Friday, April 27, 2012

Audit: Overhaul workers’ comp system for IL workers | Illinois Statehouse News

 

Audit: Overhaul workers’ comp system for IL workers

April 25, 2012

By Jayette Bolinski | Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD — IllinoisWorkers’ Compensation Program has “numerous shortcomings” and is “ill designed to protect the state’s best interests,” according to a state audit released Wednesday.

Auditor General Bill Holland’s report urges lawmakers to change the program for state employees because of “extensive problems.”

Between 2007 and 2010, state workers filed 26,101 workers’ compensation claims with more than half from the state Departments of Human Services and Corrections:

  • 1,180 claims — the highest number from any state agency — from Chester Mental Health Center,
  • 869 claims from Menard Correctional Center in Chester — the most of any corrections facility.

The state paid out a total of more than $295 million during that time frame. Sprains and contusions accounted for three-quarters of all injuries.

The audit identified problems within the Workers’ Compensation Commission and the state’s Central Management Service, or CMS, both of which oversee the workers’ compensation program. Among the findings:

  • The commission failed to review arbitrators’ performance annually and had no guidelines for how arbitrators were to award compensation for particular injuries, causing inconsistencies.
  • CMS negotiated settlements with injured employees’ attorneys, made decisions about compensation without appropriate forms and had no policies to address conflicts of interest by those who handle workers’ compensation claims for the state.

Also, the review board that investigates complaints against arbitrators and commissioners did not meet for three and a half years.

The audit also says the Illinois Attorney General’s Office had no policies for handling workers’ compensation cases referred to it.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan said her office does have policies regarding fraud and misconduct.

“We’ve always had comprehensive policies in place that mandate (assistant attorneys general) report any conduct they believe may constitute a violation of law," she said. "These written policies require reporting all potential illegal or improper conduct—not just limited to fraud in workers’ compensation cases—and conform with our ethical obligations as attorneys.”

Both CMS and the Workers' Compensation Commission indicated in the auditor's report that they plan to address or have begun addressing most of the audit’s recommendations.

Source:  Audit: Overhaul workers’ comp system for IL workers | Illinois Statehouse News

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Wages of Townships, County and City

The entire State of Illinois is available at:

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Belvidere Township: 2010-2000 Arranged by $ Value

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BOONE COUNTY:  2010 Arranged by $ Value

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Boone County Government Retired:

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Belvidere Township Meeting tonight April 24, 2012

 

FYI: I did not receive an agenda this week, but the Belvidere Township meeting is at 5 pm tonight..

The following is listed on the agenda:

The news letter is on old business and for New Business they have listed Fiber optic cable

and also New Med an for BCCOA.

They may talk about the budget and the news letter

ComEd ready to install 4 million smart meters in IL | Illinois Statehouse News

Smart meters increase costs to consumer now  will it decrease rates later?

Anthony Brino | Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD — Commonwealth Edison, northern Illinois’ electricity utility, unveiled plans Monday to install 4 million digital smart meters during the next decade.

Smart meters record energy usage, displaying the information for homeowners and transmitting the data back to the utility.

Anne Pramaggiore, president and CEO of Commonwealth Edison, or ComEd, said in a news release that "customers will be able to see for themselves the benefits of this exciting technology as they take greater control over their energy consumption."

The smart meters are expected to increase annual electricity costs by an average of $36 annually for ComEd customers and $3.40 for customers of Ameren, southern Illinois’ utility.

But over time the smart meters will pay for themselves, as consumers and the utility reduce wasted electricity, said David Kolata, executive director of the Illinois Consumer Utility Board.

Although the Consumer Utility Board opposed last year's legislation permitting the smart meters and allowing Ameren and ComEd to raise rates to pay for $3.2 billion in grid upgrades, Kolata said he's "cautiously optimistic" about ComEd's plan.

While ComEd's 10-year time frame to install the smart meters is too long, Kolata said, it's "significantly better" than Ameren’s, unveiled earlier this month. Ameren only plans to install smart meters for about 60 percent of its customers.

According to ComEd, a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Exelon Corporation, the smart meters will help reduce power outages by 20 percent over the next 10 years and reduce theft by 50 percent.

ComEd ready to install 4 million smart meters in IL | Illinois Statehouse News

Sunday, April 22, 2012

IL fracking bill clears with industry, enviro support | Illinois Statehouse News

April 19, 2012

By Anthony Brino | Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD — A proposal updating Illinois' oil and gas law to regulate the latest evolution in drilling technology passed the Senate Environment Committee on Thursday with rare support from industry and environmental groups.

As energy companies secure leases to extract oil and gas from the New Albany shale in southern Illinois, some lawmakers and environmental groups have been trying to pass legislation regulating horizontal hydraulic fracturing, which uses water, sand and industrial fluids to crack open fissures in rocks to release oil or gas.

Sponsored by state Sen. Michael Frerichs, D-Gifford, Senate Bill 3280 would require companies to disclose the chemical composition of the fracturing fluids and would require companies to test the integrity of the cement and steel well casings meant to protect groundwater during the drilling process.

“It’s not very often that you see the industry groups and the environmental community come to together and agree on an issue,” said Dan Eichholz, associate director of the Illinois Petroleum Council, a trade group, which supports the proposal, along with the Illinois Oil and Gas Association, Illinois Chamber of Commerce and Illinois Manufacturing Association.

Jack Darin, director of the Illinois Sierra Club, an environmental group, said the bill offers good solutions to the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing, although he said lawmakers should consider other issues, such as waste water and air emissions.

“This bill is going to be part of a broader conversation about hydraulic fracturing,” Darin said.

So far, only a few experimental wells have been drilled in the New Albany shale, a 360-million-year-old oil- and gas-rich rock layer that sits about 4,500 feet underground in Illinois.

IL fracking bill clears with industry, enviro support | Illinois Statehouse News

With all this natural gas, who needs oil? - CSMonitor.com

ByAlexandra Marks, Correspondent / April 22, 2012

It's home-grown, plentiful, and touted as the best way to wean the US off Mideast oil. But there are limits to how far the US can tilt toward a natural gas economy.

Instead of paying $4 a gallon at the pump, it costs them 60 cents for the equivalent

recently as five years ago, oil and gas executives thought the nation's accessible natural gas reserves were almost played out. The industry was proposing building 47 import terminals to bring liquefied natural gas into the US. Five were actually constructed. Now most of them sit underutilized….

 

Hydraulic fracturing, the controversial drilling technique, has made it possible to access trillions of cubic feet of natural gas locked in shale formations deep beneath vast swaths of the country. High oil prices have made it economical to extract.

The US Department of Energy estimates that 482 trillion cubic feet of natural gas exists in the US. At the current rate of consumption, that's a 90-year supply.

Last year, almost 40 percent of the trash-hauling trucks and 25 percent of the transit buses purchased in the US were fueled by natural gas….

electricity generated by natural gas has jumped from 23 percent to 35 percent. Cambridge Energy Research Associates believes it could double in the next 20 years…..

. Natural gas prices are notoriously volatile. The warm winter and generous supplies of natural gas from the current drilling boom have plunged prices to a 20-year low. That has made tapping the shale less profitable. The pace of drilling in Pennsylvania has already slowed, with rigs moving to more oil-rich fields. Will the jobs now vanish? If drilling slows too much, will prices spike again?

Click on the following to read the entire story:  With all this natural gas, who needs oil? - CSMonitor.com

Belvidere City Council passes enterprise zone resolution & Township Issue

Belvidere Daily Republican

Written by Margaret Rock, Reporter

At the close of the meeting, Alderman Clint Morris reviewed a list of deadlines for getting an advisory referendum on the November ballot. There was discussion about moving in that direction with a ballot question about support for the continuation of the township government, and from the information Morris received, the city has until about mid-August to determine how they wish to proceed.

Click on the following to read all of the storyBelvidere City Council passes enterprise zone resolution | Belvidere Daily Republican

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Mitt Romney addresses a touchy subject about his religion - CSMonitor.com


a time when Mormonism was under attack in the United States, resulting in state and federal legislation against polygamy, some Mormon groups – including Romney’s ancestors – fled to Mexico where they were able to continue the practice until the Mexican Revolution forced them to return to the United States.
As detailed in “The Real Mitt Romney” by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman of The Boston Globe, the former Massachusetts governor’s early ancestors did practice polygamy in North America, but that did not include his grandfather’s family in the United States or Mexico.
Click on the following to read all of the story:  Mitt Romney addresses a touchy subject about his religion - CSMonitor.com

Friday, April 20, 2012

The Rev. Ed Schneider: Romney vs. Obama: The great debate continues - Milford, MA - The Milford Daily News


Leaving aside for the moment the unfortunate nonsense of election dirty tricks, attempts by both sides of character assassination of their opposition, and disingenuous public posturing, Gov. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama represent two clearly defined constructs of public policy and the practical application concerning the philosophy of American government.
Both of these men are highly intelligent and gifted leaders. Both of these individuals have loving families and a strong sense of the "greater good." Both of these high-powered public figures have a history of being able to make hard decisions and standing by them -- good or bad. Both of these men have had to deal with what seemed overwhelming situations of crisis and have succeeded in resolving it. Both of them have had failures, big and small, in their public life. These are two high-quality people who love their country but in the end have two completely differing ideas of how to foundationally express it.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x596771905/The-Rev-Ed-Schneider-Romney-vs-Obama-The-great-debate-continues#ixzz1sbNuWYPE

Committee to study making government more efficient | Belvidere Daily Republican

 

The possibility of having an advisory referendum on dissolving Belvidere Township continues to be talked about.

But a definite outgrowth of that meandering discussion is the upcoming formation of a committee to look at the best way to make local government more efficient.

Click on the following to read the whole storyCommittee to study making government more efficient | Belvidere Daily Republican

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Press Release of Dixon Comptoller Crundwell’s arrest

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ROCKFORD — The Comptroller for the City of Dixon, Ill., was arrested today by FBI agents on a federal charge for allegedly defrauding the City of Dixon of more than $3.2 million in public funds since just last fall.

In addition, a federal criminal complaint alleges that the defendant, Rita A. Crundwell, 58, of Dixon, has misappropriated more than $30 million in city funds since 2006 to finance her own lavish lifestyle, including operating a horse farm.

Crundwell handles all finances for the city and has held the appointed position of Dixon comptroller since the early 1980s.

She is paid an annual salary of $80,000, according to the complaint charging her with one count of wire fraud that was filed last Friday and unsealed today following her arrest.

Location of Dixon, Illinois

Also today, agents executed search and seizure warrants at various locations including, Crundwell’s home, office, and farms in Dixon and Beloit, Wis., and seized the contents of two bank accounts she controlled.

Among other items seized were

  • seven trucks and trailers,
  • three pickup trucks,
  • a $2.1 million motor home, and
  • a Ford Thunderbird convertible,

all of which were allegedly purchased with illegal proceeds.

Crundwell is scheduled to appear at 3 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney in U.S. District Court in Rockford, where the issue of bond will be addressed.

Dixon has a population of approximately 15,733 and is located in Lee County, about 42 miles southwest of Rockford.

The arrest was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-In-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Dixon Mayor James Burke reported Crundwell to law enforcement authorities last fall after a city employee assumed Crundwell’s duties during Crundwell’s extended unpaid vacation.

After reviewing bank statements for September 2011 through March 2012, the FBI expanded the investigation and began reviewing the city’s finances dating back to 2006. The investigation is continuing, officials said.

According to the complaint, Crundwell receives four weeks of paid vacation annually and she took an additional 12 weeks of unpaid vacation in 2011.

In October last year, while Crundwell was away from work, a Dixon employee who served as her replacement requested all of the city’s bank statements.

After reviewing them, the employee brought the records of a particular account to Mayor Burke’s attention.

The September 2011 statement for that account showed three deposits totaling $785,000, as well as 84 checks drawn totaling $360,493, and 40 withdrawals totaling $266,605.

Mayor Burke was unaware that this account existed, the complaint states, adding that he then went to law enforcement since none of the withdrawals appeared to be related to any legitimate business of the City of Dixon.

Although the bank records show that the primary account holder is the City of Dixon, a joint account holder is listed as RSCDA, and the checks written on this account list the account holder as “R.S.C.D.A., C/O Rita Crundwell.”

The City of Dixon maintains numerous bank accounts, including a Capital Development Fund.

Between September 2011 and February 2012, approximately $2,783,912 in various tax funds were electronically deposited into one of the City’s accounts.

Crundwell allegedly caused these funds to be moved around to other bank accounts held by the city, and eventually transferred most of these monies into the Capital Development Fund account.

Between September 2011 and March 2012, in her capacity as comptroller, Crundwell wrote 19 checks totaling $3,558,000 on the Capital Development Fund account payable to “Treasurer,” and deposited these checks into the account listing RSCDA as the joint account holder.

She then allegedly took $3,311,860 from the RSCDA account by checks and online withdrawals, using only $74,274 for the city’s operations.

Crundwell allegedly used the remainder of those funds, more than $3.2 million, for her own personal and business expenses, including approximately

  • $450,000 relating to her horse farming operations,
  • $600,000 in online credit card payments, and
  • $67,000 to purchase a 2012 Chevy Silverado pickup truck

After discovering that Crundwell allegedly had recently transferred $3,558,000 in city funds to the RSCDA account, the FBI obtained additional bank records showing that between July 2006 and March 2012, Crundwell allegedly deposited a total of $30,236,503 in city funds into the RSCDA account, and paid out more than $30 million for her own personal and business expenses.

The complaint alleges that she used fraudulently obtained funds to make additional purchases, including

  • a 2009 Liberty Coach Motor Home for $2,108,000,
  • a 2009 Kenworth T800 Tractor Truck for $146,787,
  • a 2009 Freightliner Truck for $140,000,
  • a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck for $56,646, and
  • a 2009 Featherlite Horse Trailer for $258,698

Between January of 2007 and March of 2012, Crundwell incurred charges of more than $2.5 million on her personal American Express credit card account, including more than $339,000 on jewelry alone, and allegedly used Dixon funds to pay the entire amount of charges.

Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine, or an alternate fine totaling twice the loss or twice the gain, whichever is greater. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.

The public is reminded that a criminal complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to an indictment by a federal grand jury and a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.