STRASBOURG, France -- Europe's court of human rights ruled Tuesday the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious and education freedoms under the continent's rights convention.
European court: No crucifixes in Italian schools :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: World
Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act requires contractors to furnish customers with written contracts for any repair or remodeling work costing more than $1,000. This contract must be signed by both the customer and the contractor.
The law also requires that contractors carry at least minimum amounts of insurance
Click on the following for more details: The Belvidere Daily Republican. - State’s attorney issues scam alert
2008 Illinois was the fourth-largest hog and pig producer in the country, and DeKalb County ranked number two in hog and pig production within the state
announcement last Thursday that it intends to lift a ban on U.S. pork imports in effect since May.
concerns about the H1N1 virus last spring, commonly dubbed "swine flu," caused several countries, including China, to shut down U.S. pork imports
Russia, another top importer of U.S. pork that banned the meat due to the flu outbreak, also loosened some of its restrictions in October,
Click on the following for more details: Farmers: China's lifting of pork ban 'positive' | Daily Chronicle
Board voted 13-10 against a Feb. 2 advisory referendum on the issue, killing what proponents said was the best way to inform leaders where the public stood in expanding gambling into local businesses.
questioned whether the vote would be worth spending $17,000 to put a question on the ballot only to learn that voters are as narrowly split as the board.
board members now will turn their attention to a likely Dec. 1 vote on an ordinance banning video gambling from the about 45 restaurants, bars and other eligible businesses
The embattled developer of downtown’s Block 37 site said today it has signed 13 new retailers for the project, which is scheduled to open later this month.
Bank of America has filed a foreclosure suit and asked that a judge appoint a receiver to take the project from Freed’s control. A hearing on the request is scheduled for Nov. 20.
Click on the following for more details on this famous Chicago site and its history :http://www.studio1304.com/webcam/
For more details on the foreclosure/current events go to: Developer: Block 37 site has 13 new retailers :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Business
consumer group is calling for US authorities to mandate “auto-reverse functions” on power windows, which can sense when the window hits an obstacle and immediately stop the window from closing.
research, conducted via phone and online surveys, was commissioned by KidsAndCars.org and administered by the research firm Harris Interactive. It found that more than 13 million US adults have injured someone they know by closing a power window on them. It also found that 10 million people had been injured by a closing power window but did not seek medical assistance and were therefore not included in administration statistics.
Click on the following for more of the story: Power windows can kill and injure kids, says report
the issue of Ryan’s long friendship with, and financial connections to, GOP insider Stuart Levine, who was convicted of federal money laundering charges for his ties to Blagojevich fixer Antoin “Tony” Rezko.
Levine has testified that he and Rezko worked together to fleece investment firms that wanted to do business with the state, using their Blago connections as leverage. Levine also admitted to leading a double life steeped in drugs.
Levine was close friends with Ryan since law school, had Ryan stand up at his wedding, and would go on to become Ryan’s biggest political contributor, giving him more than $700,000 over the years.
Ill. gov. candidate Jim Ryan’s kickoff shadowed by Rezko figure | Political Fix | STLtoday
The following names are taken from the Illinois Dilinquent Taxpayers List 2009/2010, available at: https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/idti/servlet/IDTServlet?_CWSKEY=9491731281257304664017&_CWSREQ=2167342#
AXIS MEDIA SERVICES INC
11831 GALLOWAY LN
BELVIDERE, IL 61008-7176
President of Record
MARC J MCKINNEY 11/02/2009 (date of publication) Withholding(Type)
Mar 2008 (Liability date)
$10,070.16 (amount)
BOLIN, MICHAEL G. & LYNDA M.
1012 E 6TH ST
BELVIDERE, IL 61008-4591
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2006
$19,092.14
CHAPMAN, CAROL
1716 13TH AVE
BELVIDERE, IL 61008-5836
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2002
$2,524.74
CHAPMAN, DANIEL G.
1716 13TH AVE
BELVIDERE, IL 61008-5836
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2002
E JAKUPI CORP
1331 BROOKHILL CLOSE
ROCKFORD, IL 61108-1503
11/02/2009 Sales
Feb 2008
$23,995.78
GRAHAM, DANIEL
11120 OLD RIVER RD
ROCKTON, IL 61072-9466
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2001
$29,638.23
HUDSON, CHARLES H.
3308 LOUISE ST
ROCKFORD, IL 61103-3023
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 1999
$23,250.00
JOYNER, WILLIAM W.
3423 SEWARD AVE
ROCKFORD, IL 61108-7550
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2000
$38,117.80
KOSTANTACOS, GREGORY
18683 CALEDONIA RD
CALEDONIA, IL 61011-9233
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2004
$17,465.48
LIND, LULA R.
10469 US HIGHWAY 20
GARDEN PRAIRIE, IL 61038-9522
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2004
$28,698.97
LUAN ROCKFORD LLC
4823 CROFTON DR
ROCKFORD, IL 61114-5493
11/02/2009 Withholding Sales
Dec 2007
Dec 2007
$3,347.02
$6,725.90
Total: $10,072.92
SUAREZ, MARK
11305 US HIGHWAY 20
GARDEN PRAIRIE, IL 61038-9464
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2005
$24,143.16
WHITE, CLARENCE R.
PO BOX 105
PECATONICA, IL 61063-0105
11/02/2009 Individual
Dec 2007
$22,232.19
24-year-old Crystal Lake man, charged with home invasion, extended his middle finger as he was being sworn in before Judge G. Martin Zopp on Saturday.
At that point, a bailiff hustled him out of the courtroom, but Assistant State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally stepped forward and asked on behalf of the state that Kellett be held in direct criminal contempt.
The judge agreed, and gave Kellett six months, according to McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi.
Click on the following for more details: Suspect in burglary gives judge middle finger, gets 6 months :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Chicago Crime
The following are some local entries from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Disciplinary Orders in the month of September 2009. See: http://www.idfpr.com/Forms/DISCPLN/0909_dis.pdf for the complete list.
Billy Jo Holcomb, Rockford – cosmetologist license (011-286522) issued and placed on indefinite probation for a minimum of three years due to felony conviction and unprofessional
conduct.
Willis Alarms, South Beloit and John Willis, South Beloit – private alarm contractor agency license (127-000976) and permanent employee registration card (129-202752) indefinitely suspended for a minimum of three years after operating without the involvement of
the person listed as the licensee-in-charge. See Page 8
Atreyo Kelly, Rockford – permanent employee registration card (129-326919) issued and placed on probation for one year due to criminal conviction. See Page 9
HOME INSPECTOR
Charles Riforgiate, Hinkley – home inspector license (450-000433) fined $150 for not satisfying the required 12 hours of continuing education. See page 9
MEDICAL AND NURSING
Bradford Roberg, Crystal Lake – physician and surgeon license (036-063760) and controlled substance license (336-028221) restored to indefinite probation for a minimum of five years. See page 11
Eric Miller, Rockford – registered nurse license (041-369885) placed on indefinite probation for a minimum of three years as a result of two Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol's prior to licensure. See page 12
Dann Werve, Rockford – registered nurse license (041app2224323) to be issued and fined $500 due to unlicensed practice in Illinois. See page 13
The following individual’s real estate broker licenses were suspended after failing to file and/or pay Illinois state income taxes:
Clancy P. Green, Fontana, WI ....................................................................475-110820 Page 15
a request for a two percent increase in total pay for non-union county employees to go into a fund to be doled out at rates of anywhere from zero to four percent of a worker's pay, depending on performance. "It's less than our union employees will get and even our own elected officials," he said
About half of the county's 1351 employees are non-union. Six existing union contracts and two about to go into effect cover the rest
Click on the following for more details: FirstElectricNewspaper: County Non-Union Pay Increases OK'd Despite Opposition
Microlending: An idea for Boone County or Growth Dimensions?
In July the County Board Finance and Audit Committee agreed to set aside $200,000 of the county's Revolving Loan fund for small loans of from $5,000 to $25,000 to local businesses. It's the only program of its kind left in the region.
the program requires not only collateral for each loan but also a personal loan guarantee.
a business plan with plausible estimates of income, expenses and cash flow. "We do the same thing that we'd do for a bank loan," Final judgment rests with the Finance and Audit Committee. So far only two applications have made it there for review. Both were rejected.
ACCION Chicago is an alternative lending organization dedicated to providing credit and other business services to small business owners who do not have access to traditional sources of financing. This has been apparently quite successful. See its website at: http://www.accionchicago.org/
GM said it expected that restructuring Opel on its own would cost about 3 billion euros ($4.41 billion).
"GM will soon present its restructuring plan to Germany and other governments and hopes for its favorable consideration,
Germany had promised 4.5 billion euros ($6.58 billion) in aid to help close the Magna deal, which was widely seen as the option for Opel most likely to preserve jobs
German state of Hesse's premier, Roland Koch, said he was angered by GM's decision not to sell Opel to Magna, and that he wanted GM to pay back its bridge loan by November 30.
Click on the following for more details: GM opts to keep Opel, scraps sale to Magna - Yahoo! News
It stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. Invented by Halliburton in the 1940s, it involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals, some of them toxic, into underground rock formations to blast them open and release natural gas.
Congress last week approved a bill that asks the E.P.A. to conduct a new study on the risks of hydraulic fracturing.
even more important bill is waiting in the wings. Cumbersomely named the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, it would close the loophole and restore the E.P.A.’s rightful authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing. It would also require the oil and gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use.
Click on the following to read the opinion in its entirety: Editorial - The Halliburton Loophole - NYTimes.com
"We have no additional vaccine in the pipeline at this point, so we're not going to make additional appointments."
Like many surrounding counties, Kane County offered general clinics in October. Kane County officials ran low on vaccines, so they opted for individual appointments.
Read more by clicking on the following: Daily Herald | Kane halts H1N1 shot appointments
Crystal Lake newspaper critical of practice of the McHenry County Court.
Search warrants obtained by law enforcement agencies in Illinois are a matter of public record after they’ve been executed and returned to the courts, with few exceptions.
By sealing so many search warrants for no valid reason, there’s no way the public can know whether its judicial system is acting properly in obtaining them.
And the few returned search warrants that have been unsealed locally also are hard to find. McHenry County Circuit Clerk Kathy Keefe said her office is in the process of fixing that. We’ll be checking back with the clerk as well.
Click the following for the complete opinion statement and comments from readers: Northwest Herald | Warrants are public record
thinktank Woodstock Institute, Kane County foreclosure filings almost doubled in the third quarter from the same period last year. \
the foreclosure crisis has expanded to include middle-class people who have lost their jobs. In the third quarter, DuPage, Lake and McHenry counties also saw big jumps.
when the economy bounces back, higher-income suburbs should recover quickly. He says he’s worried the same won’t be true for some lower-income communities.
Click on the following fo0r more of this story: City Room™ - Business - Foreclosures Climb in Suburban Communities
The University of Illinois Flash Index rose to 90.7 in October, an increase of seven-tenths of a point from the previous month and the first substantial increase since the current recession began two years ago.
University of Illinois economist J. Fred Giertz, who has compiled the Flash Index since 1995, said "considerable concern remains about the strength of the recovery, as evidenced by weak consumer spending."
Trotter says the state's situation remains dire. Vendors are months behind in getting paid for their services and Chicago transit systems say they need millions in state funds to avert service cuts or fare hikes.
**********************************************************
