Seeking distance from Trump, California GOP loosens immigration stance - LA Times

 

The California Republican Party voted Sunday to soften its stance on immigration, responding to harsh rhetoric from presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Republicans have been struggling to find a balance between appealing to the Golden State's growing Latino population and satisfying its base of white conservatives. The problem has grown more pressing with Trump, a New York real estate mogul, soaring to the top of the primary polls while advocating a crackdown on illegal immigration.

)The changes say Republicans "hold diverse views" on "what to do with the millions of people who are currently here illegally." The wording of the amendment was tweaked after a Saturday committee meeting, which used the phrase "otherwise law-abiding folks" instead of "people."

Although the new language emphasizes opposition to "amnesty," it removes the statement that "allowing illegal immigrants to remain in California undermines respect for the law."

The changes were proposed by a Latino party official from Fresno, Marcelino Valdez, who said it was a reaction to Trump's "offensive" comments on immigrants.

It's important to use "language that is more appealing to California's diverse electorate," Valdez said.

In a statement after the vote, he called it "an anti-Proposition 187 plank," referring to the controversial 1994 ballot measure that would have prevented immigrants in the country illegally from receiving public services. It was invalidated by federal courts, but not before it helped drive Latinos away from the Republican Party.

Jon Fleischman, a conservative blogger and party delegate, spoke against the change on Saturday by calling it too ambiguous.

But he voted for it on Sunday after the phrase "otherwise law-abiding folks" was removed.

"You can't be law-abiding while you're breaking the law," he said.

Seeking distance from Trump, California GOP loosens immigration stance - LA Times

Poplar Grove Airport top privately owned, open to the public airport in Illinois - Special - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

By Kimberly Watley
Correspondent

Posted Sep. 19, 2015 at 8:00 AM

POPLAR GROVE — In the 1960s, the world was changing steadily. In the countryside of Boone County, things weren’t much different.

Side-by-side, dairy farmer Dick Thomas and his son, Steve, tended to cows and worked the land that had been in their family since the 1800s.

A fellow farmer came by to purchase an outbuilding from Dick in 1967. Rather than come up the lane in a pickup truck, he arrived in a small craft airplane, landing alongside the pasture.

“He took me up for a ride. I was 15. I said, ‘Ooh! This is it! This is a whole new world.’ And it seemed more exciting and more fun than milking cows, baling hay and shoveling manure,” Steve said.

From that moment forward, flying would become an instrumental part of his life.

His father also was bit by the bug. Their mutual and instant attraction to flight got the wheels rolling and in 1972, using a portion of the farmland, Dick opened the first airport in Boone County.

Both received their pilot’s license and learned the ins and outs of running a successful small airport.

The lay of the land has changed dramatically. The two cattle sheds became hangars, the fields became runways, and the fresh dairy air has given way to flight patterns with contrails.

Dick sold the property to Steve, and over time, it was annexed and Belvidere Airport got more than a new name.

Poplar Grove Airport has since grown into a complete aeronautics community.

Adjoining the airport, Aircraft Maintenance Poplar Grove Airmotive isn’t just a maintenance shop, Steve said They inspect, provide maintenance and complete large tasks, including overhauling piston aircraft engines.

“We have customers we ship to as far away as Guam, Indonesia and Korea,” he said.

Bordering the outskirts as well is Bel Air Estates, a subdivision where residents have access to runways adjacent to their driveways. They have hangars next to their garages, all of which was another one of Steve’s visions that came to fruition.

Neighboring Poplar Grove Vintage Wings & Wheels Museum land was donated by the Thomas family. It offers outreach programs, flight camps and scholarships.

There is also a flight school at the airport where students as young as 14 can learn to fly.

“We have lots of past students who became instructors and are now captains for major airlines,” Steve said. “One of our instructors now looks to be headed in that direction, too.”

His wife, Tina, who he met in college, was studying to be a nurse. He took her up for her first flight in 1975. She ended up falling head-over-heels in love, and not just with Steve. By 1976, she had her pilot’s license

To read the entire article click on the following:   Poplar Grove Airport top privately owned, open to the public airport in Illinois - Special - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Rauner Terminates Lottery Contract | WSIU

 

Gov. Bruce Rauner has announced his administration has reached an agreement to terminate the contract of Northstar Lottery Group, the private company managing the Illinois Lottery.

The governor's general counsel Jason Barclay says a new private manager will take over day-to-day operation of the lottery by Jan. 2017.

Northstar, which was hired in 2010 to increase sales and profits, has been under criticism for several years for its management style.

A recent report by the Illinois Legislature revealed the Illinois Lottery lost money last year for the first time since 2009.

The report also said Northstar has consistently failed to meet profit targets, has gone to arbitration with the state numerous times, repeatedly paid penalties for not meeting targets and failed to expand the number of lottery outlets as promised.

Rauner Terminates Lottery Contract | WSIU