Monday, March 10, 2014
Proposed tax credit changes could propel projects in downtown Rockford - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL
Developers apply for state or federal tax credits, which are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income taxes owed. Developers can use them to offset their own income, or sell them at a discount to investors.Here’s an example of how River Edge credits work now and how projects could be affected by the proposed changes.Gorman & Co., a Wisconsin developer, wants to do an estimated $50 million rehabilitation of the Amerock/Ziock building downtown. The 25 percent River Edge tax credit would provide Gorman with $12.5 million in tax credits to use or sell to an investor to help finance the project. Gorman also is eligible for a 20 percent federal historic tax credit, worth $10 million.
Click on the following for more details: Proposed tax credit changes could propel projects in downtown Rockford - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Bruce Rauner leads GOP race for Illinois governor - chicagotribune.com
By Rick Pearson
Clout Street
8:31 p.m. CST, March 7, 2014
A new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows Rauner, the wealthy first-time candidate from Winnetka at 36 percent support — down 4 percentage points from a month ago amid a blitz of labor union-backed TV ads attacking his business dealings as a venture capitalist.
But Dillard, a state senator from Hinsdale with the backing of major public employee unions, has emerged as the new chief alternative to Rauner. The poll showed Dillard at 23 percent, doubling his support since last month, especially among Downstate voters.
Dillard’s gains came as state Sen. Bill Brady and Treasurer Dan Rutherford lost support in recent weeks. Brady was at 18 percent, down from 20 percent in early February. Rutherford, who was hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former employee last month, was at 9 percent — a 4-percentage-point drop from the last poll.
Jury awards Brown's Chicken killer $451K in civil rights case - chicagotribune.com
By Jonathan Bullington
Tribune reporter
9:27 p.m. CST, March 8, 2014
A federal jury awarded a man serving a life-sentence for the 1993 massacre of seven workers at a Brown’s Chicken restaurant in suburban Palatine nearly a half-million dollars in his civil rights lawsuit against a former Cook County Jail guard accused of beating him in 2002.
When told by the Tribune Saturday of the jury's decision in favor of James Degorski the day before, the families of the victims expressed outrage…
In May 2002, a few hours after he arrived in the maximum-security tier at Cook County Jail, Degorski, now 41, was allegedly beaten by Thomas Wilson, who was a Cook County Sheriff's deputy.
The blows left Degorski with facial fractures that required surgery to insert two metal plates in his face. Wilson was placed on unpaid leave and eventually fired in 2004 by the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board.
Wilson claimed his actions were in self-defense, and a Cook County circuit judge acquitted him in 2003 of aggravated battery and official misconduct charges.
In May 2004, Degorski sued Wilson, another correctional officer, and former Sheriff Michael Sheahan. The suit accused Wilson of using excessive force and the others for failing to stop him.
The civil case was postponed while Degorski’s criminal case played out in court. During that time, his attorney in the civil suit died, Bonjean said, and it appeared he might not find another willing to represent him. He was convicted of the mass murders in 2009; his accomplice Juan Luna was convicted in 2007…..
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Veteran reporter starting blog at rrstar.com - Blogs - Rockford Register Star
Rockford Register Star’s new Boone County Reporter.
By Susan Vela
Susan Vela covers regional issues with a particular focus on Boone and Stephenson counties.
m.
Hello!
This is my first blog, and it’s fair to say I’m curious about the possibilities of this personal and professional enterprise.
In practically 20 years of print journalism, I’ve written a column here and there. While my formative years were about reading the columns of Chicago’s Mike Royko and Detroit’s Mitch Albom and, later on, New York’s Maureen Dowd, I haven’t necessarily always known where to take my columns.
I’ve touched on a few hot-button issues and sometimes drawn upon my family for material. But I’ve never had to worry about consistently and regularly finding fodder for such writing enterprises.
Now, it’s the wave of the future, and I accept the challenge willingly and happily. Your problem, Dear Reader, is that this is bound to be a learning experience for myself.
To start, I’ll probably delight in some of the local residents who cross my path. Then, once I get to know the region, I’m not sure what will happen.
I certainly hope to draw upon the communities that I’ll be covering: Boone County, Belvidere, Poplar Grove, Caledonia, Capron, Timberlane and New Milford.
For now, let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I’m a native Michiganian who resisted journalism because she was accepted into the University of Michigan’s engineering program. And that oddball choice was because, like most students who did well in sciences and math at my high school, I felt obligated to try joining the ranks of the state’s manufacturing force.
(Hindsight? They say it’s 20-20.)
I tried. But, I couldn’t put behind a love for reading and writing. Journalism was the bug that buzzed into my ear and then, after Michigan State University journalism classes, I interned/worked at the Alma Morning Sun.
So, um, I’ve been practicing print journalism for nearly 20 years. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind with several beats and communities.
I look forward to getting to know this one more.
Have a great day!
Above is from: Veteran reporter starting blog at rrstar.com - Blogs - Rockford Register Star
Friday, March 7, 2014
Most Chicago-Area Schools Not Reporting Serious Crime to State Database | NBC Chicago
Most parents want to believe that they'll be informed of every incident involving weapons or violence in their child's school. But aside from a report in the local newspaper -- or the occasional note sent home by a principal or superintendent - there is not a comprehensive source to check to find out what is going on.
That shouldn't be the case. For years, the Illinois State Board of Education has maintained a little-known database called the School Incident Reporting System, or SIRS, where - by law - parents are supposed to be able find out about every incident of assaults, weapons and drugs in every school in Illinois.
It was true for Allison Reid-Neimiec, a mother of three small children in northwest-suburban Belvidere, Illinois.
Two years ago she began researching her neighborhood schools as she prepared to send her oldest daughter to kindergarten. She discovered a news item about a child who brought a gun into a nearby elementary school, and she wanted to get more information. She sought information through the School Incident Reporting System - but found nothing from Belvidere.
"My reaction was -- What? Did I find it wrong? Have I missed it somewhere?" Reid-Neimiec said. "And then it was kind of outrage: This is a law and we're not following the law?"
In fact the law itself may be part of the problem: Illinois law clearly states that schools must report all incidents of weapons, assaults and drugs to both local police and Illinois State Police. The law also mandates that this information should be available to the public. The School Incident Reporting System is supposed to help serve both of those purposes - but only if a school chooses to use it.
And, as Reid-Neimiec discovered, the Belvidere School District hasn't reported to SIRS for years. (NBC5 Investigates left several messages seeking a response from the Belvidere School District, but the superintendent did not return any calls.)
"Everybody ought to know exactly what is going on in their school, so if there is a problem - or if there is a pattern - it can be solved," said Susan Garrett. Garrett is a former state senator - and now chairman of the board of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. In 2012 she introduced legislation to strengthen and clarify the laws that require schools to report these incidents. The bill did not pass - so the law continues to be unclear for schools.
"Every parent wants to know that their schools are as safe as possible," Garrett said, "and really what this bill did, was to find a way to ensure that every step was being taken to make sure that if there are issues, we're going to find out about them and we're going to share those issues with people who need to know."
"It's the parents that can lean on those legislators to create consequences when the law isn't followed," said Reid-Niemiec. "It's the parents that can lean on their school boards when they're up for election, to ask 'what are you going to do to keep our children safe?'"
"I would like to see another legislator pick up this proposal and do something with it," said Garrett. "If it passes the Senate with everybody voting yes, we should be able to get this done
If you wish to check School Incident Reporting System go to: http://www.isbe.state.il.us/research/htmls/sch_incident.htm and you we see the following:
Click on the “Student Incident Report by Month and Year”. Using “2014” you will find that Rockford District 205, Hononegah, Harvard, DeKalb and City of Chicago Schools all reported incidents.
Grand Total of all schools reporting:
Attacks Against School Personnel------------------------280
Incidents Involving Drugs--------------------------------1507
Incidents Involving Weapons-----------------------------540
Some monthly reports for nearby schools:
August 2013
Harvard---------------1----Incident Involving Weapons
September 2013
Rockford District 205---1---Incident Involving Drugs
Harvard------4----Attacks Against School Personnel ---1—Incident involving drugs
Hononegah, Rockton---3-----Incidents Involving Drugs
Woodstock --------------3-----Incidents Involving Drugs
October 2013
DeKalb------------------3------Incidents Involving Drugs
Harvard-----------------1-----Incident Involving Drugs
Hononegah--------------5-----Incidents Involving Drugs
Woodstock--------------3-----Incidents Involving Drugs
November 2013
DeKalb-------------------3-----Incidents Involving Drugs
Hononegah--------------4-----Incidents Involving Drugs
Woodstock--------------3-----Incidents involving Drugs
Employment Opportunities | Boone County, Illinois
Appointment Vacancies:
The following are volunteer Boards of the County of Boone that have vacancies:
Interested parties are asked to send a letter and resume expressing your interest and qualifications to Boone County Board Chairman Bob Walberg, 1212 Logan Ave., Suite 102, Belvidere, IL 61008. Please respond by March 21, 2014 to assure being considered.
Mental Health Advisory Committee
Two (2) vacancies for a term that will expire 2018Garden Prairie Street Light District
One (1) vacancy for a term that will expire April, 2017Boone County Fire Protection District #1
One (1) vacancy for a term that will expire the 1st Monday in May, 2017Boone County Fire Protection District #2
One (1) vacancy for a term that will expire the 1st Monday in May, 2017Boone County Fire Protection District #3
One (1) vacancy for a term that will expire the 1st Monday in May, 2017Boone County Fire Protection District #5
One (1) vacancy for a term that will expire the 1st Monday in May, 2017
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