At least 41 probable flu cases in Illinois - Chicago Breaking News

 

The new cases reported Thursday evening by the Illinois Department of Public Health included 16 cases in Chicago, 11 in suburban Cook County, two cases in DuPage County, seven in Kane County, three in Will County and one each in Lake and McHenry Counties.

In addition to Kilmer[Chicago], the schools closed so far include Fox Chase Elementary and Thompson Junior High Schools in Oswego, Bednarcik Junior High in Aurora, Batavia High School and Rotolo Middle School in Batavia, Haines Middle School in St. Charles and Ridge Circle Elementary School in Streamwood. Two Joliet schools, Farragut and Sator Sanchez elementary schools also were being closed, officials there said

At least 41 probable flu cases in Illinois - Chicago Breaking News

US buys more flu medicine, sends doses to Mexico | Reuters

 

April 30 (Reuters) - The United States will spend $251 million to buy 13 million more courses of flu medicine and will send 400,000 doses of treatment to Mexico

US buys more flu medicine, sends doses to Mexico | Reuters

GDP: 4thQtr 2008 and 1st Qtr 2009 both down 6+%

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009, (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP decreased 6.3 percent.

The Bureau emphasized that the first-quarter “advance” estimates are based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (see the box on page 4). The first- quarter “preliminary” estimates, based on more comprehensive data, will be released on May 29, 2009.

The decrease in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected negative contributions from exports, private inventory investment, equipment and software, nonresidential structures, and residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a positive contribution from personal consumption expenditures (PCE). Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.

The slightly smaller decrease in real GDP in the first quarter than in the fourth reflected an upturn in PCE for durable and nondurable goods and a larger decrease in imports that were mostly offset by larger decreases in private inventory investment and in nonresidential structures and a downturn in federal government spending.

Motor vehicle output subtracted 1.36 percentage points from the first-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 2.01 percentage points from the fourth-quarter change. Final sales of computers added 0.05 percentage point to the first-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 0.02 percentage point from the fourth-quarter change.

Comprehensive Revision of the National Income and Product Accounts

The price index for gross domestic purchases, which measures prices paid by U.S. residents, decreased 1.0 percent in the first quarter, compared with a decrease of 3.9 percent in the fourth. Excluding food and energy prices, the price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.4 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 1.2 percent in the fourth. The federal pay raise for civilian and military personnel added 0.3 percentage point to the change in the first quarter gross domestic purchases price index.

For more recently released statistics go to:  http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm

EPA seizes Crestwood files -- chicagotribune.com

 

Click here to read the story:  EPA seizes Crestwood files -- chicagotribune.com

Remember: “one job for each five seeking”

And how much must it be in Boone-Winnebago Counties?

Click on the illustration to make it larger.

Where Boone County stands compared to the rest of Illinois.

County Well-Being Index—Source, Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty, 2009

Four key indicators of well-being are assessed in each of Illinois' 102 counties: high school graduation rates, unemployment rates, teen birth rates, and poverty rates. Counties in Illinois are evaluated using a point system, with a higher number of points indicating a worse score. A county receives a point if its rate is worse than the state average and/or if they have worsened since the previous year. For each indicator a total of 2 points is possible, and overall a total of 8 points is possible. Counties that score 4 or 5 points are placed on the Watch List and counties that score 6, 7, or 8 points are placed on the Warning List.

Using this methodology, 70 Illinois counties have been placed on either the Poverty Watch or Poverty Warning lists. 46 counties are the Poverty Watch List, and 24 counties are on the Poverty Warning List.

 

The County Well-Being Index illustrates that poverty and hardship are not limited to one region of the state—counties all across Illinois struggle with poverty-related issues. This year’s Watch and Warning lists must serve as a wake-up call for leaders to begin deliberate efforts to reverse these trends in their communities.

Important Enhancements to the County Well-Being Index

This year's County Well-Being Index has undergone a series of changes designed to make the Index more timely and accurate. Changes include:

• A more accurate teen birth rate calculation: In prior years, teen births have been reported as a percent of all births. Now, teen births are reported as the number of births to women ages 15 to 19 per 1,000 women of that age in the population.
• A more current unemployment rate: In prior years, unemployment rates reflected August of the previous year. Now, December unemployment rates are reported
• A more current poverty rate: The data source for county poverty rates has become more timely, reporting estimates for the same year for which state estimates are available. The County Well-Being Index now uses these most recent poverty rates.

While these enhancements were necessary and important, they do limit the ability to compare county movement between the Watch and Warning Lists from this year's Index to last year's. 

Note: At the time of print, all data used for the County Well-Being Index were the most accurate available.

Northwest Herald | Study finds rise in Ill. poverty

 

Food banks are seeing a big surge in individuals and families requesting assistance, and the Illinois Department of Human Services says the state’s emergency food program has distributed 36 percent more food in the first three quarters of the state’s 2009 fiscal year, which began last July, than it did in the entire previous year.

Northwest Herald | Study finds rise in Ill. poverty