Extra, extra, read all about it! New law tells us we can have our bake sales!”

 

By Lisa Rodgers

Reporter

SPRINGFIELD- In February, legislation was introduced by Rep. Michael Tyron to amend the Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act 410 ILCS 625/.  On July 30, Illinois Legislators approved the revision of the Act that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2016.  The new legislation will directly impact the following:

“Synopsis as introduced amends the Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act.

“Provides that a home kitchen operation does not include a person who produces or packages non-potentially hazardous baked goods for sale by a religious, charitable, or nonprofit organization for fundraising purposes.

“Adds additional requirements in order to qualify as a home kitchen operation. Makes changes concerning the jurisdiction of the local governing body over home kitchen operations.

“Defines a term. Removes a provision prohibiting certain types of jams and jellies from cottage food operations. Increases the gross receipt threshold of exempt food from $25,000 to $36,000.

“Allows the Department to adopt rules to implement the requirements of the amendatory Act,” according to www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=2486&GAID=13&GA=99&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=87873&SessionID=88&SpecSess.

The current statute has caused much confusion and frustration in the State of Illinois and ill feelings and frustration among many in the Boone County community who wish to help those in need.  With the help of a Task Force many additions have been added with very specific legislation.

In fact, the current statute contains approximately 5852 words while in comparison the new law has removed text, introduced an exemption and added specific permissible foods has significantly reduced the statute to approximately 3314 words.

Please refer to www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=099-0191, for more information.

For example:

410 ILCS 625/3.6

Sec. 3.6 3.4.  Home kitchen operation.

(a) For the purpose of this Section, “home kitchen operation” means a person who produces or packages non-potentially hazardous baked goods food in a kitchen of that person’s primary domestic residence for direct sale by the owner or a family member.

As used in this Section, “baked good” has the meaning given to that term under sub-paragraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section 4 of this Act.

A home kitchen operation does not include a person who produces or packages non-potentially hazardous baked goods for sale by a religious, charitable, or nonprofit organization for fundraising purposes; the production or packaging of non-potentially hazardous baked goods for these purposes is exempt from the requirements of this Act, or for sale by a religious, charitable, or nonprofit organization, stored in the residence where the food is made…”

In the new statute effective Jan. 1, 2016, legislators provide an explanation as to why the statute has been revised.

(410 ILCS 625/3.3)

Sec. 3.3. Farmers’ markets.

• The General Assembly finds as follows:
• Farmers’ markets, as defined in subsection (b) of this Section, provide not only a valuable marketplace for farmers and food artisans to sell their products directly to consumers, but also a place for consumers to access fresh fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural products.
• Farmers’ markets serve as a simulator for local economies and for thousands of new businesses every year, allowing farmers to sell directly to consumers and capture the full retail value of their products.

They have become important community institutions and have figured in the revitalization of downtown districts and rural communities.

• Since 1999, the number of farmers’ markets has tripled and new ones are being established every year. There is a lack of consistent regulation from one county to the next, resulting in confusion and discrepancies between counties regarding how products may be sold.
• In 1999, the Department of Public Health published Technical Information Bulletin/Food #30 in order to outline the food handling and sanitation guidelines required for farmers’ markets, producer markets, and other outdoor food sales events.
• While this bulletin was revised in 2010, there continues to be inconsistencies, confusion, and lack of awareness by consumers, farmers, markets, and local health authorities of required guidelines affecting farmers’ markets from county to county.

The link provided below will direct you to the complete new statute effective Jan. 1, 2016: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=099-0191.

While conducting research for an additional article on Sept. 3, the following website forrager.com/law/illinois/ provided the new statute and further information.

Extra, extra, read all about it!  New law tells us we can have our bake sales!”

Belvidere Board of Education hires co-interim superintendent

 

BELVIDERE– In early August the Board of Education for the Belvidere School District named Cheryl Gieseke as its temporary interim superintendent.

At its next meeting the Board will take formal action to hire Dr. Larry Weck. Dr. Weck will work alongside Ms. Gieseke as co-interim superintendent for the remainder of the school year.

Dr. Weck is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois. After serving as the Superintendent of Schools for the Addison School District from 1983 to 2003, Dr. Weck has assumed interim positions in Addison, Grayslake, Benjamin School District 25, Evergreen Park, and most recently Big Hollow School District 38.

The Board of Education is working with B.W.P. and Associates in its search for a permanent leader.  Staff, students, and community members are invited and encouraged to participate in the search process by completing a survey, Finding a Leader for our Future, and by attending an upcoming forum.

The survey is available on the district’s website at www.district100.com and is open until Oct. 1.

From:  Board of Education hires co-interim superintendent

Rockford-area leaders look to Chicago for regional housing strategies - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

By Lindsey Holden
Staff writer

Posted Sep. 22, 2015 at 10:24 AM
Updated Sep 22, 2015 at 11:11 PM

ROCKFORD — Debate over the best location for affordable housing rages on, but area leaders hope spreading units around the Rockford region will change the course of the conflict.

Four area housing authorities — Winnebago and Boone counties, Rockford and Freeport — have applied to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, for help in creating a Regional Housing Initiative, or RHI. This intergovernmental group would allow each of the four housing authorities to pool together vouchers they each get from HUD, which are used to subsidize rent in specific privately owned developments. The housing authorities could then collaboratively decide the best locations for development.

This regional approach would allow officials to expand "opportunity areas" — neighborhoods with specific racial, economic and employment makeups where those who award state funding require developments to be located — and strategically build new housing near employers and schools. A local RHI would also help cities

RHI emphasizes the need to locate developments so residents have "labor-market engagement and job-market access," which Gala said has improved the prospects for educational and job attainment. Residents who previously wouldn't have been able to find homes in more affluent areas can now broaden their housing horizons.

RHI has worked well for developers, too. Larry Pusateri, a principal with Daveri Development Group, a Chicago-based company that built suburban RHI projects, said the collective has a "smooth system" worked out, so acquiring funding and beginning work on complexes is easier. Daveri completed 20 units of affordable housing in Glenview and 39 units of affordable housing for disabled individuals, both in 2013.

Read more by clicking on the following:  Rockford-area leaders look to Chicago for regional housing strategies - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program information available - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

LIHEAP is available?

ROCKFORD — Information about the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is now available for eligible residents in Winnebago and Boone counties.

The program pays a benefit directly to energy companies on behalf of eligible households or directly to eligible renters if all energy costs are included in their rent.

Information about eligibility requirements and the program can be acquired at the City of Rockford Human Services Department, Suite 301, 555 N. Court St.; Belvidere City Hall, 401 Whitney Blvd., Belvidere; and the Boone County United Way, 220 W. Locust St., Belvidere.

Information is also available online: rockfordil.gov.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program information available - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Ben Carson argued evolution was 'encouraged by' Satan | MSNBC

 

By Steve Benen

A few years ago, then Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) delivered some rather amazing remarks in which he described pillars of modern science – including evolutionary biology and the big bang – as quite literally “lies straight from the pit of Hell.”

House GOP leaders made Paul Broun a member of the House Science Committee.

As it turns out, the same year, Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson delivered remarks that were strikingly similar. BuzzFeed reported yesterday:

In a speech delivered in 2012, Ben Carson said the big bang theory was part of the “fairy tales” pushed by “high-faluting scientists” as a story of creation.

Similarly, Carson, a noted creationist, said he believed the theory of evolution was encouraged by the devil.

I wish I could say that’s an exaggerated description, but it’s really not. The retired right-wing neurosurgeon, known for his off-the-wall ideas about a great number of issues, called the science surrounding the big bang “ridiculous,” and added in reference to evolution, “I personally believe that this theory that Darwin came up with was something that was encouraged by the adversary.”

In context, “the adversary” appears to refer to Satan.

Addressing his bizarre views yesterday, the GOP presidential hopeful said, “I’m not gonna denigrate you because of your faith and you shouldn’t denigrate me for mine. And that’s the kind of attitude, you know – that’s the kind of attitude that I think is very important in the society in which we live today.”

It’s an unsatisfying response because it misses the point of what makes revelations like these significant. A leading national candidate, who’s asking Americans to trust his judgment, has ridiculous ideas about a demon shaping our understanding of modern biology. It’s the sort of the thing that, for some in the reality-based community, is a disqualifying characteristic for someone seeking the world’s most important job.

Carson seemed to suggest yesterday that his bizarre beliefs are somehow off-limits. To notice a presidential candidate’s weird ideas, he says, is to “denigrate” the man who talked about those ideas publicly.

It’s treating faith as some kind of trump card – as if prominent public figures who denigrate science (and scientists) should be left alone because of their religious motivations, regardless of the disservice they’re doing to the discourse.

Campaigns for national leadership don’t, and can’t, work this way.

Explore:

The MaddowBlog, Ben Carson, Creationism, Election 2016 and Elections

Ben Carson argued evolution was 'encouraged by' Satan | MSNBC

Volkswagen (VLKAY) Scandal Opens Door to Possible Fiat (FCAU) Takeover - TheStreet

 

NEW YORK (The Deal) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) has vocally sought a merger partner. Volkswagen (VLKAY)  is suddenly reeling. Don't be surprised if Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne makes a move.

Germany's VW has lost nearly $30 billion in market capitalization -- about one third of its total -- this week after admitting that more than 11 million vehicles had software installed that allowed them to cheat diesel engine emission tests. Volkswagen is already setting aside more than $7 billion to handle potential fines, recalls and vehicle buybacks, but analysts have warned that the damage could be more than twice that amount should regulators throw the book at the automaker.

Volkwagen CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down Wednesday.
Enter Marchionne, the charismatic leader of Fiat Chrysler with a strong reputation as a problem solver and loads of investor credibility. Marchionne is also one of the industry's most vocal advocates for consolidation, arguing that combinations are needed to bring down overcapacity and help streamline some of the more than $100 billion in annual industry research and development spending that for now is driving down returns on invested capital.
Volkswagen, like Marchionne's primary target General Motors (GM - Get Report) , has previously rebuked suggestions of a merger by arguing that while a deal might be necessary for the smaller Fiat Chrysler it is not worth the considerable integration challenges to the larger company. Indeed $17 billion market cap-Fiat has very little technology that VW doesn't already have in house. And with the Porsche-Piech families owning more than half of VW, there's no chance of a deal happening unless the families are on board.
But the situation in Germany has obviously changed dramatically. It is worth noting that last summer reports surfaced that Ferdinand Piech, who was chairman of Volkswagen until losing a power struggle with Winterkorn earlier this year, had held talks with Fiat's controlling shareholders the Agnelli family about a potential combination.

Volkswagen (VLKAY) Scandal Opens Door to Possible Fiat (FCAU) Takeover - TheStreet

Enjoy it while it lasts, Mr. Trump: The GOP power brokers who’ll decide when the show is over - Salon.com

 

The Koch brothers haven't spent the last 30 years consolidating their power just to let an unanointed candidate win

David Brock

Enlarge (Credit: AP)

Donald Trump has good reason to feel confident after last week’s debate.

After all, he seems incapable of saying anything so inflammatory or dumb that it turns the Republican base against him. Indeed, even after being upbraided by Carly Fiorina for his ugly personal attacks, he continues to lead all polls.

The Republican establishment is hoping that someone will emerge to stop Trump. The Koch brothers’ favorite, Scott Walker, is now out of the running for the job. Tellingly, in his swan song, the Koch’s messenger boy called on the GOP to rally around an anti-Trump strategy. But efforts by party leaders to date to rein in Trump have only made him more powerful.

With Walker’s implosion, the Kochs aren’t looking especially fearsome in this week’s news cycle. That said, Trump should make sure to enjoy this moment while it lasts. Because when the Kochs – the GOP’s true power brokers – decide it’s time to put an end to this show, Trump’s bubble is likely to burst faster than he (or, in this case, the Kochs) can say, “You’re fired.” For all of Trump’s bluster,  Charles and David Koch are the alpha dogs of the Republican Party. And the only thing more implausible than Trump’s hair is the notion that he can beat them at their own game.

As I detail in my new book, “Killing the Messenger,” the Koch brothers have spent the last 30 years (and hundreds of millions of dollars) consolidating their control over our political system via what Charles has called a “vertically and horizontally integrated” strategy – in his words, the Kochs have their hands in everything “from idea creation to policy development to education to grassroots organization to lobbying to litigation to political action.”

The Kochs’ state-based infrastructure helped Republicans seize control of legislatures and governors’ mansions so they could gerrymander district lines, practically ensuring a GOP majority in the House until the next census in 2020. The Kochs’ attack ad factory helped demolish the Democratic Senate majority in 2014, handing the GOP complete control of Capitol Hill. And with a Koch-approved agenda already road-tested in states like Wisconsin and North Carolina, the only thing the brothers need to complete the hijacking of our democracy is a president they can call their own.

There are plenty of candidates who still aspire to that position.  Jeb Bush’s Koch ties go back decades, pre-dating his first run for governor of Florida. Marco Rubio has taken special care to support every aspect of the Koch agenda, from opposing the Export-Import Bank to blocking a raise in the minimum wage. Ted Cruz is a longtime favorite speaker at Koch events. Even Carly Fiorina, a relative newcomer to politics, has been courting the brothers, hiring a former Koch Industries employer as her campaign manager.

One after another, these Republican candidates have strutted their stuff at private auditions for the brothers, as if they were interviewing for a job at Koch Industries (which, of course, they kind of are).

Enjoy it while it lasts, Mr. Trump: The GOP power brokers who’ll decide when the show is over - Salon.com

Food permits still free for nonprofits in Boone County - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

Ben Stanley

Posted Sep. 22, 2015 at 3:07 PM

BELVIDERE — Food permits will remain free for nonprofit groups in Boone County.

The County Board voted down an ordinance on Sept. 16, that would make nonprofits pay 50 percent of the permit fee normally charged to organizations that wish to serve food at fundraisers and events.

“Justice prevails," said Marion Thornberry, legislative director of the Illinois State Grange and moderator for St. John's United Church of Christ in Belvidere. "The nonprofit people in Boone County, they represent things that the counties, the states the countries need and never provide ... so to say we have to pay for (food permits), when we’re already providing (services) is ludicrous."

For years the Boone County Health Department has waived food-permit charges for nonprofits. Health Department officials say Boone is one of only two counties in the state that does not charge nonprofits for food permits.

The new measure would have charged nonprofits, on average, $108 for an annual food permit. The maximum price the Health Department could have charged a nonprofit group for a food permit had the ordinance passed is $225.

Department officials estimated the ordinance would have generated $9,000 a year. The Health Department receives tax money and government grants to operate each year, but it has been losing revenue. In its fiscal 2015 budget, the department is projected to expend nearly $60,000 more than it will collect.

"It was kind of painful, but I certainly understand their point," said Health Department Administrator Cindy Frank. "(The vote) didn't come as a big surprise ... I’m sure the health department will probably try it again if the makeup of the board changes over time. It kind of depends on how things go."

Ben Stanley: 815-987-1369; bstanley@rrstar.com; @ben_j_stanley

Food permits still free for nonprofits in Boone County - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Other Posting regarding the issue:  http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/09/county-board-votes-down-health-fees-for.html  and http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/09/boone-county-board-deny-not-for-profit.html

State layoffs delayed as unions, Rauner administration wait for next step : News

 

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Bruce Rauner is backing off plans to lay off more than 100 state workers next week as part of the lingering budget standoff.

In an agreement with two labor unions representing the workers, the administration said it is waiting for the matter to work its way through the court system before deciding the next step.

"The administration believes legal proceedings will confirm that the agencies have properly followed the law in executing these layoffs. We hope to reach a final resolution very soon," said Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly.

Rauner had planned to jettison the workers Sept. 30 after he and Democrats who control the Legislature were unable to agree on a spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Included in the mix were conservation police officers and workers at the Illinois State Museum. It was not clear Tuesday whether the museum or the World Shooting Complex in Sparta are still on track to close Sept. 30.

The Hardin County prison work camp targeted by Rauner is not set to be closed until December.

Anders Lindall, a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, cautioned the reprieve for threatened workers may be only temporary.

"The ultimate answer is for the governor to drop his political posturing and work with the Legislature," Lindall said.

The delay comes as the budget impasse is in its 12th week. After Rauner announced the layoffs, the unions took him to court, saying the state was violating terms of the contracts.

kurt.erickson@lee.net

State layoffs delayed as unions, Rauner administration wait for next step : News