Sunday, July 24, 2011

Northwest Herald Letter to Editor: U.S. becoming oligarchy?

Comments (249 comments) | Add Comments

To the Editor:

According to the U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 4: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government …”

According to the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 2: The Congress shall have the power “To borrow Money on the credit of the United States.”

Nowhere in the Constitution does it give the authority to Congress to pass a bill giving the Executive Branch (the president) the authority to raise the debt ceiling. This is being proposed by a handful of legislators in the Congress (an oligarchy) in the hope that it will be approved by the Congress. It is the duty of the Congress either to increase, keep the same or decrease the debt ceiling.

They should perform their constitutionally directed mandate and not drop this (unconstitutionally) on the Executive Branch (the president).

The political theater must stop and the Congress – Republicans, Democrats and Independents – must meet their responsibilities and not posture for future elections.

I believe that those who continue to play political theater won’t be on the list of actors in the next Congress.

Dr. Richard W. Gorski

The above was taken from:  http://www.nwherald.com/2011/07/20/u-s-becoming-oligarchy/akggm89/

St. James: What do your neighbor’s think of the new church? Oh Yes—they are not selling.

For more details on the St. James expansion project go to:  http://www.boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/

7-21-2011 006

7-21-2011 009

7-21-2011 007

7-21-2011 004

7-21-2011 003

7-21-2011 010

7-21-2011 010

7-21-2011 010

For more information on the St. James zoning issue go to:  http://www.boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/

or click on any of the following listed stories: 

Elgin’s Lords Park bison dies; just one remaining

extreme heat, large animals have been expiring at an accelerated rate this past week. Morrissey told staff he did not believe that staff could have done anything to prevent her death.

The only remaining bison is the female named Pokey, who was born in 1991

“Please know it is more important now than ever that we get the fencing repaired and (to) bring in donated young bison to continue the tradition began in 1905 by the Lords Family and Elgin citizens,” Gibson-Aiello stated via Facebook.

Click on the following for more details:  http://couriernews.suntimes.com/6653900-417/lords-park-bison-dies-just-one-remaining.html

Boone Co Sheriff releases results of July 4th patrols

There were 19 seat belt citations, 3 suspended or revoked drivers arrested, 10 uninsured motorists were cited and 15 motorists cited for speeding.

Deputies also arrested four subjects for drug related offenses. Six people were arrested for DUI offenses.

Click on the following for more details: http://www.belvideredailyrepublican.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6798:sheriff-releases-results-of-july-4th-patrols&catid=108:boone-county&Itemid=510

McHenry County Sportsplex developer asking for more time

McHenry County Sportsplex LLC wants to put the 100-plus-acre sports facility southwest of the intersection of Routes 47 and 176.

Designs for the two-phase project include playing fields for soccer, baseball, lacrosse, basketball and volleyball. A 125,000- to 150,000-square-foot building would house a restaurant, retail space and indoor sports facilities. There also would be an outdoor arena able to accommodate local, national and international teams.

The SportsPlex gained notice in August 2010 when it was listed in a report of 100 stimulus-funded projects considered boondoggles by two U.S. senators.

Click on the following for more details:  http://www.nwherald.com/2011/07/22/sportsplex-developer-asking-for-more-time/ai0ljdn/

Illinois AG gets help in robo-signing investigation

image

July 20, 2011

By Andrew Thomason Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD — A group of 12 county recorders in Illinois are providing documents to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for her investigation into an illicit practice relating to the national real estate and subsequent foreclosure crises, known as "robo-signing."

“Robo-signing is actually a variety of practices. It can be mortgages individuals signing a document that they have no idea of what’s contained within the document and without verifying the information,” said Champaign County Record Barb Frasca. “It can mean someone forging an executive signature on a document or using their own name on the document with a fake title.”

Madigan launched her investigation earlier this year into Lender Processing Services and Nationwide Title Clearing, two of the largest loan servicing companies in the country.

County recorders, one for each of the state’s 102 counties, are stewards of deeds and other documents relating to real estate ownership, and often receive paperwork from loan servicing and other mortgage processing companies. Josh Langfelder, Sangamon County recorder, said he and the 11 other recorders voluntarily are assembling documents for Madigan.

“They gave us a sample of documents that may be related to our investigation, and they are gathering more documents to provide,” attorney general spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said. “We’re reviewing the information they provided.”

Ziegler would not identify the documents provided or comment on whether the initial sampling will help in Madigan’s investigation, because it is ongoing.

When the global recession hit and the real estate bubble burst, banks and other mortgage holders were flooded with foreclosures. To keep the surge of paperwork moving, some institutions disregarded safeguards that would protect homeowners, such as providing an affidavit verifying the identity of the mortgage owners.

These practices led to a temporary halt in foreclosures last fall, as sloppy paperwork turned into unnecessary foreclosures. Without proper documentation, confusion emerged over who owed what to whom.

“We want to be protective of the homeowners, people who have perchance been foreclosed on that perhaps the ownership (of the mortgage) was not clearly identified, or someone who has bought a foreclosed home,” said Rock Island County Recorder Pat Veronda.

Similar county officials in Minnesota and Massachusetts, for example, are working with their states’ attorneys general in robo-signing investigations. For example, the county recorder office for Essex County, Mass., claims to have nearly 1,200 documents with 22 different handwriting styles that all read “Linda Green,” according to the Associated Press.

"Linda Green" signatures have found their way to Illinois as well, said Glenda Johnson, chief deputy recorder for St. Clair County.

The Massachusetts example "made us look further into it. She is all over out there," Johnson said.

While companies have claimed to stop the practice of robo-signing, recent investigations by the AP and Reuters indicate this is not happening, which could prove troublesome as the rate of foreclosures refuses to drop to prerecession levels.

While foreclosure rates dropped by nearly 25 percent for June when compared with the same period this past year, they inched up by 4 percent from May, according to RealtyTrac, a company that monitors foreclosures nationwide.

Illinois had 11,014 foreclosures in June, or one in every 480 housing units, mainly in the counties surrounding Chicago. Only Michigan, Arizona, Florida and California had more foreclosures in June than Illinois