Quinn urges Hynes to reconsider

 

Hynes, Quinn and Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias  must sign off on borrowing for it to happen.

Click on the following for more details:  http://qconline.com/archives/qco/print_display.php?id=469809

Agent Orange's lethal legacy: The next generation -- chicagotribune.com

 

Hutches' daughters represent an ongoing argument over the extent to which serious health problems in the children and grandchildren of veterans can be linked to Vietnam-era defoliants.  Children of male and female Vietnam veterans both report a variety of birth defects, including loose joints, bowel and bladder disorders, bone abnormalities, hearing loss, reproductive problems, behavior disorders and abnormal skin conditions.

Ted Hutches is hobbled by leg-swelling cellulitis, cancer and nerve disorders that have left his hands and feet numb and prevented him from working for the past 30 of his 71 years.

Hutches, who was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam in 1965, was declared 100 percent disabled by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs in 2002 and receives compensation. His two adult daughters, Mary Beth Hoffman and Sherrie Hutches, are hampered by the same nerve maladies

Click on the following for more details:  Agent Orange's lethal legacy: The next generation -- chicagotribune.com

Late Bills Cost State Money

The following are taken for a web site operated by Illinois Open Government.  Take a look at their interesting articles at:  http://blog.illinoisopengov.org/ or click on the individual story to read the rest of the story.

December 04, 2009

In 2008, Illinois paid $2,676,355 in interest penalties to various vendors. By the time of our FOIA request in 2009, the state had spent $149,343 on interest penalties. The table below breaks down the interest penalties by department and year. These numbers may be slightly different than those listed on the website due to rounding

Click on the following for the rest of the story:  http://blog.illinoisopengov.org/2009/12/late-bills-cost-state-money.html

50 Highest Paid Illinois State Retirees

December 03, 2009

Ever how much retired state employees make? The highest paid state retiree makes more than $17,000 per month.  On average, the 50 highest paid state employees worked 25.74 years before retiring and make $155,292 per year.

Interesting question: why does dividing the annual pay by the number of years worked not yield a consistent number? You might think that pension amounts were based on a simple formula number of years employed X benefit rate.

Click on the following for the rest of the story:  http://blog.illinoisopengov.org/2009/12/50-highest-paid-illinois-state-retirees.html

Keep the wreath red

The wreath idea is not just used by the  Belvidere Fire Department.

Many local fire departments are driving this point home with the Red Wreath program. Participating departments place wreaths at their stations bedecked with red lights. Every time they are called to a fire related to the holiday season – a Christmas tree that catches fire, a holiday candle tipped over – a red light will be replaced with a white one.

Click on the following for more of the story:  Northwest Herald | Keep the wreath red

Is state's minimum wage too high? Yes, some Republicans say

 Voters are not likely to hear that in campaign mailers or TV ads, but when pressed for their plans on job creation, several GOP candidates turn to reducing the lowest amount employers are allowed to pay workers

Click on the following for more details:  Daily Herald | Is state's minimum wage too high? Yes, some Republicans say