courageously defended our democracy overseas should not return home only to fight for necessities like jobs and health insurance,” said Governor Quinn. “We owe it to our Veterans to make their transition to civilian life as seamless as possible.”
Senate Bill 1587 makes it easier for Veterans to become members of the Illinois State Police (ISP). Under the new law, education requirements will be waived for individuals who have been honorably discharged with a campaign medal after serving in Afghanistan or Iraq. On average, a servicemember serves three to four years before being discharged, and that experience makes Veterans particularly valuable assets to the ISP.
State Representative Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) along with members of the House Republican Caucus today offered a broad-based approach to keeping good employers and making Illinois more competitive for jobs through legislation to accelerate a roll-back of the temporary corporate income tax hike passed by Democrats in January.
U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) announced on Tuesday that he would not seek re-election to Congress in 2012.
"It has been a privilege and an honor to serve in the U.S. Congress for the past 23 years,'' Costello said. "I said when I was elected in 1988, and many times since, that I did not intend to stay in Congress forever as I had other interests that I wanted to pursue."
Costello made his announcement at the Paul Simon Federal Building in Carbondale, shortly after making a similar announcement on Tuesday in Cahokia.
Gov. Pat Quinn's administration will an appeal an arbitrator's ruling that Quinn violated a labor agreement when the governor decided to lay off nearly 2,000 state employees and shutter seven state facilities, including the Jacksonville Developmental Center and the Logan Correctional Center.
The ruling, issued Monday by arbitrator Edward Benn, is the latest legal blow for the Quinn administration. Benn also ruled against the administration when it decided to cancel pay raises for thousands of union workers in July.
An independent third-party arbitrator has ruled that the State of Illinois is violating the terms of a collective bargaining agreement by laying off more than 1,900 state employees and closing seven state facilities, including three psychiatric hospitals, two developmental centers, a prison and a juvenile detention center.
In a binding opinion and award issued this morning [click to view/download PDF], arbitrator Edwin Benn found:
“In 2010, the State of Illinois and AFSCME Council 31 entered into a series of concession-granting agreements in which the union agreed to reduce the state’s financial obligations under the parties’ 2008-2012 collective bargaining agreement by approximately $400,000,000. In return for those concessions agreed to by the union and the employees, the state guaranteed that no employees represented by the union would be laid off through June 30, 2012 and … there would be no closures of state facilities prior to July 1, 2012. …
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced today his office has implemented technology upgrades that eliminate the use of Safe Driver Renewal stickers and, instead, drivers that qualify for and take advantage of the Safe Driver Renewal program will receive an updated driver license card through the mail.
Citing difficult challenges ahead for the state and the region, State Senator Dave Luechtefeld (R-Okawville) announced today he will seek reelection to the Illinois Senate from the 58th District.
"I have been proud to represent the people of the 58th District for the past 16 years. We now face some of the most difficult challenges ever. I know the people of this district and I think they know and trust me," Luechtefeld said.
Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation to help the trucking industry operate more efficiently in Illinois. The new law requires local governments to provide the most up-to-date truck route information for the Illinois Department of Transportation to post online.
New Law Allows Parents to Relinquish Newborns to University and State Police
Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation to help protect good Samaritans who provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a person having a heart attack or suffering cardiac arrest. Governor Quinn signed House Bill 1549, which amends the Good Samaritan Act in order to provide liability protection to individuals who are trained in CPR in accordance with either American Red Cross or American Heart Association standards.
More than 300,000 people suffer sudden cardiac arrest in the U.S. every year. According to the American Heart Association, less than 8 percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive. CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest by a trained bystander can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.
A decision by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to slash away at the budget lawmakers sent him for the new fiscal year could have a big impact on school districts, including Murphysboro Unit #186.
Quinn cut $376.4 million from the budget sent to him by lawmakers. Among those cuts was money earmarked for school transportation.
For the Murphysboro school district, that means a cut of approximately $750,000 to $800,000.
The Illinois State Board of Education announced today it has approved 13 schools to receive $74.9 million over the next three fiscal years in federal School Improvement Grant funds to dramatically improve education among some of the lowest achieving schools in the state. The schools were selected after a rigorous application and review process that included participation from state and national experts, teachers, parents and community members.
There's no reason to celebrate Rod Blagojevich's conviction on 17 of 20 counts in his federal corruption trial. We should lament what could have been.
Blagojevich campaigned on a promise of ending business as usual, then did the same kind of shady business that got six of his predecessors in legal trouble. He promised to clean up government, but wound up making it even dirtier. He promised to improve life for the hardworking people of Illinois, but instead he increased the state's deficits, failed to create enough jobs and watched as the state's roads crumbled.
THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROCESS
Following a disaster declaration by the President, FEMA makes disaster assistance available to eligible applicants.
APPLICANTS' BRIEFING
An applicants' briefing is a meeting conducted by a State representative for potential public assistance applicants. The briefing occurs after an emergency or major disaster has been declared and addresses application procedures, administrative requirements, funding, and program eligibility criteria.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to Illinois to supplement the state and local recovery efforts in the area by severe storms occurring on April 19, 2011, and April 22 to May 2, 2011, and flooding resulting from those storms beginning on April 19, 2011, and continuing.
The 2011 spring legislative season for the Illinois House of Representatives has come to a close, according to State Representative Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro).
“We had a lot of good accomplishments this year. There was a real bi-partisan effort on the budget and education reforms. I wish we could have had the same level of bi-partisanship when it came to redistricting and workers compensation though,” Rep. Bost said.
The 24th River to River Relay will be run on Saturday, April 16th, 2011. The field of 250 teams from 15 different states filled in less than 5 minutes last October when on-line registration began and there are more than 60 teams currently on the waiting list. The 2011 Relay Information Book can be found at the following location on the relay website: http://rrr.olm.net/links/news.html
