Friday, September 16, 2011

Beloit: Families, Hispanic leaders upset by raids

Some said the Beloit Police Department should leave immigration enforcement to Homeland Security.

Police said seven people were taken into administrative custody Tuesday during a Beloit roundup of immigrants by federal officials. The federal officials say those taken into custody are tied to crime and gangs. The operation was conducted by federal Homeland Security agents with the help of Beloit police.

During the roundup, Beloit police knocked on the doors where suspects might be living. Capt. Vince Sciame stressed that they were face-to-face meetings and included use of a Spanish speaking officer. He said the roundup was peaceful and simply involved talking to various families. Those the police were targeting were arrested, handcuffed and then processed by Homeland Security investigators.

Click on the following for more details:  http://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/local_news/families-hispanic-leaders-upset-by-raids/article_4b7fe55c-e08a-11e0-b3c9-001cc4c002e0.html

News Flash: GM-UAW Agree on New Contract

The UAW announced the agreement just after 11 p.m. EDT Friday, after a little more than eight weeks of bargaining.

The contract covers 48,500 GM workers in the U.S. GM was the first of the Detroit Three to reach an agreement with the UAW. Chrysler Group and Ford Motor Co. are still negotiating.

The UAW says the contract improves health care benefits for workers and protects their retirement benefits. It also says there is an improved profit-sharing plan.

Read more of this story by clicking on the following:  http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/16/business/AP-US-Autos-Contract-Talks.html?_r=1&hp

Melvin Dwork Record Cleared: Navy Changes Gay WWII Veteran's Discharge From 'Undesirable' To 'Honorable'

SAN DIEGO -- Nearly 70 years after expelling Melvin Dwork for being gay, the Navy is changing his discharge from "undesirable" to "honorable" – marking what is believed to be the first time the Pentagon has taken such a step on behalf of a World War II veteran since the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

The Navy notified the 89-year-old former corpsman last month that he will now be eligible for the benefits he had long been denied, including medical care and a military burial.

Dwork spent decades fighting to remove the blot on his record…..

The Board for Corrections of Naval Records said it would reinstate Dwork's benefits retroactively. But exactly what that means – whether, for example, the Navy will write him a check for the benefits he missed out on over a lifetime – is unclear, his attorney said….

Dwork said he had assumed his love letters had fallen into the wrong hands and led to his discharge. After he recently learned the truth, he contacted his former boyfriend, who had long ago married and had children. The man did not want to discuss the matter, Dwork said.

Dwork said he does not blame his former boyfriend; he said the young man was pressured into giving up names as part of a "witch hunt."

The above is an excerpt from the Huffington Post:      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/melvin-dwork-record-cleared-gay-soldier_n_967197.html

Why contract talks between UAW and Chrysler came to a halt

The following is a small excerpt from the Christian Science Monitor article available at:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0916/Why-contract-talks-between-UAW-and-Chrysler-came-to-a-halt 

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    Talks between both parties to establish a new four-year contract were supposed to wrap up by midnight Wednesday. The negotiations, which began last month and have also included Ford and General Motors, mark a key moment for the auto industry following the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies two years ago.

    At 10 p.m on Wednesday, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sent an e-mail to UAW president Bob King. According to The Detroit News, Mr. Marchionne complained that Mr. King was not present at the negotiating table and that calls to his mobile phone went unanswered. King was reportedly present in talks with rival GM.

    RELATED: Auto sales - seven cars in fast lane despite slow economy

    “I know that we are the smallest of the three automakers here in Detroit, but that does not make us less relevant. Our people are no less relevant,” wrote Marchionne, who is based in Italy.

    Marchionne flew back to Europe Thursday morning and is not expected back in Detroit until early next week.

    Chicago Tribune Watchdog: Infections in Rockford Hospitals

    The following “Watchdog” report on regional hospitals is available at:  http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/tables/hospital-infections.html

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    Food Pantries and homeless shelters in McHenry County

    And what happens in Boone County?  Taxi fare to Rockford?

    The following is taken from:  http://www.nwherald.com/2011/09/15/pads-expects-higher-demand-as-number-of-poor-increases/actwekr/

    PADS expects higher demand as number of poor increases

    By JOSEPH BUSTOS - jbustos@shawmedia.com

    As PADS prepares to open its overnight church shelters in October for homeless people, the agency expects to have higher demand for help.

    At the church sites, there usually are 35 to 40 people a night taking shelter. Director Matt Kostecki said he will prepare for as many as 47 people a night.

    What is happening at PADS isn’t just a problem in McHenry County. The number of poor has increased nationwide to a record high 46.2 million, according to the Census Bureau.

    The percentage of poor in Illinois also increased, jumping from 13.2 percent of the population in 2009 to 14.1 percent in 2010.

    With one in six Americans now below the poverty level, the homeless population is likely to increase as well.

    The Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday that Illinois’ unemployment rate surged from 9.5 percent in July to 9.9 percent in August, further hurting the economic outlook.

    In McHenry County, during the 2011 fiscal year that ended June 30, PADS helped 538 homeless people, including 60 families and 99 children.

    The summertime usually is a down time for PADS, but this year the agency has been busy with people coming in for assistance to help buy fuel or pay utility bills, among other things, Kostecki said.

    “It’s been a busy summer for case management,” Kostecki said. “We’re seeing more and more foreclosures in the county.”

    Home of the Sparrow also is receiving more calls for help, said Debbie DeGraw, vice president of marketing, development and public relations.

    For the first six months of 2010, the agency that provides housing for homeless women and children had 318 calls.

    For the first six months of 2011, it had 425.

    More of the phone calls are from people who have nowhere to go, DeGraw said.

    Home of the Sparrow has a waiting list of 20 families, and the agency can hold 21 families at any one time.

    There are few transitional shelters in the county, and DeGraw expects Home of the Sparrow’s waiting list to grow, she said.

    “You would think by this point there would be more job opportunities out there, but there are very limited job opportunities [and] limited Section 8 vouchers,” DeGraw said.

    Kim Halper, coordinator of the Neighbors Food Pantry of Wonder Lake, said she has had trouble keeping the shelves stocked as need has increased and donations have decreased.

    Last year in August, the pantry helped 700 people. In August 2011, it helped 1,132 people, and Halper said she expects the numbers of those seeking help to continue going up.

    Halper said many people in the area are contractors and carpenters.

    “There’s just no jobs,” Halper said. “No one is doing construction, so there’s no work for people.”

    Funderburgs selling Boone County farmland

    In Friday's Rockford Register Star: Funderburgs selling Boone County farmland

    By Alex Gary

    BELVIDERE — The Funderburg family — the largest landowner in Boone County — will take advantage of soaring farmland prices by selling nearly a third of its 11,000 acres in Boone County.
    Rob Funderburg, president of K-B Farms and Funderburg Farms Inc., announced Thursday those two entities will sell 48 parcels covering 3,379 acres. Funderburg hired Schrader Real Estate & Auction Co. to sell the land at 10 a.m. Nov. 19 in the Community Building Complex, 111 W. First St.
    “The current environment provides us some portfolio management options that haven’t always been available,” Funderburg said in a news release, “and the land being sold represents only a fraction of our investment in the area.”

    Brothers Hugh Funderberg, Alex Funderberg, and Rob Funderberg at the Lyric Opera's 2009 Wine Auction in Chicago. Photo: Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago

    HOW TO READ THE FULL STORY

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