Oregon vote could impact Illinois tax wars, guv election

The Oregon measure — taxes will go up 2% for individuals earning more than $125,000 a year or couples above $250,000 — bears a distinct similarity to a proposal here by Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Dan Hynes.

,Mr. Hynes wants to implement a graduated income tax, one that he says would raise billions of dollars a year solely by zapping the top 3% of the population: households with annual incomes of $200K on up.
The measure needs to be approved by a 60% vote of the General Assembly and then in a statewide referendum.

 Should Mr. Hynes win the Democratic primary next Tuesday, expect to hear a lot, lot, lot more about Oregon and why Illinois ought to follow suit.

Click on the following for the rest of the story: Oregon vote could impact Illinois tax wars, guv election | Greg Hinz | Crain's Chicago Business

Chicago jobless rate climbs to 10.6%

metropolitan Chicago edged higher in December to 10.6%, remaining close to a 26-year high.

local rate peaked at 11.3% in June 2009, the highest jobless rate since July 1983

Rockford continues to have the highest jobless rate among Illinois metro areas, at 16%. Kankakee-Bradley followed with a 14.3%.

Click on the following for more details:  Chicago jobless rate climbs to 10.6% | Crain's Chicago Business

Illinois Loses Track of Hundreds of Sex Offenders

 

700 sex offenders in the city of Chicago aren't compliant with laws requiring them to register with the state. And officials don't know the whereabouts of more than 200 of those offenders.

Click on the following for more details:  City Room™ - Metro - Illinois Loses Track of Hundreds of Sex Offenders

Quinn defends taking $24k interest payments from Senate campaign fund

Gov. Pat Quinn said today he would soon close a campaign account from his losing 1996 U.S. Senate race that has paid him $24,000 in interest. 

fund alive by pumping in a series of personal loans and then soliciting political donations so he can pay himself back, at interest rates approaching 10 percent

Dan Hynes, Quinn's Democratic challenger for governor, called the Quinn Senate fund "very peculiar."  "I really can't understand why it happened, how it happened and what the explanation is,"

Click on the following for more details:  Clout St: Quinn defends taking interest payments from Senate campaign fund

Regional plan stresses water conservation

The plan stresses conservation and resource management; looks ahead to 2050; and includes the counties of Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.

improve how water demand is managed, by emphasizing conservation, pricing and the reuse of "graywater" -- which is the residue of household activities such as dish washing, laundry and bathing -- and wastewater.

continued rapid population growth and economic activity will put a strain on the region's current supply, …Significant shortages could result without coordinated action to implement this new water plan.

Click on the following for more details:  Regional plan stresses water conservation :: Beacon News :: Local News

Feds make suburban gang sweep in Elgin

part of a nationwide operation in 83 cities focusing on gangs with ties to international drug trafficking organizations.  …. Arrests were made in Algonquin, Carpentersville, Elgin, Hanover Park, Palatine, Schaumburg, Streamwood, Vernon Hills, and Waukegan

Of the 12 arrested, eight are in the United States illegally and the other four are permanent residents whose convictions would render them eligible for deportation,

Click on the following for more details:  Feds make suburban gang sweep :: The Courier News :: Local News

DeKalb County unemployment rate returns to double-digits

DeKalb County unemployment reached 10.5 percent in December, according to preliminary numbers released Thursday by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

That's up from 9.7 percent in November

Click on the following for more details:  County unemployment rate returns to double-digits | Daily Chronicle

Who did this?

I saw this in a cornfield near me.

Wisconsin to get $822 million for rail

 

$810 million would be used to upgrade and refurbish train stations and install safety equipment on the Madison-to-Milwaukee leg of a line that stretches from Minneapolis to Chicago.
Another $12 million will be used to make improvements in the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor to reduce travel times and improve on-time performance.

Wisconsin to get $822 million for rail - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Area unemployment hits 16% In Rockford; 19.8% in Belvidere

Belvidere’s rate shot up 2.5 percentage points, to 19.8 percent, in December

Click on the following for more details:  Area unemployment hits 16% - - BusinessRockford.com

Belvidere City Council approves next steps in riverfront redevelopment plan

[the project area] owned by the city, total just over 7.1 acres within the Kishwaukee River Redevelopment area. The summit, sponsored by the National Brownfields Association, is set for March 24 in Atlanta.

The event is by invitation, and Brereton said he hopes the Belvidere site is picked to be showcased in the event, where the selected properties will be featured and reviewed by developers and investors.

Click on the following to read the rest of the story:  The Belvidere Daily Republican. - Council approves next steps in riverfront redevelopment plan

Senate Votes to Raise Debt Ceiling -

 

The U.S. Senate Thursday voted narrowly to increase the government's borrowing authority to $14.3 trillion, which would allow the Treasury Department to continue servicing the country's spiraling national debt through most of 2010.

The 60 to 40 vote, along party lines

Senate Votes to Raise Debt Ceiling - NYTimes.com

Filling Freeport’s pricey new airport hangar

Approximately $400,000 of the project has been paid for, and Freeport officials are expecting the Federal Aviation Administration to pay the remaining $450,000. Future payments from the FAA, however, are not guaranteed.….has enough space to house three corporate jets.

Currently the space is not rented

Click on the following for more details:  Filling Freeport’s pricey new airport hangar - Freeport, IL - The Journal-Standard