Civil fraud charges filed against Bank of America - washingtonpost.com

"Bank of America, through its top management, engaged in a concerted effort to deceive shareholders and American taxpayers at large," Cuomo said in a statement. "They committed an enormous fraud, and American taxpayers ended up paying billions for Bank of America's misdeeds."

The bank and agency [SEC] agreed to settle the charges for $33 million, but a federal judge rejected the settlement, saying it left too many questions unanswered, punished the very shareholders who were injured and let top executives off the hook. ….The SEC on Thursday announced the bank had now agreed to pay $150 million to settle the charges and agreed to a host of changes in how the company is run

Bank of America said it was pleased with the SEC settlement but "we find it regrettable and are disappointed that the NYAG [Cuomo]  has chosen to file these charges, which we believe are totally without merit

Civil fraud charges filed against Bank of America - washingtonpost.com

NDK submits documents to state's attorney, attorney general, IEPA

In addition to stating what chemicals may have been released, NDK must produce a written description of the company’s crystal production process as well as a list of all chemicals used in the process. NDK also agreed to provide a corrective action plan, hazard and operability study, and a “root-cause analysis” of what triggered the disaster.

Click on the following for more details:  NDK submits documents to state's attorney, attorney general, IEPA - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Lawsuit ensures wind farm won’t be a breeze | The Rock River Times

Lawsuit against Winnebago County. 

damages of at least $500,000 be awarded for “depreciation of use and value” of her property as a result of the wind farm text amendment’s approval as a permitted use, which requires no public hearings prior to the siting of wind turbines throughout the county.

Click on the following for more details:  Lawsuit ensures wind farm won’t be a breeze | The Rock River Times

The Senate race in Illinois: Who will take Obama's old seat? | The Economist

Republicans will easily portray him [Alexi Giannoulias] as part of the "Chicago machine". (In fact, they already have, with an ad seemingly narrated by a "Jersey Shore" cast member.) His family's bank made loans to Tony Rezko, a convicted developer, and is now so troubled that it is under federal oversight. His brother served on the Illinois Finance Authority during the reign of Rod Blagojevich

Mark Kirk, has more experience (five terms in Congress) and more cash (as of January 13th Mr Kirk had $4.9m, compared with Mr Giannoulias’s $3m). Mr Kirk is well-respected, a social moderate and fiscal conservative. A commander in the Navy reserve, he has served in Afghanistan twice. He coasted through the primary…. Mr Kirk tried to win Sarah Palin's endorsement, but failed. He was for the House cap-and-trade plan before he was against it. He does not have tea-party support

Click on the following for more details:  The Senate race in Illinois: Who will take Obama's old seat? | The Economist

Stephenson County Sales tax defeated: Two incumbent County Board members lose by narrow margins

that 4,423 residents, or 72.83 percent, voted against the tax increase, while only 1,650 residents, or 27.17 percent, voted in favor of the proposal….Supporters of the increase had hoped to use the estimated $1.2 to $1.5 million in additional annual revenue to provide much-needed funding for public safety and, specifically, the sheriff’s office, which was recently hit hard by staff cuts.

Sales tax defeated: Two incumbent County Board members lose by narrow margins - Freeport, IL - The Journal-Standard

Gaulrapp seeks town-hall debates in upcoming campaign

Freeport Mayor George Gaulrapp wasted no time diving into his campaign for U.S. Congress, staging a press conference one day after the primary elections and challenging nine-term Congressman Don Manzullo, R-Egan, to take part in a series of town-hall debates prior to the Nov. 2 general election.

Click on the following:  Gaulrapp seeks town-hall debates in upcoming campaign - Freeport, IL - The Journal-Standard

Border fence plagued by glitches, long delays

The project is not working..

An ambitious, $6.7 billion government project to secure nearly the entire Mexican border with a "virtual fence" of cameras, ground sensors and radar is in jeopardy after a string of technical glitches and delays.

Having spent $672 million so far with little to show for

The worst that happens is that we have a system which gives us some value but we conclude that it's not worth buying any more of it," said Mark Borkowski, the government's director of the project at U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Click on the following for more details:  Daily Herald | Border fence plagued by glitches, long delays