Report: Illinois, Missouri will lose one congressional seat

 

Missouri and Illinois are each likely to lose a congressional seat when 2010 census numbers are complete, according to a new report.

So Missouri and Illinois' losses would be a boon to other states, such as Texas, which is projected to gain four seats.

Click on the following for more details:  The Dome - Report: Illinois, Missouri will lose one congressional seat

Boone County Board candidates focus on budget crunch - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

District 1: Four candidates, two currently seated on the board, are competing for two open seats. Republicans Danny Anderson and Tricia Smith, Democrat Kathy Hartwig and independent Brad Stark face off

District 2: The race brings Republican Paul Larson, who was appointed last year to fill the seat vacated by Brad Rightnowar, up against Democrat and Rockford math teacher Lloyd Roberts for a single seat.

District 3: Republicans Kenny Freeman and Mike Schultz and Democrat Tim Malone vie for two seats at the board

Boone County Board candidates focus on budget crunch - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

What will the Sheriff Deputies and the County be discussing in closed session?

Below is the current labor contract between Boone County Board and the Deputies Union.  The last contract  was settled through  arbitration.  The major item requiring arbitration was the annual pay increases for each year of the three year contract.  Annual increases of 3.5%, 3.0% and 3.0% were approved by arbitration.  (schedule shown below)

Some major items of importance in the present contract:

• Page 15:  Section 1, Sheriff’s Deputies and Sheriff’s Deputies Sergeants will work 12 hour shifts. Budget meetings with the Sheriff’s Department and the Finance Committee of the County Board indicate that there could be a savings in overtime pay and more flexibility of the work load if 8 hours days were allowed.  The Sheriff along with the County Administrator indicated that the union would not shift from the 12 hour day.  Currently with 12 hour days, deputies work only 7 days each 2 weeks, less than 15 days a month.  A second job is quite possible. Multiple periods of extended times off are possible when the 12 (8 twelve hour days) holiday days and the vacation days, 10-20 days (8-16 twelve hour days) are connected to shifts off duty.
• Page 16 &17:  Section 6, Time and a half for court time outside of regular day with 2 hour minimium.  Section 8.  Bidding for shift selection based upon seniority. Section 10 Compensatory time paid as regular time if not used each year.
• Page 18 & 19:  Section 6,  Layoff’s require a two week notification; part-time shall be laid off first then by seniority in each classification.  At the present time there are two part-time deputies who usually work on straight time.  They would have to laid off before any full time deputy.
• Page24:  Twelve holidays are paid.  As part of the county’s budgetary cut’s the county board is considering cutting the number of holidays for non-union employees in other departments.
• Page 25:  Sick leave accrues at the rate of 8 hours per month and can accumulate up to 1040 hours.  Hours in excess of 1040 will be paid to the employee at the rate of one hour pay for four hours of sick leave.  If laid-off or retired, sick leave will be paid to the employee at the rate of one hour pay for each four hours of sick leave;  up to 1,040 hours of leave or 260 hours of pay.

 

 

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     38          Signed Arbitration Agreement

What will the Sheriff Deputies and the County be discussing in closed session?

2 on Boone County Board seek public contract talks - Rockford, IL

 

Pat Mattison and Cathy Ward want to move contract negotiations into the open.
The county must iron out new contracts with Sheriff’s Department deputies and correction officers, whose three-year contracts expire in November, and the United Auto Workers circuit clerk unit, whose two-year contracts also expire in November. The public safety dispatchers’ two-year contract expires in November as well.

If two additional board members were to attend the meetings, aside from the three members included on the negotiating team — board Chairman Bob Walberg, Vice Chair Terri Glass and Administrative and Legislative Committee Chairman Anthony Dini — the meetings may need to be open to avoid an Open Meetings Act violation by having a majority of a County Board committee quorum present at a closed, unpublished meeting, Boone County State’s Attorney Michelle Courier

2 on Boone County Board seek public contract talks - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star