FutureGen moves on without Mattoon plant

This has not been discussed since 2009—it appears that many original benefituaries are no more.  This experiment will use oxy-combustion to burn coal with a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide to produce a carbon-dioxide waste that can be stored. 

Carbon dioxide emissions from the plant in western Illinois would be pumped through a 175-mile subterranean pipeline through Decatur and then down to Mattoon, where they would be sequestered deep underground in the same basin that the original FutureGen plant would have used to store emission

Click on the following for more details:  ILLINOIZE: FutureGen moves on without Mattoon plant

Kirk, Giannoulias in sharp split on jobs bill

Just 24 hours after saying he likely would vote for it, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park, voted against a state jobs bill pushed by the White House, sparking a bitter exchange in his race for the U.S. Senate.

Click on the following for more details:  Blogs | Crain's Chicago Business

You might have to help Blagojevich pay legal bills

There is only $75,000 left in the $2.8 million kitty and his defense team hasn't yet billed for the month of July….

Blagojevich are more than $200,000 in debt, according to prosecutors.

The former governor lives in a Ravenswood Manor home and owns a condo in Washington D.C. -- both are subject to government seizure should jurors convict him of racketeering.

That likely means public money could be used to pay any remaining defense bills.

Click on the following for more details:  You might have to help Blagojevich pay legal bills :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Gov. Blagojevich

Kane County Board OKs health department cuts

Kane county stop accepting grant agreements with the state of Illinois for services provided to Kane County residents because the county cannot depend on the state to reimburse it for services rendered….Fifty percent of the health department's budget comes from grants and, of that, 60 percent are state grants, Kuehnert said. Not only does Illinois already owe the health department $1.3 million, it is cutting funding to some of those programs

restructure itself to focus on core, mandated services such as emergency preparedness and programs for high-risk infants

Click on the following for more details:   Kane County Board OKs health department cuts :: The Courier News :: Local News

Samsung, LCD-Panel Makers Sued by Illinois's Madigan

Illinois joins California and Florida

-- Samsung Electronics Co., Toshiba Corp., Sharp Corp. and five other liquid-crystal display makers were sued by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan over claims they conspired to fix prices.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/08/10/bloomberg1376-L6YFUF6LUTXD01-14KLIQ9IP29EGJFJ91D02VTSCM.DTL#ixzz0wGIf04SE

 

Click on the following for more details:  Samsung, LCD-Panel Makers Sued by Illinois's Madigan

2010 Census was $1.6 billion under budget - Federal Eye -

Congress budgeted $14.7 billion for this year's headcount, which began in 1999 with early planning meetings. More than half of the money was spent this year,

The Census Bureau managed to return $305 million from a $7 billion total budget in 2000.

72 percent response rate matched the 2000 Census and helped control costs on the labor-intensive follow up process.

Click on the following for more details:  2010 Census was $1.6 billion under budget - Federal Eye -

Unlock Our Jobs – Keep Chicago locks open

The following is taken from a website advocating keeping the locks open.  I was contacted by Emily McGann  [emily@unlockourjobs.org] regarding this organization.  Feel free to contact her if you have any questions about the Asian carp issue.

Un-Lock Our Jobs was founded to protect the uninterrupted operation of the “Avenue of the America’s” – the essential waterway connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River corridor. A project of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, Un-Lock Our Jobs is a coalition of agriculture, business, labor, river communities, and concerned citizens working towards a comprehensive solution to stop the spread of Asian Carp, while leaving the Chicago locks open to commerce.

Click on the following for more information:  Unlock Our Jobs -

In the Spotlight: Great Lakes link too vital to Illinois to be closed to halt Asian carp advance -

No decision should be made based on panic, fear and political pressure. Surely there are other viable options that would not jeopardize our already fragile economy.

Click on the following for more details on this opinion piece:  In the Spotlight: Great Lakes link too vital to Illinois to be closed to halt Asian carp advance - Peoria, IL - pjstar.com