Questions remain about Scott Walker's 'Unintimidated' book deal : Ct#.Vcjo5TxDkd4.twitter#.Vcjo5TxDkd4.twitter#.Vcjo5TxDkd4.twitter

 

August 08, 2015 6:00 am  •  By Jessie Opoien | The Capital Times

Jessie Opoien | The Capital Times

 

 

Buy Now

Unintimidated (copy)

Penguin Group

Gov. Scott Walker's book, "Unintimidated: A Governor's Story and a Nation's Challenge," hit shelves in November 2013.

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In some ways, Gov. Scott Walker's financial disclosure form filed with the Federal Election Commission this week answered some unresolved questions about the deal he made to publish his book, "Unintimidated: A Governor's Story and a Nation's Challenge."

But with those questions now mostly resolved, new ones take their place.

Walker's book, a biographical tale of his 2011 battle with labor unions that catapulted him to national prominence, was co-written with conservative writer Marc Thiessen and published in November 2013.

It was reported by BuzzFeed's McKay Coppins in March 2014 that Walker received an advance for the book upwards of $340,000, though Coppins then noted to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Daniel Bice that the advance likely was split between Walker and Thiessen.

Thiessen, a speechwriter for former president George W. Bush, heads the firm Oval Office Writers LLC with "Clinton Cash" author Peter Schweizer. He did not respond to a request for comment.

When asked in 2013 and 2014 how much he received upfront for the book, Walker declined to say. Both he and his campaign told reporters the information would be included in his ethics statement, a form required by the state Government Accountability Board.

That form doesn't require many specifics, though, and when he filed the report, Walker shared only what was required: that the income exceeded $1,000.

At the time, the liberal group One Wisconsin Now was critical of Walker's refusal to answer, noting that state ethics laws prohibit elected officials from using public office for private gain. An exception in Wisconsin Statutes 19.56 allows an official to receive "reasonable" compensation for published work. The group argued that the public — and ethics officials — had no way of knowing whether the compensation was "reasonable" unless Walker disclosed the details of the deal.

As a presidential candidate, Walker is required to disclose to the FEC more specifics than the state ethics form demands.

On his recently filed statement, Walker lists an advance of $45,000 from Penguin Group, whose imprint Sentinel published "Unintimidated."

The statement also lists Walker's royalties agreement. Under the agreement, Walker is set to receive 5 to 15 percent of hardcover editions, 7.5 to 10 percent of paperback editions and 10 to 20 percent of audio and downloadable editions.

In his recently filed FEC report, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas reported that he is guaranteed at least $318,750 in royalties under his contract with Harper-Collins, which published his book "A Time for Truth." Cruz reported making between $100,001 and $1 million in royalties for the book, which was published in June.

Walker did not report how much he has received in royalties since his book was published.

"Scott Walker hid the details of his book deal for two years and now we know why," said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. "Every time his campaign arms buy or pitch his book, it puts money right into his personal bank account."

Royalty deals vary depending on the contract. Essentially, the advance covers the royalties up to the point determined by the contract. When the book's sales exceed the amount covered by the advance, the author starts to receive royalties for each book sold beyond that point.

It's difficult to determine whether Walker is earning royalties beyond his advance.

According to a July 7 BuzzFeed report, Nielsen's BookScan, a service that tracks most book sales, showed 19,096 hardcover sales of Walker's book. The hardcover list price is $28.95, but it sells for about $21 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Using the 19,096 figure and a $21 price tag, at 5 percent of hardcover sales, Walker would have earned a little more than $20,000 — less than half his advance, and not enough to bring in new royalties. At 15 percent of hardcover sales, though, Walker would have earned more than $60,000 — a figure beyond his reported advance, which would likely trigger additional royalties.

What's unclear is the exact percentage of hardcover earnings Walker receives, since a range of 5 to 15 percent is listed, and how many paperback, audio and electronic editions have been purchased beyond the hardcover copies recorded by BookScan.

Both Walker's state-level campaign committee and Our American Revival, his 527 committee, have hawked the book in fundraising emails and online ads. An OAR fundraising pitch sent in June encouraged supporters to secure their own copy with a donation of $60 or more, and Walker's presidential campaign website features signed copies for $75 and personalized, signed copies for $299.

It's not unusual for a campaign to give away copies of the candidate's book to donors. The FEC has addressed a variety of issues related to such scenarios, said Paul S. Ryan, senior counsel for the Campaign Legal Center. He added that federal law prohibits a candidate from converting campaign funds into his or her own personal use.

Wisconsin state statutes also prohibit such activity, specifying that "no moneys solicited for political purposes and reported under this chapter may be invested for the purpose of producing income..." In the 2014 gubernatorial election, a business owner cited this law in a complaint against Democratic candidate Mary Burke, alleging she improperly used campaign funds to air an ad prominently featuring a company in which she was an investor. The complaint was promoted by the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

One Wisconsin Now argues the same standard should apply to sales of Walker's book through his campaign. The group noted that a July finance report filed by Friends of Scott Walker lists two payments of about $49,000 each to Penguin Random House in May and June. Our American Revival, which has also given away copies of the book, doesn't list any book purchases on its IRS report. If books were donated to the committee to be given away to supporters, they should be listed as in-kind donations, Ryan said.

The bottom line is, it's above-board for Walker's campaign to sell copies of his book as long as Walker doesn't receive royalties from those sales. That could be achieved through a deal between the publisher and the campaign to determine that books purchased or sold by the campaign don't contribute to Walker's royalties agreement, Ryan said.

A Walker spokeswoman did not respond to requests for confirmation that such a deal was made or to comment on the arrangement.

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Questions remain about Scott Walker's 'Unintimidated' book deal : Ct#.Vcjo5TxDkd4.twitter#.Vcjo5TxDkd4.twitter#.Vcjo5TxDkd4.twitter

Scott Walker had his own email controversy

 

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have at least one thing in common: controversy over emails.

While Clinton has been scrutinized for her use of private email for public purposes, Walker’s county executive office once faced questions, and even a criminal investigation, over its use of a private email system to do campaign work on public time. Walker, who served as Milwaukee County Executive from 2002 to 2010, was never charged.

Last week, Walker denounced Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time as secretary of State.

USA TODAY

IGs ask Justice for security review of Clinton emails

Jay Heck, executive director for Common Cause Wisconsin, a nonpartisan good government organization, found Walker’s statement “highly ironic.”

“I was like, ‘Hello? Pot calling the kettle black,’ ” he said.

While he was serving as county executive, two of Walker's staffers, Kelly Rindfleisch and Darlene Wink, were convicted of campaigning on public time because of work they did for Walker’s successful 2010 gubernatorial bid and then-state representative Brett Davis’ campaign for lieutenant governor.

Four other aides were convicted as well, but on charges of money laundering, embezzlement and violating campaign finance laws. Records show Walker’s staff used a separate Wi-Fi system, private email accounts and different laptops in his county office to correspond with campaign aides.

Emails from Rindfleisch showed she used a separate laptop and email “to do things I shouldn’t be doing on my county computer,” she wrote in a February 2010 email.

Another email showed Walker’s former chief of staff, Tom Nardelli, coordinating daily conference calls with Walker’s campaign manager, Keith Gilkes.

Gilkes now serves as chairman of the super PAC supporting Walker’s 2016 presidential bid, Unintimidated PAC, alongside former campaign aide Stephan Thompson. Records show Thompson also coordinated messaging with county staffers using the secret email system.

Walker’s campaign had no comment and referred USA TODAY to a March interview the governor did with TheWeekly Standard before he was a presidential candidate.

In that interview, Walker downplayed the findings from the emails, saying “the craziest news story” to emerge from their release was a letter responding to a request to put up a menorah candle for Hanukkah that ended with “Molotov” instead of “Mazel Tov.”

ONPOLITICS

Scott Walker slams Hillary Clinton's 'audacity' with e-mails

In his statement denouncing Clinton, Walker raised the possibility that the former secretary of State had threatened national security and called for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to determine whether Clinton broke the law.

“The United States cannot afford to have a commander-in-chief who believes it is worth risking the safety and security of the American people in order to avoid personal accountability and scrutiny,” Walker said.

Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Walker probably doesn’t find his statement about Clinton hypocritical because compromising national security is far different than campaign activities on public time.

“I think the press release is more about him trying to get attention as a Republican candidate who will be tough on Hillary Clinton,” Burden said.

The Walker probe ended in 2013. It was one of two John Doe investigations Walker has taken heat for since his election as governor in 2010 (John Doe probes are mechanisms allowed by Wisconsin statute to independently and secretly determine whether a crime has been committed). The second investigation, which looked into whether his 2012 bid to fend off a recall effort collaborated with a pro-Walker group, ended this month after a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling.

ONPOLITICS

Walker investigation shut down by court

This wasn't Wisconsin’s first scandal involving public officials campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime. In the early 2000s, the Wisconsin State Journal revealed state lawmakers and aides were doing campaign work at Capitol offices in addition to directing donations from lobbyists to certain candidates. The “legislative caucus scandal” resulted in seven convictions.

Gordon Myse, a former member of the Government Accountability Board, a nonpartisan agency that oversees Wisconsin elections and campaign finance laws, said the caucus scandal was "a violation of trust" but said the Walker staff email system was also serious.

How significant the violation in the Walker case is will ultimately be determined by voters, Myse added.

Comparing Clinton’s situation to the case with Walker’s office is like comparing “apples and oranges,” former state attorney general Peg Lautenschlager, a Democrat, said.

“The use of private servers to do government work isn’t all that unusual in some ways,” said Lautenschlager. “Now the technology has changed so you can access your government email on your cellphone or whatever.”

Walker’s case is just the opposite: private email system to do political work on government time, rather than a private server to do government work using personal resources, she said.

“There is nothing iffy about this,” Lautenschlager said. “You can’t do political work on government time. Period, end of story.”

Behr reports for (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent Media. Follow her on Twitter: @madeleinebehr

Scott Walker had his own email controversy

Illinois agencies cover half the pay for Gov. Rauner's staff : News

 

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. •  Gov. Bruce Rauner promised a leaner, more transparent administration than his predecessors, yet he's rigorously following their time-honored practice of asking other departments to cut paychecks for his staff.

Among employees doing significant work for Rauner, half their combined salaries — about $4 million — comes from separate agency budgets and isn't listed on his office payroll, according to a review of documents by The Associated Press.

That figure is about $1 million more than Rauner's staff reported to legislators in June during a contentious hearing over the governor's use of the strategy.

It's taxpayer money, either way. But opponents say the accounting maneuver, which they call "off-shoring," can short-change some important state services while understating the true costs of running the chief executive's shop. For example, they argue, if the Corrections Department has to pay a high salary for a gubernatorial aide, that's money that can't be used to pay one or more prison guards.

Amid this summer's budget impasse, Democratic lawmakers argued the Republican governor's administration was squeezing essential state services, particularly by having high-priced consultants' salaries paid by other agencies. The administration acknowledged that about $3 million in salaries for Rauner's staff was paid by other agencies and provided lawmakers with lists showing his Democratic predecessor, Pat Quinn, annually "off-shored" even more — $3.5 million.

Rauner aides, who continue to insist the office pays less in compensation than Quinn, were not counting key contractual agreements, such as a $250,000 salary for education adviser Beth Purvis paid by the Department of Human Services or a seven-month, $135,000 contract financed by the Department of Revenue for chief financial officer Donna Arduin.

Rauner aides, who continue to insist the office pays less in compensation than Quinn, were not counting key contractual agreements, such as a $250,000 salary for education adviser Beth Purvis paid by the Department of Human Services or a seven-month, $135,000 contract financed by the Department of Revenue for chief financial officer Donna Arduin.

Including all salaries on a publicly available online directory of governor's staff, Rauner is asking other agencies to cover about $4 million — more than Quinn, the AP's analysis found.

The directory lists about 80 people making a total of $7.8 million. Half of that salary comes from 20 other agencies, including the Department on Aging, the Illinois State Police, the Capital Development Board and the Department of Natural Resources. The total budget for the governor's office is $5 million.

Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said the brouhaha is an attempt by Democrats to divert attention away from the tax increase they want to impose to close a budget gap, a prospect Rauner has steadfastly opposed. Aides have argued that the "off-shoring" practice is valid because the staffers in question also do work for the agencies that pay them.

"You can slice and dice the state payroll in multiple ways, but the two bottom lines are: all payroll is publicly reported, and the Rauner administration is spending less on total agency-wide payroll than the previous administration," Trover said in a statement responding to the AP's analysis.

House Speaker Michael Madigan said Rauner is violating a campaign pledge of government transparency.

"This is one of the things that he complained about as a candidate," the Chicago Democrat said. "It's easy enough for the governor to (instead) come in before the Legislature and say, 'I'd like to increase the size of the appropriation in the governor's office because I want to hire people that I think are qualified, and I'd like to pay them an appropriate salary.'"

Other top salaries among those not paid by the governor's office include Hardik Bhatt, who as chief information officer makes $145,000 from the Department of Central Management Services; legislative director Jim Kaitschuk, whose $132,400 paycheck is covered by the Transportation Department; and the $130,000 salary financed by the lieutenant governor's office for Kathy Lydon, Rauner's director of federal affairs.

The AP reported in January that Rauner's top staff members — including those paid from the governor's budget — were making, in total, 36 percent more than their predecessors under Quinn. The AP later reported that Purvis would get $250,000, double what her predecessors received.

Democratic lawmakers began asking questions about the "off shoring" after the Chicago Sun-Times reported in May that Purvis' salary comes from the Department of Human Services' coffers.

The Democrats say they aren't questioning the amount of the salary, agreeing that qualified staffers come at a cost. But they argue that paying Purvis from the health services budget takes money away from child care, schooling for autistic children and substance abuse treatment.

"The governor can claim the office is saving taxpayer money when it isn't and avoid accountability, and spend money for the governor's office not authorized by the General Assembly," said Marion Democratic Rep. John Bradley, who has led a legislative probe into the issue.

Illinois agencies cover half the pay for Gov. Rauner's staff : News

Special Report: Multitude of local authorities soak Illinois homeowners in taxes | Reuters

 

Mary Beth Jachec lives in a three-bedroom house in Wauconda, a village of 14,000 in Illinois, 45 miles northwest of Chicago. Her semi-detached brick home is unassuming. Her tax bills are not.

The 53-year-old insurance manager gets a real estate tax bill for 20 different local government authorities and a total payout of about $7,000 in 2014. They include the Village of Wauconda, the Wauconda Park District, the Township of Wauconda, the Forest Preserve, the Wauconda Area Public Library District, and the Wauconda Fire Protection District.

Then there is Wauconda Road and Bridge, not to be confused with Road and Bridge, Wauconda Gravel, or with Wauconda Special Road Improvement and Gravel unit – all three of which have imposed separate taxes on her and the village’s other homeowners.

Those three road entities come under the auspices of Wauconda Township. Officials there struggled to explain exactly what they each do, and why three separate taxing bodies are needed. The Wauconda Township Highway Commissioner, Joe Munson, said: “They are all for road maintenance.” So why three? “I don’t know why,” Munson said. “It’s always been that way."

Jachec, looking at her property tax bill, is dismayed. “It’s ridiculous,” she said.

A lot has been said about the budget crisis faced by Illinois - the state government itself is drowning in $37 billion of debt, and has the lowest credit ratings and worst-funded pension system among the 50 U.S. states. But at street level, the picture can be even more troubling.

The average homeowner pays taxes to six layers of government, and in Wauconda and many other places a lot more. In Ingleside, 55 miles north of Chicago, Dan Koivisto pays taxes to 18 local bodies. “I pay $271 a month just to the school district alone,” he said. "And I don't have children."

DUPLICATION OF SERVICES

The state is home to nearly 8,500 local government units, with 6,026 empowered to raise taxes, by far the highest number in the U.S.  Texas – whose population is more than twice that of Illinois - is second highest with about 5,150 local government units. Florida, with a population 54 percent greater than Illinois, has just 1,650, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Many of these taxing authorities, which mostly rely on property tax for their financing, have their own budget problems. That includes badly underfunded pension funds, mainly for cops and firefighters.

The Illinois authorities range from those typical across the nation, such as school and fire districts, to the unusual: for example, districts that raise taxes solely for the purpose of killing mosquitoes, lighting streets or maintaining cemeteries.

A Reuters analysis of property tax data shows that the sheer number of local government entities, and a lack of oversight of their operations, can lead to inefficient spending of taxpayer money, whether through duplication of services or high overhead costs. It leads to a proliferation of pension funds serving different groups of employees. And there are also signs that nepotism is rife within some of the authorities.

There is no central repository of data on the size and geographical boundaries of the local government authorities. The state comptroller does not audit the annual financial reports the local governments submit to it, said Rich Carter, a spokesman for the Comptroller’s office.

The state’s revenue department does keep data on property taxes collected by counties, but does not track taxes on individual properties. This makes it virtually impossible to systematically determine how many taxing districts overlap on parcels of land, or how much tax residents in a particular area pay unless they are individually surveyed. Because of these gaps and omissions, it is difficult to assess whether multiple layers of government lead to higher taxes.

On average, Illinois’ effective property taxes are the third highest in the U.S. at 1.92 percent of residential property values, only behind New Jersey and New Hampshire, according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation. (New Hampshire, unlike Illinois and New Jersey, doesn’t have a state income tax or a state sales tax.)

Critics of both the high taxation and the state’s governance structure say that it takes too much of a toll on homeowners, discouraging people from either coming to the state or staying in it. Illinois saw net migration of 95,000 people out of the state last year, the greatest in its history and second only to New York, according to U.S. Census data. It is unclear how much, if any, of that exodus might be due to high taxes.

In many Illinois cities and towns, high taxation still isn’t enough to keep up with increasing outlays, especially soaring pension costs, and some services have been cut. For example, in the state capital Springfield, pension costs for police and fire alone will this year consume nearly 90 percent of property tax revenues, according to the city's budget director, Bill McCarty. Since 2008, Springfield has cut 11 percent of its police force, closed three libraries, and tapped into other funds to pay pensions, McCarty added.

Sam Yingling, a state representative who until 2012 was supervisor of Avon Township, north of Chicago, has become an outspoken critic of the multiple layers of local government.

Yingling said when he left the township three years ago, the township supervisor's office had annual overheads from salaries and benefits of $120,000. He claimed its sole mandated statutory duty was to administer just $10,000 of living assistance to poor residents. Lisa Rusch, the current Avon Township supervisor, disputed the welfare figure, saying her office provides between $50,000 to $70,000 in emergency and general assistance.

Yingling also criticizes the township for its road program. In its budget for the current fiscal year, more than $1.4 million has been appropriated for road and bridge maintenance. Bob Kula, Avon Township’s highway commissioner, says the township maintains just under 13 miles of roads.

BORROWING RESTRICTIONS

The large number of local governments is a legacy of Illinois' 1870 constitution, which was in effect until 1970. The constitution limited the amount that counties and cities could borrow, an effort to control spending.

So when a new road or library needed building, a new authority of government would be created to get around the borrowing restrictions and to raise more money. Today, for example, there are over 800 drainage districts, most of which levy taxes.

A succession of Illinois governors over 20 years has called for a reduction of the number of government units, but made little progress, partly because of Byzantine regulations. To dissolve one of  Illinois’ 1,432 townships, for example, state law stipulates that three-quarters of voters in every township in that county must vote to approve.

When that state's newly elected Republican Governor Bruce Rauner established a commission to address the problem of local government, the group quickly discovered that the taxing units continue to proliferate. The net number of local government units increased by 148 between 1998 and 2015, the governor’s office reported last month.

"You could probably get by with half as many," said Bill Brandt, the recently retired chair of the Illinois Finance Authority, which funds economic development projects. "But knocking out a local government is easier than it sounds. It requires legislation, and a lot of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle come from local government."

And it isn’t only the number of authorities that is a concern. Illinois has about one sixth of America’s public pension plans – 657 out of almost 4,000.

Local authorities in Illinois are mandated by law to keep the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, with 400,000 local government members, fully funded. They had to contribute $923 million in 2014, up from $543 million in 2005.

However, there is no such requirement for the local pension funds. The result: Many of these funds throughout the state are woefully underfunded, and some have less than 20 percent of what they need to meet obligations.

“Pension costs have been going up and up, so pension contributions have been going up and up, and property taxes are the single largest source of revenue to pay for them,” Brandt said.

Townships alone provide a striking example of duplicated and costly services.

Cook County is the largest county in Illinois and second largest in America, with Chicago in its borders. There, property tax assessment and collection is done at the county level. But most of Cook County’s 30 townships have elected and salaried property tax assessors. They neither assess nor collect property taxes, said Louise Muszynski,  an assistant in the Cook County assessor’s office.

“They do work,” Muszynski said. “They help people at a local level to understand their bills, and help them with appeals.”

Northfield Township’s road district raised almost $1.4 million in property taxes in the last fiscal year – even though it contains parts of seven cities. Each of those cities has a government that provides road maintenance services, yet Northfield Township maintains its own network of 29 miles of roads, as well as sewers. It has six plow trucks and other equipment, and a full-time workforce of seven, said Wally Kehr, the township road district foreman, who earns more than $110,000 a year, according to the main Illinois pension database.

“We give a better service to local people than if the cities provided it,” Kehr said.

In a rare instance of local government consolidation, officials in DuPage County, west of Chicago, managed to pass legislation in 2012 giving them the power to cut waste. Since then, they have abolished defunct sanitary and fire protection districts, cut duplicate staff and reduced benefits. Officials estimate savings to taxpayers of $100 million over 20 years.

EMPLOYING RELATIVES

The multiplicity of local governments also affords opportunity for nepotism. Looking at the database of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, the main pension system for local government workers, Reuters identified nearly a dozen instances where husbands employ wives, mothers employ daughters, and fathers hire sons.

In Collinsville Township, in southwestern Illinois, the elected Highway Commissioner, Larry Trucano, employs his son James as a laborer, earning $71,000 a year, plus pension and health benefits, according to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund database. An official at Collinsville confirmed that James was employed by his father. Four telephone calls to Larry Trucano went unanswered.

In Venice Township, Andrew Economy, the township supervisor who earns $46,300 plus pension - he also runs a local auto repair and tow service - employs his wife, Debra Economy, as administrator. She earns almost $62,000 plus pension.

Andrew Economy said his wife does the jobs of two employees who retired in 2003 and 2008, and does them efficiently.

In the Village of Rosemont, population 4,000, which services Chicago's O'Hare Airport with hotels and a convention center, eight relatives of Mayor Bradley A. Stephens are village employees, including the police chief.

"Rosemont has never made an apology for the people they hire," said Gary Mack, a village spokesman. "The mayor holds any employees who happen to be related to him to a much higher standard than others."

 

Special Report: Multitude of local authorities soak Illinois homeowners in taxes | Reuters

2 searches for leaders underway as Belvidere Superintendent Michael Houselog preps for Rockford University - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

By Corina Curry
Rockford Register Star

Posted Aug. 9, 2015 at 7:54 PM

ROCKFORD — In about 10 days, Belvidere School District Superintendent Michael Houselog will become the new director of graduate programs in education at Rockford University, heading up a department attended in large numbers by area teachers seeking advanced degrees and those studying to enter the field of education.

Houselog joins an organization that’s actively seeking a new leader and leaves an 8,600-student school district in Boone County to do the same, setting the stage for dynamic changes in the region's educational landscape.

Houselog's primary focus will be development and oversight of varied offerings in education at the graduate level. The university has 13 programs in education, from obtaining a master's degree in teaching to professional licensure or endorsement. The college has 150 to 200 full- and part-time students in such programs.

The position was part time but is being expanded to full time so the university can best serve the community's needs.

“Dr. Houselog’s years of experience as a superintendent, principal and teacher are valuable assets that will enhance Rockford University’s ability to meet the dynamic needs of today’s educators,” interim Provost Belinda Wholeben said. "We are quite fortunate to be in a position to have a full-time staff member fully dedicated to the expansion and assessment of this program, to focus on outreach and finding out the needs of our educators."

Making the director's position full time will allow the university to expand on partnerships with school districts in the region and professional development opportunities, said Kimberlee Wagner, assistant professor of education and head of the university's education unit. It will also give Wagner more time to focus on redesigning elementary, middle and early-childhood education programs to incorporate new standards in teaching.

Increase access

Rockford University is a private, liberal arts college. It has about 900 full-time undergraduate students and 400 to 500 full-time-equivalent students enrolled in special programs or seeking master's degrees.

Houselog is landing there after three years seeking superintendent jobs in his native Iowa. Since 2012, he’s been a finalist in superintendent searches in Marion, Dubuque, Johnston and Southeast Polk school districts.

Those days are done, Houselog said. Relocating is "not part of my interest now. This job creates exciting new opportunities for me. ... I've always been interested in higher education."

Houselog said he's also not interested in applying for university's presidency.

"I am focused on becoming the new director of graduate programs in education and being successful at that," he said.

"I'm excited to learn more about the programs and add to them, to make them more accessible to people in the region and maintain the high quality. ... I'll want to stay out of the duplication business and look into areas where we, as a region, may be missing the boat and try to cultivate that."

Page 2 of 2 - The university is eager to explore new opportunities in online education and assisting educators in becoming trained to teach English as a Second Language.

Superintendent search

Houselog, 63, made the announcement July 13 that he would be retiring from the Belvidere district. His last day will be Aug. 14.

The district is just beginning its process to find a replacement. The School Board met July 30 and decided to seek proposals from three search firms to assist the board in hiring an interim superintendent and a new superintendent.

The board plans to meet Aug. 10 to receive presentations from the firms, then select a temporary superintendent and select a search firm at its board meeting.

The district has about 8,600 students enrolled in 10 schools.

President sought

Rockford University is also seeking a new leader.

Robert Head announced plans in February to close out his seven-year tenure. He will stay through the remainder of his contract, June 30, 2016.

The search for his successor started last spring.

Jim Keeling, vice chairman of the board of trustees, is heading the search committee; its 13 members represent university employees, students and community members.

The committee reviewed proposals from eight executive-search firms that specialize in higher education, hiring Hyatt–Fennell of Conway, Pennsylvania.

“We’ve been engaged in some self-study,” Keeling said. “Looking at where we are. What kind of competencies and qualities do we seek? At the end of August, the firm will come to campus and do some more of that.”

Keeling expects to attract top candidates: “The university is doing quite well right now. It has worked hard to redefine itself.”

The board should see a group of applicants by late October or early November, Keeling said. Interviews are likely to take place in December. The committee hopes to select a new president in early 2016.

That would give the candidate plenty of time to give notice and be on the job before Head leaves. The university hopes to avoid having to hire an interim president.

Keeling believes the university’s next leader should be a visionary.

“It’s a position where you really have to be able to do it all. The person needs to be a good leader and a good team member. … Higher education is changing very rapidly. There has to be a vision for what we’re going to be.”

Head will continue to work at the university on a part-time basis, assisting with special projects.

Corina Curry: 815-987-1371

2 searches for leaders underway as Belvidere Superintendent Michael Houselog preps for Rockford University - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Boone County panel may not have power to change breeding kennel regulations - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

By Ben Stanley
Rockford Register Star

Posted Aug. 7, 2015 at 12:00 PM
Updated Aug 7, 2015 at 9:05 PM

BELVIDERE — An ad hoc Boone County committee reviewing changes to its boarding and breeding kennels regulations has hit a snag. Turns out, the county may not have the authority to make changes.

"There’s a lot of things we can’t do, maybe even some of the things that we ordered in special-use permits before really shouldn’t have been," County Board member Denny Ellingson said. "So we’re trying to figure out something that the state can go along with and that we can enact."

The Boarding and Breeding Ordinance Advisory Committee formed to review ordinance changes after accusations of animal cruelty and abuse were leveled at a Caledonia dog breeder in 2014. Some questioned whether county regulations were strong enough to prevent future abuse.

For months, county leaders had considered amendments that would have, among other things, banned stackable dog cages and wire or mesh flooring in kennels. But no changes have been passed since the committee's seven members — a veterinarian, two animal-welfare advocates, two community residents, one breeder and one kennel operator — started meeting in January.

"It was designed to have input from people in the industry who have more knowledge about what local ordinances can be enacted to prevent any abuse to animals," Boone County Administrator Ken Terrinoni said. "But where we have to be careful as a county, if you read these opinions, is that this is really a state issue."

The committee found after reaching out to Assistant Boone County State's Attorney Tony Fioretti that outside of rabies control and overpopulation issues, county governments in Illinois, excluding Cook County, don't have much power to impose their own regulations.

In a memo sent to Terrinoni on April 16, Fioretti wrote that the Department of Agriculture is the "sole regulator" in Illinois and "occupies the field in terms of regulating breeding."

"While the county may still require, on a case-by-case basis, a special-use permit for breeders and kennel operators, the restrictions placed on those special uses have to be reasonable and defensible within the parameters of Illinois law and the Department of Agriculture's regulations," he wrote.

Ben Stanley: 815-987-1369

Boone County panel may not have power to change breeding kennel regulations - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL