$6 Billion Railroad Bypass Project Proposed

 

STATELINE (WIFR) – A group of businessmen are looking to construct the largest new set of railroad track in more than 100 years and the historic project could be coming through the Stateline.

Great Lakes Basin headed by Frank Patton wants to build a railroad bypass to get cargo around Chicago’s congestion. The new set of tracks would begin in Northwest Indiana, extending through Illinois and up through Winnebago County, ending in Orfordville, Wisconsin. The five track wide project would free space in the nation’s rail hub and have a big impact on the Stateline.

“Yeah, there’s some kind of bypass that would expedite that and that could be anywhere from the Madison-Janesville area down to here and onto Chicago, even into Milwaukee, so the Chicago-Rockford-Madison-Milwaukee markets so that’s appealing,” said Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen.

Great Lakes Basin will take the next 3-6 months to gather information before presenting the plans to the National Surface Transportation Board. Patton says if the board gives the okay, he hopes the finish the project in 2018.

---

ROCKFORD (WIFR) – A new $6 billion railroad is planned for Northern Illinois and would include the Rockford area. The project is aimed at helping railroads avoid the severe congestion for rail freight which must go through Chicago.

Train traffic heading into Chicago is often worse than the back-up nightmares on the city’s highways and streets. It can take a freight car several days just to get into and then out of Chicago, but that could soon change and mean great things for our area.

“What we did is we tried to design the most encompassing network where there’s something in it for every railroad and together, it’s something that is great for the region,” said Frank Patton.

Patton's Great Lakes Basin Railroad would basically be a railroad bypass of the Windy City, traveling from northwest Indiana around Chicago, coming right through the Stateline, and up to Orfordville, Wisconsin. Patton wants to give businesses whose destinations are not Chicago a second option to cut down on travel time and thus saving money.

"That's appealing. This is a global market defined as this area exports more than it imports so the better that we can do with our transportation, that's going to help the whole region out,” says Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen.

The $6 billion project, which is being paid for with 100% private money, could mean big things for Rockford. The plan would e to relocate the downtown Rockford rail yard from its current spot off of South Main.

"That land should get redeveloped into more downtown, urban uses,” said Steve Ernst with the Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Mapping.

The rail yard would then move south of the Chicago International Airport, an ideal location where manufacturers and distributors could tap into the new line.

"The idea of creating a rail facility of some kind out by the airport that the railroads can use in lieu of that is both beneficial to us and beneficial to the railroads. It's a win-win for both of us.”

The 285 mile project may only be in its early stages, but everyone involved seems confident it will be a success and bring hundreds of jobs to Winnebago County.

While the exact route has not yet been determined, early plans show the line heading north along Meridian Road in Western Winnebago County. Patton says beginning next month, his group will start compiling all of the information they need, including maps and studies. Once completed in three to six moths, the information will be turned into the National Surface Transportation Board.

If that board approves the project, an environmental impact study will be completed. Then actual construction on the tracks can begin. Patton is confident his rail building plan an subsequent Winnebago County job building plan will be okayed and hopes to have construction completed in 2018.

$6 Billion Railroad Bypass Project Proposed

Belvidere Veteran's Day Parade Canceled

 

BELVIDERE (WIFR) -- "It made my heart very heavy," that's the response of the Commander of VFW Post 1461, Greg Kelm, after finding out that the Belvidere Veteran's Day Parade is canceled. That's because students in District 100 have school on Veteran's Day.

Kelm went to North Boone High School in the early 1960s, marched in the band, and then in 1970, became a medic in the Vietnam War.

The Commander points out that during his lifetime, the parade has been a tradition; a tradition he has looked forward to year after year.

He says, "I would put on my blue band uniform, my two-foot white plume, grab my trombone, come over, take the bus, and march and see the veterans. And that meant so much to me."

Kelm believes it's a shame students won't get to experience what he did as a kid and learn first hand about the men and women who served our military.

"The children have off Christmas Day, Dr. King's birthday, Columbus Day...all very important people, but it just seemed like such a slap in the face that by holding the students in school, we would not be able to have our veterans day parade," exclaims Kelm.

In a written statement, District 100 Interim Co-Superintendent Cheryl Gieseke says, "We respect the sacrifices made by the men and women in military. Holding school on Veteran's Day is not meant as a sign of disrespect; rather, it's an opportunity to educate our students on the significance of November 11th on the day specifically reserved for this remembrance."

Commander Kelm will go talk to students in Belvidere schools before Veteran's Day and after Veteran's Day, but not on Veteran's Day.

Even though there is no parade, there will still be ceremonies in Belvidere, including at the VFW Post 1461.

Above is from Channel 23 News:  Belvidere Veteran's Day Parade Canceled

 

 

 

Honoring our military

Page Content

With students in session on Veterans Day this year, the District has an opportunity to honor those who have served in the military in a way not previously available.   The Belvidere High School and Belvidere North High School marching bands will still participate in the community celebration, and each school will pay tribute to veterans through classroom lessons and activities, assemblies, and sharing Veterans Day with those who have served.

Caledonia Elementary School - Many of the day's discussions and activities will center around Veterans Day, its importance, and why we celebrate it.  Books will be shared with the students, and the Star Spangled Banner will be the song of the day in music.

Lincoln Elementary School - Pictures of veterans, as well as the names of family and friends who have served, will adorn the walls.  An assembly will take place in the gymnasium.  Veterans will present the Colors and flags from their respective branches of service, and students dressed in red, white, and blue will perform a variety of patriotic songs.  In the classroom, instruction will include stories about Veterans Day, writing projects, and discussions.

Meehan Elementary School - In keeping with tradition, Meehan Elementary School will host a Veterans Day Celebration on November 10.  Representatives from the Illinois National Guard will have on display a variety of military equipment, and a local family will share its replica of a battalion spotter airplane from the Vietnam War era.  Current military personnel will participate in a meet and greet with students in the cafeteria during all lunch periods.  Guest veterans will share photos of airplanes and ships as well as uniforms.  The day will conclude with an all school assembly in the gymnasium with each student waiving a keepsake American flag during their performance of patriotic songs.  On Veterans Day, teachers will share the importance of November 11 through a variety of activities.

Perry Elementary School - Veterans will eat lunch with students, many of whom have a special connection to Perry families. They will share stories prior lunch, and students will participate in Veterans Day-related classroom activities.

Seth Whitman Elementary School - The morning will begin with a flag raising ceremony courtesy of the Boy Scouts.  Throughout the day students at all grade levels will engage in discussions and complete projects relative to the meaning of Veterans Day including read alouds, videos tied to activities, interviewing a veteran, wiring cards and letters to those who have served, and guest speakers.

Washington Academy - Grade-level activities have been planned for the entire school.  Activities include patriotic-themed poetry in writing journals, the creation of a slide show honoring veterans, writing letters, singing patriotic songs, and spending time with active and veteran military personnel at 11:15 a.m.  Photos of family and friends that have served in the military will also be on display on the Veteran Wall of Fame board.

Belvidere Central Middle School - Guest speakers will share their experiences with individual classrooms, and students will participate in a variety of Veterans Day-related activities.

Belvidere South  Middle School - Grade level activities will include writing thank you notes and letters, sharing knowledge learned from family and friends who have served, a video and discussion about Arlington Cemetery, and an informational video about the history and importance of Veterans Day.

Belvidere High School - The District's very own Peter Betke will share his military experiences with students, including the year and a half he was called up from the reserves and stationed in Afghanistan.  Mr. Betke is a math teacher at Belvidere High School and took a leave of absence from the classroom to fulfill his military duties.  The school will also host a reception and assembly honoring our local veterans at 10:45 a.m. in the wood gymnasium.

Belvidere North High School - Students will attend a Veterans Day assembly at 2 p.m. in the gymnasium.  Classroom activities throughout the day will be focused around November 11, its history, and its importance.

Thank you to all of the men and women who have served in the military
to protect us as individuals, as a country, and to protect our freedom.

Marengo moves forward with plans to develop quarry | Northwest Herald

Appears that Marengo’s major motivation maybe sales tax.  There is a similar request  in Belvidere by Plote.  Plote’s request is for a pre-annexation agreement.  Would Belvidere actually have to annex the pit to get sales tax?  Does Belvidere get sales tax from Rockford Blacktop which already has a pre-annexation agreement?

Marengo moves forward with plans to develop quarry | Northwest Herald

CT News Junkie | OP-ED | Time to Speak Truth to Power

OP-ED | Time to Speak Truth to Power

by Lori Pelletier | Oct 28, 2015 8:30pm
(

LORI PELLETIER

A recent report issued by the conservative Yankee Institute claimed that Connecticut state employees are much better compensated than private-sector employees doing similar work.

Considering the agenda-setting, far right-wing nature of the Yankee Institute, their claim is not surprising and it’s also demonstrably false. The report’s methodology is so is so full of errors and disinformation that Machiavelli himself would be ashamed to use it.

Keep in mind, the Yankee Institute is not a neutral academic policy institute but a right wing propaganda machine part of the $83 million “State Policy Network” and connected to the Koch Brothers and other billionaires of the far right.

What’s more disturbing is that propaganda like this is treated as legitimate research and news by the main stream media.

So that leaves us to speak truth to the dangerous power these groups represent.

The author of the report works for the American Enterprise Institute, a long time multi-national business controlled “think tank” that was reported by the Guardian Newspaper as “offering scientists and economists $10,000 each” to issue papers casting doubt on global warming. To refute the plethora of disinformation in the Yankee Institute study would take more space than is available here.

But as one example, the study’s author takes a pension plan that costs the state approximately 5 percent of payroll, and counts it as “at least 26 percent” through a series of mathematical contortions that would do Houdini proud. That alone accounts for almost all the alleged “overpayment” of state employees, not to mention numerous convenient mistakes in calculating salaries and comparative benefits.

For more than three decades, policies of billionaires like the Koch Brothers and their mouthpieces like the Yankee Institute have encouraged economic growth benefiting the top 1% in our country. Meanwhile, middle class and working families have been stagnant or moving backwards even as productivity has more than doubled.

These policies have gone hand in hand with attacks on institutions that bring ordinary Americans a voice in the process and a chance at economic security; organizations like unions or safety net mechanisms like defined benefit plans that helped build a strong American middle class. New research shows that the decline in union membership correlates with a weakening middle class and growing income inequality.

So what the Yankee Institute’s vision of “smaller government based on free market principles” really means is freedom for the billionaires and multinational corporations to do whatever they want however they want to do it at the expense of the American middle class — the backbone of our country — without the interference of pesky things like unions trying to lift the middle class or elected officials trying to raise the minimum wage.

That level of honesty, however, doesn’t make good politics. Whether it’s ALEC and their member groups like the Yankee Institute’s plan to hijack state governments, or the Koch Brother’s announced plan to spend $900 million to buy the presidency, they are doomed to failure if their intention to benefit the 1% at the expense of everyone else is exposed. So they use their money and propaganda machines to divide public worker from private worker, small business owners from working families, not to mention black from white, native born from immigrant, men from women.

The extremists want to con you into supporting their efforts to take money out of the state employees’ pockets and put it into theirs. Let them get away with it and your pockets will be emptied next. That’s because, for them, the easy profits have gone overseas. The next mother lode is in your paycheck.

We must speak truth to power. We fight for a state and a country which returns to its founding teachings that in a democracy power needs to be balanced. Checks and balances is what every American school child learns — Congress checks the President (and vice versa), and the Supreme Court checks them both, and democratic elections and the Bill of Rights are supposed to check the government. Who is checking the billionaires and multinational corporations and their anonymously funded propaganda machines?

What will our democracy look like if they eliminate all unions, and defined pensions, and any government powerful enough to challenge them? What will our chance be to rebuild the American dream where everyone able and willing to work can support their families, live a decent life, and enjoy a secure retirement? Ask yourself that, and you won’t let nonsense like the Yankee Institute’s most recent “study” distract you from the real fight to save American democracy.

Lori Pelletier is Executive Secretary Treasurer of the over 200,000-member Connecticut AFL-CIO.

Above is from:  CT News Junkie | OP-ED | Time to Speak Truth to Power

Gov. Rauner is minimizing the next state budget meeting | WEEK News 25 - News, Sports, Weather - Peoria, Illinois | Political

 

By WEEK Producer

October 28, 2015Updated Oct 28, 2015 at 10:33 AM CDT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Don't look for much progress in the Illinois budget battle.

Already, one of the key players is downplaying the next scheduled meeting.

He's certainly busy though.

Gov. Bruce Rauner attended a ceremony Monday to honor the army vet who stopped a knife attack in a Morton library earlier this month. News 25 tried to ask the governor about getting something done in Springfield.

"No politics today," he said.

Earlier Monday, he heard from frustrated constituents during a stop at a Rock Island bar.

He is set to meet with lawmakers Nov. 18.

"I don't think they're going to offer compromises or creative solutions in front of a media negotiation. I just don't think that's likely," said Rauner.

The governor says he's been meeting with House Speaker Mike Madigan almost every week.

Gov. Rauner is minimizing the next state budget meeting | WEEK News 25 - News, Sports, Weather - Peoria, Illinois | Political