Vote could make Boone budget public - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Boone County residents may be hours away from getting their first glimpse at what could be the county’s fiscal year 2010 budget.

Included in the budget are 3 percent raises for nonunion employees and wage freezes for select department heads, including those from the Highway Department, Health Department, assessor’s office, Planning Department and County Administrator Ken Terrinoni.

Click on the following for more details:  Vote could make Boone budget public - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Manzullo unveils jobs plan

What is new here?

Republican Don Manzullo says he'd both cut taxes and end burdensome regulations he says stifle entrepreneurs.

His other proposals include increasing the meals and entertainment tax deduction for small businesses to 80 percent. He also wants to make it easier for small businesses to band together to purchase health insurance at more affordable group rates

Click on the following for more details:  Manzullo unveils jobs plan - - BusinessRockford.com

Illinois treasurer sets date to auction hotel

Dec. 14-- offer of the state-run facility could end nearly 30 years of notoriety as a hotel built with a state loan to politically connected investors who had fallen $30 million behind in paying the debt.

Click on the following for more details:  Illinois treasurer sets date to auction hotel - Kansas City Star

Nursing home safety: Task force hears, voices concern about housing mentally ill felons in facilities -- chicagotribune.com

that found government, law enforcement and the nursing home industry have failed to manage the younger residents who shuttle into the facilities from jail cells, shelters and psychiatric wards.

Nancy Flowers, a regional state ombudsman who handles patient abuse complaints in Evanston, said crimes within nursing homes are not always reported to police -- and police reports are rarely shared with the state inspectors who monitor the facilities.

Click on the following for more details:  Nursing home safety: Task force hears, voices concern about housing mentally ill felons in facilities -- chicagotribune.com

Teen driver deaths decline sharply in Illinois

Experts attribute drop to tougher laws and the recession

32 drivers ages 16 to 19 were killed in the first nine months of this year. That number is less than half the total teen driver deaths, 69, in the first nine months of 2007, the year before Illinois adopted sweeping changes in graduated driver licensing (GDL).

tripling the length of time for a learner's permit, tougher passenger restrictions and extended night-driving limits. Another measure raised the age at which teen drivers can use cell phones behind the wheel from 18 to 19.

Click on the following for more details:  Teen driver deaths decline sharply in Illinois -- chicagotribune.com

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