Friday, March 30, 2012

America's fattest cities - Yahoo! Real Estate

Rockford area is #4—should we celebrate with a pizza.

According to a recent poll by Gallup, 26 percent of American adults are obese. The obesity epidemic has been going on for decades, and today health-care costs associated with obesity are estimated at $147 billion a year.

To be considered obese, a person has a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. With the extra weight comes myriad health issues — obesity contributes to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and some cancers.

See slideshow: America's Fattest Cities

See article: America's fattest cities

Recently, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index ranked the most obese metropolitan areas in the U.S., offering perspective on the cities that are affected by the country’s obesity woes.

The health implications are apparent — of the 10 metro areas with the highest obesity levels, 58 percent of their residents were more likely to report having had a heart attack over the course of their lifetimes, and 34 percent were more likely to report having high blood pressure. Combined, residents of these cities also pay an estimated $1 billion more in medical costs each year thanks to their high obesity rates.

In 2010, the government announced its goal to lower the prevalence of obesity to 15 percent. In 2011, only three out of the 190 areas surveyed in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index had an obesity rate below that level: Fort-Collins-Loveland, Colo.; Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.; and Boulder, Colo. Boulder ranked as the least obese city, with an obesity rate of 12.1 percent.

Read on to see the five most obese metro areas in the U.S., and how much their citizens are paying in obesity-related health-care costs every year, according to the recent Gallup survey.

5. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
Obesity rate: 33.8 percent
Annual obesity-related costs: $182.8 million

Beaumont-Port Arthur is one of two Texas regions in the top five.
Photo: accent on eclectic / Flickr

Oil is big business for this region in southeast Texas, with refineries throughout the area. The metro area has been a major player in the oil industry ever since the Lucas Gusher exploded on Spindletop Hill in 1901.

According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the metro area could potentially save $101.6 million in medical costs if its obesity rate dropped to 15 percent, instead of the almost 34 percent it has now. Beaumont-Port Arthur is the second-most obese metro area in Texas, which has a statewide obesity rate of 31 percent.

4. Rockford, Illinois
Obesity rate: 35.5 percent
Annual obesity-related costs: $179.4 million

The "City of Gardens" has nearly 54,000 obese residents.
Photo: Ben Jacobson / Wikimedia Commons

Located in northern Illinois, Rockford calls itself the “City of Gardens” because of the 7,000 acres of parks, trails, tree-lined streets, and public gardens within its borders. That’s not the only nickname the city has had — it has also been called “Forest City” because of its woods and was once known as the “Screw Capital of the World” because of factories that produced screws and bolts. Manufacturing is still the area’s biggest industry.

Rockford also ranks as the fourth-fattest city in the country, however, with an obesity rate of 35.5 percent. Of the more than 152,000 people who live in Rockford, nearly 54,000 are considered obese, while 10 percent have diabetes and 23 percent live below the poverty line.

3. Huntington-Ashland, West Virginia-Kentucky-Ohio
Obesity rate: 36 percent
Annual obesity-related costs: $146.9 million

The region was once called the nation's least healthy .
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area encompasses three states — West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio — at the point where they all meet by the Ohio River.

The metro area first gained national attention in 2008 after an Associated Press story called it the nation’s unhealthiest. That led Jami Oliver to bring his ABC reality show, “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” into Huntington, W.Va., to give schools and the town a nutrition make-over. Oliver has called his time there a success. However, the larger metro area still appears to be struggling — 36 percent of its citizens are obese, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, and nearly 20 percent suffer from diabetes.

2. Binghamton, New York
Obesity rate: 37.6 percent
Annual obesity-related costs: $131.5 million

Binghamton's obesity rate sharply contrasts with New York state's.
Photo: Getty Images

In the city of Binghamton, more than 17,000 residents are obese, according to rates from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. It's surprising then that 54 percent of respondents also said they exercise frequently.

Located at the junction of the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers in southern New York, Binghamton has the highest obesity rate in the state, compared with New York State’s rate of just below 24 percent. Meanwhile, 27.8 percent of Binghamton’s population lives below the poverty level.

1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
Obesity rate: 38.8 percent
Annual obesity-related costs: $410.9 million

The fattest area's obesity rate went up 5.5 percent last year.
Photo: bankruptcyattorney / Flickr

Located near the Mexican border in southern Texas, this metro area is the most obese in the nation, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. If the region dropped the rate from 38.8 percent to 15 percent, it could potentially save a whopping $252 million a year in medical costs annually. That’s a big savings, especially considering 50 percent of residents report being uninsured.

In 2010, 33.3 percent of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area’s population was obese, according to a CDC survey, so the data suggest that the country’s most obese city is also getting worse, bucking the nationwide trend of stabilization in obesity rates

America's fattest cities - Yahoo! Real Estate

McHenry County Blog | Highly Paid McHenry County Employees – Cisner to Henniger

When will Boone County comply with this act?  See the actual legal citation below—should Boone County be required to have this information posted right now?

Cal Skinner has answered my question—there is a roll-in to the requirement for each government unit as their respective fiscal year begins.  Thus the date for Belvidere Township is April 1, for Belvidere School District 100 is July 1, and Boone County government is December 1.

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McHenry County Government Center

Salary Compensation Report Pursuant to Section 120/7.3 of the Open Meetings Act

For Fiscal Year 2011-2012 (as of 1/1/12)

In accordance with PA 97-609, and certain requirements within this act, a government entity is required to list on its website the total compensation package for every IMRF covered employee earning a total compensation package in excess of $75,000.

    Salary and benefit information for IMRF employees(for McHenry County) are for salaries on FY 2011-2012 as it represents numbers that are projected to be earned at the completion of the fiscal year. Numbers do not become actual until the completion of the fiscal year.

    This information is offered to provide transparency on projected costs.

    Here’s page two of six. (The list is in alphabetical order and the information is in this order: NAME, JOB TITLE, SALARY
    HLTH INS* [* Statute requires only monies paid directly to the employee i.e.: insurance "opt-out" and HRA/HAS stipend], SICK DAYS. VACATION DAYS, VEHICLE, STIPEND, CLOTHING, TOTAL.)

  • Collado, Damien L, Correctional Officer, $76,169.60, $0.00, 25, 20, $500, $76,669.60
  • Combs, Michael P, Attorney, Supervising, $92,700.14, $0.00, 12, 10, $92,700.14
  • Cook, Mark G., Public Defender, $149,857.00, $0.00, 20, 20, $149,857.00
  • Courtney, Julia A, Dir Workforce Network, $83,327.14, $0.00, 20, 20, $83,327.14
  • Cousin, Bradley J, Engineer III – Const Traffic, $82,714.58, $0.00, 15, 20, $82,714.58
  • Croner Jr, Jerry J, Deputy, $78,000.00, $0.00, 25, 20, $500, $78,500.00
  • Crowley, Susan, Correctional Officer, $76,169.60, $0.00, 10, 20, $494, $76,663.60
  • Cypher, Debra J, Deputy, $78,000.00, $0.00, 25, 20, $500, $78,500.00
  • Dailing, Phillip A, Court Services Probation Dir, $96,322.98, $0.00, 15, 20, $96,322.98
  • Dammyer, Mark R, Construction Manager, $90,262.90, $0.00, 20, 20, $90,262.90
  • Danczyk, Daniel R, Deputy, $78,000.00, $0.00, 25, 20, $500, $78,500.00
  • Devries, Richard M, Maint Superintendent, $80,311.40, $0.00, 20, 20, $80,311.40
  • Dillon, Patrick J, Deputy, $78,000.00, $0.00, 15, 20, $500, $78,500.00
  • Dittrich, Walter R., Design Manager, $82,968.08, $0.00, 12, 15, $82,968.08

Click on the following to see more of Mr. Skinner’s blogMcHenry County Blog | Highly Paid McHenry County Employees – Cisner to Henniger

(5 ILCS 120/7.3)
Sec. 7.3. Duty to post information pertaining to benefits offered through the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.
(a) Within 6 business days after an employer participating in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund approves a budget, that employer must post on its website the total compensation package for each employee having a total compensation package that exceeds $75,000 per year. If the employer does not maintain a website, the employer must post a physical copy of this information at the principal office of the employer. If an employer maintains a website, it may choose to post a physical copy of this information at the principal office of the employer in lieu of posting the information directly on the website; however, the employer must post directions on the website on how to access that information.
(b) At least 6 days before an employer participating in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund approves an employee's total compensation package that is equal to or in excess of $150,000 per year, the employer must post on its website the total compensation package for that employee. If the employer does not maintain a website, the employer shall post a physical copy of this information at the principal office of the employer. If an employer maintains a website, it may choose to post a physical copy of this information at the principal office of the employer in lieu of posting the information directly on the website; however, the employer must post directions on the website on how to access that information.
(c) For the purposes of this Section, "total compensation package" means payment by the employer to the employee for salary, health insurance, a housing allowance, a vehicle allowance, a clothing allowance, bonuses, loans, vacation days granted, and sick days granted.
(Source: P.A. 97-609, eff. 1-1-12.)

A Renewed Vision From Front Page... Budget Of Township Government


Part II
Township Government By Illinois Law
By James Middleton
In the opening article of this series that had examined
township government in Illinois we sought to answer why
American government is arranged in layers of jurisdiction.
American government is arranged with overall coverage
by federal law followed by law that emerges from the
sovereign states. State law is further subdivided into
local units of government. The Federalist Papers was a
series of 85 essays written by James Madison, John Jay
and Alexander Hamilton that offered their view of how
an American government and a Constitution would be
conceived to create the democratic republican system of
governance that prescribes a series of division or layers
to attain a reasonable method to protect the public safety,
welfare and liberty.
This second article examines local government and
townships. Local units of Illinois government are divided
between counties, townships and municipalities with
townships perhaps the least abstract and least understood
layer. Many wonder what townships actually do. Some
ask if townships are any longer relevant. Others ask why
there is a need for townships and claim that townships
are a redundant hold-over from an ancient day that more
resembles Medieval England than our “Internet Age.”
This second article examines township government
as identified in the Illinois Constitution and detailed in
the Illinois Compiled Statues at 60 ILCS 1—155. The
Compiled Statutes define how townships operate. Across
America there are 20 states like Illinois that retain townships
conforming to a variant common law scale of 36 square
miles in size. Some ask, without townships who cares for
rural roads, who aids the poor, who funds rural cemeteries
and who produces assessments of real property values—all
are responsibilities of Illinois townships.
**
The foundation of Illinois township government arises
in the Illinois Constitution at Article VII and in Section 5.
The Constitution identifies how townships are created and
how they may be dissolved;
“The General Assembly shall provide by law for the
formation of townships in any county when approved by
county-wide referendum. Townships may be consolidated
or merged, and one or more townships may be dissolved or
divided, when approved by referendum in each township
affected. All townships in a county may be dissolved
when approved by a referendum in the total area in which
township officers are elected.”
The question of a potential dissolution of a township has
arisen as an item of community interest here. It is in Section
5 that the Constitution identifies that dissolution can occur
under Illinois law.
Further, Section 11 specifies activities that require a
referendum be approved to decide certain questions that
may arise from a resolution enacted by a unit of government
or resulting from voter petition. In Belvidere, one city
alderman has sought to persuade his colleagues that the
city should enact a resolution supporting the idea that
an advisory referendum should seek voter approval to
determine if a majority of Boone County residents believe
that one township should be dissolved.
When this matter was presented to the City Council
during a Committee of the Whole meeting, the measure
passed by a vote of 7 to 2. However, the City Council later
voted to put the question on the table with no date certain for
reconsideration.
In Section 12 the Constitution stipulates:
“The General Assembly shall provide by law for the
transfer of assets, powers and functions, and for the payment
of outstanding debt in connection with the formation,
consolidation, merger, division, dissolution and change in
the boundaries of units of local government.”
Yet, this broadly viewed section does not answer
many questions regarding how the duties of a township would
be managed if dissolution occurred. These considerations
will be viewed in greater depth in the third piece of this
three-part series.
In a broad stroke, duties ascribed to Illinois townships
include maintenance of rural cemeteries and parks where
applicable, funding of aid to the poor and the elderly through
the general assistance fund, maintenance of township roads
and bridges and the assessment of real property values to
calculate the Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) of all real
property by which property taxes are based. However, there
are other duties enumerated at 60 ILCS 1/85-5, “Township
Corporate Powers, Generally.” The Code cites that “Every
township has the corporate capacity to exercise the powers
granted to it, or necessarily implied and no others. Every
township has the powers specified in this section.”
Some powers granted to townships include acquiring
property by purchase or gift, holding of property for rent,

Continued on page 15

entering into contracts with corporations, non-profit groups
or governmental entities. Townships may borrow money,
bring eminent domain actions, create law enforcement
and fire protection agencies, engage in sanitation and
pollution abatement activities, create public transportation
systems, libraries and other services. Article #85 indicates
that all of the enumerated powers of townships also carry
implied powers. Township powers are broad in nature
and compliment ideas promoted in the Federalist Papers
that state that local governmental entities have the closest
connection to the citizens.

The community has been awakened by Letters to the
Editor and news articles. One elected official proposed
entering a question on a general election ballot asking in an
advisory referendum if Belvidere Township government is
a redundant layer of government and should be dissolved.
The official contends that Belvidere residents do not benefit
from tax collections that accrue to Belvidere Township.
Some here support taking the next step after an advisory
referendum to have the question of dissolution placed
before county voters for them to decide.

However the trade organization “Township officials of
Illinois” contend that township spending has grown at a
slower rate than any other government since 1992. Further,
the group claims that townships, statewide, have the lowest
labor costs and that debt is almost non-existent in smaller
governments such as townships. Finally, townships,
according to the group, have exclusive geographic service
areas and this refutes the claim that too many local
governments provide duplicate services.

At 60 ILCS 1/25-5 the section identifies the law governing
the “Discontinuance of Township Organization.” To an
extent Article #25 mirrors citations from the Constitution
but this section identifies the actual steps that must occur
before discontinuance of townships within a county could
occur.

The Code at 60 ILCS 1/25-5 cites;

Upon the petition of at least 10% of the registered
voters of each township of a county
,,, the County Board
shall certify and cause to be submitted to the voters of the
county at the next general election, the question of the
continuance of township organization
.”

This section does not mandate that a County Board must
recommend voter approval of a referendum to dissolve the
township unit of government. The section suggests, upon
certain legal thresholds being met, the County Board must
certify that the question of dissolution should be given to
the voters for them to answer.

The language of the proposition to be placed before
the voters would read, “Shall township organization be
discontinued in (the name of the county)?” If the proposition
fails to attain voter approval, four years must lapse before
the question is returned. A simple majority of the votes cast
is needed for the proposition to pass.

The Code at 60 ILCS 1/25-10 cites:

“If it appears by the returns of the election that a majority
of the votes in at least three-fourths of the townships,
containing at least a majority of the population in the
county, cast on the question of continuance of township
organization at the election are against the continuance of
township organization, then the township organization shall
cease in the county as soon as a county board is elected and
qualified. All laws relating to counties not under township
organization shall be applicable to the county, the same as if
township organization had never been adopted in it.”

At 60 ILCS 1/25-25, the Code identifies what should
occur when townships are dissolved;

“When township organization is discontinued, in any
county, the records of the several townships shall be deposited
From Page 4.... Township Government
in the county clerk’s office. The county commissioners
of the county may close up all unfinished business of the
several townships and sell and dispose of any of the property
belonging to the township for the benefit of the inhabitants
of the township, as fully as might have been done by the
townships themselves. The county commissioners may
pay all of the indebtedness of any township existing at the
time of the discontinuance of township organization and
cause the amount of the indebtedness, or so much as may be
necessary, to be levied upon the property of the township.”

However because a referendum was approved in a
general election ballot by a majority vote, that result does
not mean that the process of dissolution is finished. Myriad
elements of the process remain to be executed including a
method to distribute motor fuel tax that accrue to counties,
townships and municipalities according to differing systems,
how the general assistance fund would be managed without
township jurisdiction, or what would result for a township
assessor and road commissioner that are elective offices.

A popular claim has been voiced suggesting that residents
of Belvidere do not benefit from property taxes collected
by Belvidere Township but this claim is not supported by
fact. The website managed by the Boone County treasurer,
Curtis Newport, shows that funds are transferred annually
from Belvidere Township to the City of Belvidere.
In 2011Belvidere claimed they were due, for road and
bridge work that was executed by the city but that was the
responsibility of the township, $275,033.97. The county
clerk calculates the extension of revenue due the city and,
based upon property tax collections, the county treasurer
wrote a check for $274,676.72 that was extended to
Belvidere by Belvidere Township.

The county treasurer also reports that lesser amounts of
revenue from Bonus Township and Flora Township were
extended to the City of Belvidere for similar reasons.

Another means by which Belvidere residents benefit
from taxes collected by Belvidere Township is witnessed in
the management of the township general assistance fund that
aids the elderly and the poor. No unit of local government,
other than townships, is mandated under Illinois law to aid
the elderly and the poor other than townships. Further,
Belvidere Township grants funding through a contractual
relationship with the local chapter of the Salvation Army
that allows them to provide assistance to those in need from
Belvidere and Belvidere Township.

Providing financial assistance for those in need in Boone
County and in Belvidere is not a duty that accrues to the
city or the county. Providing public assistance is vested
with townships and state government through the general
assistance fund at the township level and public aid offices
as managed by Illinois. Both townships and Illinois state
government manage public aid and that absolves cities and
counties from offering similar levels or types of assistance
and that too could be construed as a benefit.

We have identified here township duties and
responsibilities. Illinois law provides for the merger,
combination and/or dissolution of municipalities and units
of government. Because the question has arisen regarding
the dissolution of township government this article has
focused on identifying the various steps that must occur
before dissolution of a township could result.

In the final part of this series we will examine the practical
results to residents if all townships in Boone County were
dissolved by popular vote. Some of the questions resulting
from a vote to dissolve townships have yet to be challenged
or decided within courts of law because such activities
attendant to a formal dissolution of a unit(s) of government
are rare.

Senate deal will end GOP hold on Obama appointments - chicagotribune.com

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, reached an agreement with the White House that allowed dozens of nominees to clear the Senate on the promise that Obama would not attempt more recess appointments as lawmakers prepare to leave for a two-week spring recess.

Click on the following to read all of the story:  Senate deal will end GOP hold on Obama appointments - chicagotribune.com

Northwest Herald | Justices to vote quickly on health care case

By N.C. Aizenman and Robert Barnes - The Washington Post

Created: Thursday, March 29, 2012 5:30 a.m. CDT

While the rest of us have to wait until June, the justices of the Supreme Court will know the likely outcome of the health care case by the time they go home this weekend.

After months of anticipation, thousands of pages of briefs and more than six hours of arguments, the justices will vote on President Barack Obama's health care law in under an hour Friday morning in a conference room on the court's main floor. No one else will be present.

Friday's vote, which each justice may record and save for posterity, will be followed by the assignment of one justice to write a majority opinion, or in a case this complex, two or more justices to tackle different issues. Occasionally, votes have changed later, swayed by draft opinions.

Click on the following for more details: Northwest Herald | Justices to vote quickly on health care case