Economic panel says recession ended in June 2009 -

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a panel of academic economists based in Cambridge, Mass., said the recession lasted 18 months. It started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009

To make its determination, the NBER looks at figures that make up the nation's gross domestic product, which measures the total value of goods and services produced within the United States. It also reviews incomes, employment and industrial activity.

Unemployment usually keeps rising well after a recession ends. Four months after the 2007 downturn ended, unemployment spiked to 10.1 percent in October 2009, which was the highest in just over a quarter-century. Some economists believe that marked the high point in joblessness. But others think it could climb higher -- perhaps hitting 10.3 percent by early next year.

Click on the following for more detail:  Economic panel says recession ended in June 2009 - Yahoo! Finance

Hampshire and other Illinois communities brace for longtime political signs

… in Hampshire, and probably in many other Illinois towns, political campaign signs may be staying up a lot longer.

Village Attorney Mark Schuster told the village board Thursday that under a state law which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2011, cities and villages no longer will have the power to limit how long outdoor campaign signs may remain standing in residential areas.

"Yes, sir -- 24/7, 365 days a year,"

Click on the following for more details:  Hampshire braces for longtime political signs :: The Courier News :: Local News

Arrest Made in Brutal Beating of Bruce Schlichting

Investigators arrested 60-year old Stephen Keegan last night for aggravated battery. He's at the Boone county jail on $50,000 bond.

Click on the following for more details:  Arrest Made in Brutal Beating of Belvidere Man - MyStateLine.com

Play the video from Channel 39--it also has additional details.

Midwest Peace Talks Shattered By Illinois Toll-Booth Bombing | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Here is a funny story from 1998 from the famous newspaper to the North--THE ONION—Don’t take it too seriously.

BELVIDERE, IL–Hopes for a Midwest peace accord were dealt a severe blow Monday, when a bomb ripped through a toll booth on the I-90 Illinois Tollway. The attack, which killed six and delayed westbound traffic for hours, is believed to be the work of Iowa-based militant Lutheran extremists.

Click on the following for more of the “story”:  Midwest Peace Talks Shattered By Illinois Toll-Booth Bombing | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Construction to begin for high-speed rail leg

breaking ground Friday in Alton for the portion of the line between the Mississippi River city and Springfield, then to near Lincoln.

That $98 million effort is a part of the $1.1 billion the Obama Administration awarded in January to improve passenger rail service between Chicago and St. Louis.

The improvements are expected to allow trains to operate at up to 110 mph. That's up from 79 mph currently.

Click on the following for more details:  Daily Herald | Construction to begin for high-speed rail leg

Regulators close 6 banks in Ga, NJ, Ohio, Wis -

Maritime Savings Bank, based in West Allis, Wis., with assets of $350.5 million.

Click on the following for more details:  Regulators close 6 banks in Ga, NJ, Ohio, Wis - Yahoo! Finance

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Pelosi’s Job Numbers

The speaker of the House said at a Tuesday night news conference: "It’s important to know that in the first eight months of 2010, more jobs were created than in the eight years of the Bush administration."

Really? Well, no, not quite. In the first eight months of this year, the economy gained a net total of 723,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During Bush’s eight years, the gain was 1,080,000 jobs.

Pelosi’s staff said she was referring only to private sector jobs, omitting any change in government employment. By that measure, she would be right

Obama: Sept. 10: It’s very hard when you’ve got a determined minority in the Senate that insists on a 60-vote filibuster on every single person that we’re trying to confirm, even if after we break the filibuster it turns out that they get 90 votes.

It’s true that Republicans have blocked and delayed many of Obama’s nominees. The Legal Times reported that a 99 to zero vote on one federal court appointment "follows a pattern of circuit nominees waiting several months for votes in the full Senate, only to be confirmed eventually without dissent." The Associated Press cited a "determined Republican stall campaign" for the fact that Obama has "put fewer people on the bench than any president since Richard Nixon at a similar point in his first term 40 years ago."

Fish Stories | FactCheck.org