WICS NewsChannel 20 :: News - Top Stories - New Bill Would Help High Unemployment Counties

Could Boone/Winnebago be 2% higher than state % for a year?

 

The proposed law is the brainchild of State Rep. Bill Mitchell, who calls Macon County home.
"Since the 80s we've had higher unemployment than the state of Illinois, higher unemployment than the national average," Mitchell said. "The labor force has contracted in the last five years by 3,000 people."
Mitchell's bill proposes two tax incentives for employers in high unemployment counties to help change that.
"A portion of your workman's compensation costs would be subsidized by the state as well as the EDGE tax credit," Mitchell said.
That's Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credit. Businesses that hire at least five new workers would be reimbursed a portion of their state income taxes. That's if the business is based in an area that's determined to be struggling.
"There's about 10 counties that this would be applicable to. And it's an arbitrary measure I used, it's just two percentage points over the statewide average for a year," Mitchell said.

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Illinois issues 14,000 drivers licenses to undocumented foreigners in 2 mo. | Fox News Latino

state of Illinois issued 14,000 temporary drivers licenses to undocumented foreigners in two months, which, if that rate of demand is maintained, could double the number of licenses expected to be handed out during the first year of the law that allowed it.

The spokesman for the Office of the Secretary of State, Ernesto Martinez, told Efe on Thursday that the high demand could force the government to open new license issue locations in the second half of the year, which would be added to the 36 currently in operation.

"The numbers are impressive. We've attended to 24,000 people and granted 14,000 licenses, most of them at the 23 offices operating in Chicago and its metropolitan area," he said.

Each day, between 20,000 and 30,000 requests for licenses are received by telephone and an average of 4,000 appointments are made for the written and driving exams, according to figures provided by Martinez.

However, authorities are concerned with the high percentage of rejections due to lack of documentation, of people who have unresolved cases for traffic offenses or who have driven with false licenses.

Read the rest of the story by clicking on the following:  Illinois issues 14,000 drivers licenses to undocumented foreigners in 2 mo. | Fox News Latino

Bill would give state control over wind-turbine regulations - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

by Doug Finke
GateHouse Media Illinois
Posted Mar. 15, 2014 @ 1:52 pm

SPRINGFIELD — Since the first wind turbine was installed in Illinois, it’s been the purview of county governments to set the rules for siting and installation of the turbines within their borders.

This year, though, lawmakers may be asked to consider a bill that would take that authority away from counties and have uniform, statewide standards administered by a state agency.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Bill would give state control over wind-turbine regulations - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL