Friday, December 11, 2009

State disciplines few nursing home administrators

In five years, an Illinois agency that disciplines nursing home administrators has received more than 400 complaints from the state agency that investigates nursing home care. Only three led to discipline….The matter is under study by a task force that hopes to make recommendations to Gov. Pat Quinn by the end of January on nursing home safety.

Click on the following for more details:  Daily Herald | State disciplines few nursing home administrators

Kane sheriff, non-union staff: Were furloughs legal?

image The Kane County sheriff and non-union staff have asked the Attorney General's office to review the County Board's decision last month to furlough 26 sheriff's employees.

Furloughed staff includes the management, except for the sheriff, and civilian staffers in both the sheriff's office and corrections. Perez, who had struggled for months with the board over needed cuts to his budget, said the move to furloughs instead of layoffs was preferred by the staff.

Perez declined to comment on what exactly his legal concerns are.

Click on the following for more details:  Kane sheriff, non-union staff: Were furloughs legal? :: Beacon News :: Local News

Panel recommends attorney lose license for at least 1 year

Schumacher served as Ogle County State’s Attorney from 1980 to 1992…. The panel found that Schumacher “engaged in a pattern of sexual misconduct involving three different women” that “could not have been reasonably considered by him to be acceptable behavior under the ethical rules of our profession.”

In his defense, Schumacher also had some of the Rock River Valley’s legal elite stand in as character witnesses, including retired Appeals Court Judge Dan Doyle, Circuit Court Judge Joe McGraw and United Way CEO Paul Logli.

Panel recommends attorney lose license for at least 1 year - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

AMCORE stock in danger of being delisted

 ... trust and amcore foundationAMCORE has been traded on the Nasdaq since 1986. Its stock peaked in February 2007 at $34.49, but the company has lost money seven straight quarters and is under orders by federal regulators to raise capital. Its stock closed today at 53 cents a share.

Click on the following for more details:  AMCORE stock in danger of being delisted - - BusinessRockford.com

Northern Illinois University reinstates Chief Grady

While the Northern Star editorial board disagrees with the
outcome of this process, it respects NIU’s decision and will work hard
to help improve relations among news media, the public and the NIU
police.
"The Northern Star stands by its Oct. 8 editorial. We are disappointed
that the university’s investigation appears to have focused
overwhelmingly on one particular point of that editorial, when the
intent was to illustrate a wide-ranging list of public concerns.
"The newspaper also stands behind the well-demonstrated honesty and
ethics of its fall 2009 editor in chief, Justin Weaver."

Click on the following for the full details:  Northern Star Online: University reinstates Chief Grady

Lawmakers seek emergency steps to halt Asian carp

 

Army Corps officials told members of Congress on Thursday they needed $13.5 million during the 2010 fiscal year for immediate measures, said Rep. Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican.

Those could include sealing off culverts, constructing berms and otherwise attempting to block off the Sanitary and Ship Canal from the nearby Des Plaines River, already infested with Asian carp. Scientists fear carp could be washed from the river to the canal during flooding.

The Army Corps plans to construct a third segment of the electrical barrier and says it will consider long-term solutions that could include severing the link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin, as environmentalists have requested.

Click on the following for more details:  Lawmakers seek emergency steps to halt Asian carp - Yahoo! Finance

Freeport’s Journal–Standard’s VIEW: Transparency on video gaming

Will Belvidere or Boone County ever weigh in on this question?

Freeport and Stephenson County have not taken formal action regarding the state’s proposal to install video gaming machines in local restaurants, taverns, and truck stops.We strongly support a thorough and public opportunity to gather input on whether our communities support the new law.It assures that arguments on both sides of the issue will be aired, and our elected public officials will have plenty to consider after hearing public opinion.

What is most important to Illinois residents is the fair and accurate representation of public opinion, and a process that gathers that input through public hearings and an open, public vote by our elected officials.

Click on the following for more details:  OUR VIEW: Transparency on video gaming - Freeport, IL - The Journal-Standard

Tax campaign – Public Safety Sales Tax for Stephenson County Sherriff

 

We want the citizens, the voters, to have the basic information with which to make their own decision on how to vote,” Blum said. “And we’re obviously hoping for a vote in the positive once they see the need and the actual cost to the taxpayer involved, and get that in perspective. ... We believe we have the support of the County Board and the sheriff’s office to push this forward.”
A key part of the information campaign will be getting voters to understand the necessity of this increase to prevent further cuts to the sheriff’s office

Click on the following for more information:  Tax campaign - Freeport, IL - The Journal-Standard

Get-ready-for-2010-the-year-of-the-roth-ira:

Good advise for 2010 IRA Conversions to ROTH IRA. 

converting. So, anyone willing to pay the income taxes due upon making such a move will be able to funnel retirement savings into a Roth, where it can grow tax-free.

Put converted holdings into a new account, rather than an existing Roth. That way, if the value falls after you've paid the tax bill, you can change your mind, "recharacterize" the account (meaning you move the money back into a traditional IRA) and wipe out your income-tax liability.  You have until Oct. 15 of the year following the year of conversion to recharacterize…Better still: Consider opening a separate Roth for each type of investment you hold. That way, you can recharacterize the ones that perform poorly and leave the winners alone.

Click on the following for more detailsget-ready-for-2010-the-year-of-the-roth-ira: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Were foreclosed Hampshire subdivisions plowed?

 

In Lakewood, Palm said, this first post-foreclosure test of snow removal was a success. "Amcore Bank has hired a local guy to plow Lakewood's streets, and he did a very good job," Palm said.

But in Tuscany Woods, where U.S. Bank has hired an out-of-town contractor to clear the streets,…[we]weren't satisfied with the performance. We (the village) had to do some plowing in there, too, to address some public-safety issues

Click on the following for more detailsWere foreclosed Hampshire subdivisions plowed? :: The Courier News :: Local News

FACTBOX: Keys to House financial regulation reform bill | Reuters

This article supplies a bullet presentation of the major issues being addressed by the re-regulation of the financial industry.  It also supplies a web site to read the entire bill.

(Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Thursday will debate historic legislation to overhaul financial regulation, with passage seen soon, possibly on Friday.

Click on the following for the “bullet” article:  FACTBOX: Keys to House financial regulation reform bill | Reuters

The Chronicle’s View: Illinois stuck in Dickens novel

 Recent editorial of the Dekalb-based Chronicle.

The Chronicle - Local news and video for the Tri-Cities and Kaneland

Illinois needs leaders that don't mind losing an election. It needs decision makers capable of making choices to meet the state's obligations, while also freeing the state from those it simply will not be able to meet in the future

Read the entire editorial by clicking on the following:  Print Version: Our View: State needs leadership

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The major increase was due to the NDK explosion,  There were 173 visits on Monday December 7, 2009, the date of the blast.
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