The controversial use of "environmental" DNA to sniff out traces of Asian carp in the Chicago canal system might have just become a lot less controversial.
The Nature Conservancy announced late Tuesday night that the technology it helped pioneer with the University of Notre Dame has been validated in a peer-reviewed scientific article in a journal published by the Society for Conservation Biology.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Article validates use of DNA to track Asian carp - JSOnline
Carpentersville to receive 9/11 artifact - DailyHerald.com
village recently found out it was chosen as one of the lucky applicants — out of more than 900,000 — to get a piece of the towers.
make a curbed grassy area for a ground-based flagpole with a brick pillar. A bronze fire helmet will rest on top of the pillar with the steel artifact piercing through the brick. A plaque will be displayed in honor of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11….hopes the memorial will be in place by 2015 for the 100 year anniversary of the fire department.
Click on the following for more details: Carpentersville to receive 9/11 artifact - DailyHerald.com
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
24 attorneys vie for seat on 17th Circuit bench - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
ROCKFORD — Twenty-four area lawyers have applied to become the 17th Judicial Circuit Court’s next judge.
The Administrative Office of Illinois Courts released a certified list Tuesday of people who have applied to fill the vacant associate judgeship:
Lawrence M. Bauer, Nicole L. Beran, Susan M. Brazas, Fredrick J. Brun, Richard M. Butera, Gregory E. Cox, Michael S. Drella, Mary J. Gaziano, John P. Giliberti, Patrick W. Hayes, Douglas R. Henry, James P. Hursh, Sasha S. Jonic, Mark T. Karner, Joseph B. Kosek, David J. Kurlinkus, Faye M. Lyon, Francis M. Martinez, Philip J. Nicolosi, Kerry F. Partridge, Charles J. Prorok, James C. Thompson, Paul R. Vella and Robert R. “Randy” Wilt.
The judges of the 17th Circuit are inviting written comments from all individuals and organizations regarding the candidates. Comments must be in letter format, signed — anonymous letters will not be accepted — and received by the chief judge no later than Jan. 21.
Send letters via U.S. mail to Chief Judge Janet R. Holmgren, Winnebago County Courthouse, 400 W. State St. Room 215, Rockford, IL 61101. No faxes, hand-delivered or e-mailed letters will be accepted.
Letters will be placed in each candidate’s file. Direct contact with any circuit or associate judge regarding an individual’s candidacy is prohibited.
Click on the following for more details: 24 attorneys vie for seat on 17th Circuit bench - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
Bank Issues which received little news coverage
Thanks to a recent posting by City Barbs [http://www.citybarbs.com/?p=6007] this business news regarding Castle Bank has just come to light. Much of this has not been covered by the local news media.
In June 2009 the Comptroller of the Currency [OCC] determined that the “Bank has engaged in unsafe and unsound banking practices relating to its credit underwriting and administration, commercial real estate risk management, problem loan management, credit risk ratings, allowance for loans and lease losses, and Bank Secrecy Act program.” OCC’s formal “written agreement” with Castle Bank is available at : .http://www.occ.gov/static/enforcement-actions/ea2009-107.pdf The various loan review and administration procedures that were required by that agreement are listed in that document.
The written agreement was signed by the Directors of the then Castle Bank, NA, DeKalb, Illinois and included the following notables: John W. Castle (DeKalb), Jack D. Franks (Woodstock, State Representative of the 63rd District) and Herbert H. Franks (Marengo, attorney, father of Jack D.). Mr. Castle is a long time Director of First National Bank of Omaha and First National of Nebraska, however currently (2010) he does not serve on either of those boards. The Franks have been directors at Castle Bank since their family owned bank, First National Bank of Marengo merged with Castle Bank. Castle Bank was founded in 1856 in Sandwich, Illinois and was owned by the Castle family for generations.
This enforcement action (EA#2009-107) was terminated on 11-1-2010; see: http://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2010/nr-occ-2010-144.html . This termination occurred after the merger of Castle Bank into First National Bank of Omaha.
Castle Bank of Illinois (current division name for the bank) has its main office in DeKalb with branches in Belvidere, DeKalb, Harvard, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Marengo, Oswego, Plano, Sandwich, Sugar Grove, Sycamore, and Yorkville.
Castle Bank is a division of First National Bank of Omaha, a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska. First National Bank of Omaha has 87 locations in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas (see map), 251 ATMs, 3,500 employees and $13.7 billion in assets.
The largest privately owned banking company in the United States, Lauritzen Corporation, has controlled First National Bank of Omaha and First National of Nebraska for the past decade. National City Corporation and Lauritzen Corporation were the two largest banking organizations denied TARP [Troubled Asset Recovery Program] funds in 2008 from the U.S. Treasury Department.
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Belvidere City Council sends IT proposal back to panel - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
Morris argued that the position hasn’t existed before and work still has been done. Racz speculated that the 911 board has about $800,000 in the bank, money available to handle the full cost of the position without the city’s help. Gay couldn’t confirm that and said he didn’t believe that figure was accurate.
Belvidere City Council sends IT proposal back to panel - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
Monday, January 3, 2011
A new year means new laws for Illinois residents | Illinois Statehouse News
New year means new laws for Illinois residents
December 29, 2010
By Andrew Thomason Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD – Soon, Illinois residents can no longer buy a pet monkey, give unlimited amounts of cash to political candidates or get high on fake marijuana.
These changes, along with nearly 200 other laws, will take effect at the stroke of midnight Friday.
Campaign money
Sometimes referred to as the “wild west” of campaign financing, Illinois’ political donation landscape will be somewhat tamer starting Jan. 1. Individuals will be limited to giving a candidate $5,000 per election cycle, and businesses, unions, and political action committees to $10,000, under a new law.
“The limits are intended to both limit corruption and the appearance of corruption,” said Kent Redfield, director of the Sunshine Project. The new law will “hopefully start to restore the faith of citizens in the process.”
The caps apply to donations to political parties and political action committees.
Illinois was just one of five states that had no limits on the size or source of campaign donations before the General Assembly passed the law, according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.
Candidates will have more responsibility under the new law, too. They must file twice as many campaign expenditure and contribution reports – every three months instead of every six – under the new law. Also, candidates must make public all donations of more than $1,000 within five business days, or within two business days if the money comes in a month before an election.
“There’s going to be a lot more transparency, which you hope does two things: it modifies people’s behavior because they know that the news media and citizen groups are watching," Redfield said. " The other side of it is that if you have transparency you can see that nothing (nefarious) is going on.”
Elections
After pushing the primary election back to February in 2008 to help Barack Obama beat his Democratic rivals, the state has now returned the election back to the third Tuesday in March in even numbered years.
During the next gubernatorial race, voters will cast ballots for governor and lieutenant governor the same way they do for president and vice president, as a team. This change came after Scott Lee Cohen came out of nowhere to win the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination, only to bow out after allegations of past drug abuse and domestic violence surfaced, and run for governor as an independent.
Sexting
Generally, the law is playing catch up with technology. Such is the case with the trend of sending sexually graphic photos or video of one’s self to someone by means of a cell phone or e-mail.
This is a trend that is especially popular among younger people. Prior to the passage of a new law, prosecutors could only seek felony child pornography charges against minors caught “sexting,” something most prosecutors were hesitant to do.
“We don’t condone the behavior (but) we also don’t think these people should be sex offenders and be sent away to prison,” said Matt Jones, associate director for administration of the Illinois State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor.
Starting in the new year, minors caught sexting could instead be taken to juvenile court to determine if they qualify for court supervision. Minors could be ordered into counseling or other similar services, as well as given community service, in place of being charged with a felony.
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“We hope to intervene in situations where a minor is engaging in conduct that is harmful to them but don’t really realize is harmful to them,” Jones said.
Primate Pets
While you don’t see monkeys in the windows of pet stores, it has been legal for a person to keep a primate as a pet. In order to protect the animals, as well as the owners, the legislature approved a plan to outlaw having primate pets, except for properly designated entities like zoos.
“Most people simply cannot provide an appropriate environment for these highly intelligent and social creatures … You can’t provide what a primate needs in a basement or a bedroom,” said Michael Markariam, chief operating officer for the Human Society of the United States.
Primates can also create public health problems, according to Markariam.
“Even smaller monkeys can bite and scratch and spread very dangerous diseases to humans,” he said.
Drugs and Alcohol
Residents of Illinois will have one less way to get high come 2011. Two synthetic forms of marijuana, which are readily available now, are set to be banned. Called K2, Spice, or Blaze, the drug is a manufactured form of THC, the altered-state inducing chemical in marijuana, and is generally sold as incense. However, people smoke it like they would pot.
The drug is currently illegal in 15 other states, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency put a year-long ban on K2 while it performs a study of the drug’s effects.
And, parents hoping to use their children as their designated drivers are going to have to find another sober driver. Anyone caught intoxicated while instructing a minor with a learning permit operating a vehicle will be tagged with a moving violation.
A new year means new laws for Illinois residents | Illinois Statehouse News
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Boone County Admin Committee to interview candidates for Vacant District 1 Board Seat on Monday
As shown by the Agenda from the Boone County website: http://www.boonecountyil.org/sites/default/files/Admin%20Agenda_2.pdf
the Administrative Subcommittee will be interviewing candidates applying for appointment to the District 1 county board seat. Rumor has it that five residents have applied for the position.
ADMINISTRATIVE & LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
AGENDA
January 3, 2011 6:00 P.M.
County Board Room, 1212 Logan Avenue
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
Members Others
Anthony Dini, Chairman Ken Terrinoni
Terri Glass, Vice-Chairman
Cathy Ward
Tricia Smith
_____________
Bob Walberg, Ex Officio
MINUTES
December 6, 2010
AGENDA
PUBLIC COMMENT
NEW BUSINESS
1. Board Vacancy District 1 Interviews
2. Inoperable Vehicle Ordinance 10-52
3. Public Defender Report
4. Raffle Applications
5. Resolution 11-01 : State's Attorney Appellate Prosecutor
6. County Code Update
7. Legislative Agenda / UCCI
8. Closed Session : Collective Bargaining, Litigation, Review Closed Session Minutes
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS
ADJOURNMENT
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