Saturday, January 2, 2016

Campaign Financing Report for Tricia Smith

 

 

UPDATED MATERIAL NOW AVAILBLEClick on the following:    http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2016/01/campaign-financing-report-for-tricia_7.html

 

Complete update is still unavailable but should be available soon.  To check if update is now available go to:  http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/LatestCommitteeTotalsByCandidate.aspx?chkCanActive=true&txtCanLastName=smith&txtCanFirstName=tricia

To see previous campaign reports go to:  http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/10/campaign-financing-for-tricia-smith-for.html and http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/08/campaign-filings-for-tricia-smith.html

Despite not having the full report, the following additional loan has occurred.

SMITH, TRICIA
2020 NORTH BOONE SCHOOL D
CALEDONIA, IL 61011
Occupation: ATTORNEY
Employer: LAW OFFICES OF JOHN H MAVILLE
$2,000.00
11/12/2015

Loan Received
Tricia Smith for Boone County State's Attorney

SMITH, TRICIA
2020 NORTH BOONE SCHOOL D
CALEDONIA, IL 61011

Above loan information is from:  http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/ContributionsSearchByAllContributions.aspx?txtLastOnlyName=smith&txtFirstName=tricia&ddlOrderBy=Last%20or%20Only%20Name%20-%20A%20to%20Z

Updated Campaign Financing Report for Michelle Courier

 

 

To see earlier reports go to:  http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/08/campaign-filings-for-michelle-courier.html and http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/10/campaign-financing-disclosure-for.html

 

Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier
D-2 Quarterly Report
10/1/2015 to 12/31/2015


RECEIPTS

1.
Individual Contributions:

a. Itemized

Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier
D-2 Quarterly Report
10/1/2015 to 12/31/2015
This report has 2 itemized Individual Contributions totaling $544.54

 

Contributed By
Address
Amount
Description
Vendor Name
Vendor Address

Courier, Michelle
Occupation: Boone County State's Attorney
Employer: Boone County State's Attorney
8239 Shaw Road
Belvidere, IL 61008
$44.54
10/13/2015
Individual Contribution

Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Northwestern Illinois Building Trades
212 S. 1st Street, Suite 106
Rockford, IL 61104
$500.00
10/7/2015
Individual Contribution

Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier


$544.54

b. Not-Itemized
$500.00

2.
Transfers In:

a. Itemized (from Schedule A)
$0.00

b. Not-Itemized
$0.00

3.
Loans Received:

a. Itemized
$1,963.95all loans from Michelle Courier

b. Not-Itemized
$0.00

4.
Other Receipts:

a. Itemized (from Schedule A)
$0.00

b. Not-Itemized
$0.00

TOTAL RECEIPTS (1-4)
$3,008.49


5.
In-Kind Contributions:

a. Itemized
$975.00

Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier
D-2 Quarterly Report
10/1/2015 to 12/31/2015
This report has 1 itemized In-Kind Contributions totaling $975.00

Contributed By
Address
Amount
Description
Vendor Name
Vendor Address

Hunt, Laura
Occupation: website designer
Employer: self
519 E. Lincoln Avenue
Belvidere, IL 61008
$975.00
12/31/2015
In-Kind Contribution
Website
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Hunt, Laura
519 E. Lincoln Avenue
Belvidere, IL 61008

b. Not-Itemized
$0.00

TOTAL IN-KIND
$975.00


EXPENDITURES

6.
Transfers Out:

a. Itemized (From Schedule B)
$0.00

b. Not-Itemized
$0.00

7.
Loans Made:

a. Itemized (From Schedule B)
$0.00

b. Not-Itemized
$0.00

8.
Expenditures:

a. ItemizedSEE Below
$4,676.62

b. Not-Itemized
$649.84

9.
Independent Expenditures:

a. Itemized (From Schedule B-9)
$0.00

b. Not-Itemized
$0.00

TOTAL EXPENDITURES (6-8)
$5,326.46


DEBTS AND OBLIGATIONS

9.

9 a. Itemized—A;; debts owed to the candidate, Michelle Courier as stated above loans increased by $1963.95
$53,793.48

b. Not-Itemized
$0.00

TOTAL DEBTS AND OBLIGATIONS
$53,793.48


FUNDS BALANCE

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period:
$21,774.89

Total Receipts:
$3,008.49

Subtotal:
$24,783.38

Total Expenditures:
$5,326.46

Funds available at the close of the reporting period:
$19,456.92

Investment Total:
$0.00

Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier
D-2 Quarterly Report
10/1/2015 to 12/31/2015

This report has 22 itemized Expenditures totaling $4,676.62

Print this list

Received By
Address
Amount
Expended By
Purpose / Beneficiary

Allegra
19892 Belford North Drive
Belvidere, IL 61008
$237.50
12/23/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Belrock Printing
915 W. Perry Street
Belvidere, IL 61008
$156.00
12/15/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Belrock Printing
915 W. Perry Street
Belvidere, IL 61008
$156.00
12/19/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Belvidere Area Chamber
130 S. State Street
Suite 300
Belvidere, IL 61008
$105.00
10/5/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Entry fee Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Belvidere Area Chamber
130 S. State Street
Suite 300
Belvidere, IL 61008
$200.00
12/2/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Advertising Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Lindsey Auto Parts Inc
711 W. Grant Highway
Marengo, IL 60152
$138.67
12/15/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Sign equipment Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Lindsey Auto Parts Inc
711 W. Grant Highway
Marengo, IL 60152
$22.00
11/19/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Sign supplies Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office Depot
6455 E. State Street
Rockford, IL 61108
$73.10
12/18/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office Depot
6455 E. State Street
Rockford, IL 61108
$43.00
11/25/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office Depot
6455 E. State Street
Rockford, IL 61108
$8.96
12/9/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office supplies Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office Depot
6455 E. State Street
Rockford, IL 61108
$8.65
12/13/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office supplies Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office Depot
6455 E. State Street
Rockford, IL 61108
$51.60
11/29/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office Depot
6455 E. State Street
Rockford, IL 61108
$17.32
11/14/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Office Depot
6455 E. State Street
Rockford, IL 61108
$86.00
11/22/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

USPS
1800 Doc Wolf Drive
Belvidere, IL 61008
$61.20
11/23/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Postage Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

USPS
1800 Doc Wolf Drive
Belvidere, IL 61008
$109.20
11/16/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Postage Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

USPS
1800 Doc Wolf Drive
Belvidere, IL 61008
$73.20
10/14/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Postage Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

USPS
1800 Doc Wolf Drive
Belvidere, IL 61008
$87.00
10/21/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Postage Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

USPS
1800 Doc Wolf Drive
Belvidere, IL 61008
$94.80
11/6/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Postage Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Vistaprint Netherlands B.V.
P.O. Box 842882
Boston, MA 02284
$1,883.67
12/9/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Vistaprint Netherlands B.V.
P.O. Box 842882
Boston, MA 02284
$380.06
11/27/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Vistaprint Netherlands B.V.
P.O. Box 842882
Boston, MA 02284
$683.69
11/29/2015
Expenditure
Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Printing Citizens to Elect Michelle Courier

Records 1 to 22 of 22

Above records are from:  http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/D2Quarterly.aspx?id=594871

Governor Bruce Rauner warns of minimal state funds for flood damage

image
Governor Bruce Rauner warns of minimal state funds for flood damage
Posted: Jan 01, 2016 10:17 PM CST Updated: Jan 01, 2016 10:49 PM CST

By Anna Giles

Email

CHESTER -- Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has arrived in southern Illinois to assess flood damage for himself. 

"I'm mostly worried about Alexander County right now," Rauner said.

Rauner made a stop in Randolph County Friday evening to check in on Mississippi River crest levels in Chester.

"Sorry to hear in Randolph County we are dealing with such a major challenge. The good news is the river has just about crested and should be dropping tonight and in the morning," Rauner said.

Don Welge, president of a large business in Chester, showed up alongside dozens of others at a meeting in the Randolph County Courthouse Friday, hoping to get some comfort from the Governor.

"I think the Governor is sincerely interested and he wants to help the situation," Welge said.

Rauner says Illinois can do little but offer encouragement to businesses and residents most affected by the floods. The state has minimal funds to help with damage, due to state deficits and the budget impasse, Rauner said.

"Illinois has never really had significant pockets of money to support natural disasters. We've just never had that," Rauner said.

Rauner urged people living in threatened areas to evacuate, especially as concerns over cold temperatures increase. 

Officials with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency say the cost of flood damage so far, remains unclear.

"We don't know the level of impact we have yet from a financial standpoint . We don't know what loss individuals have to their homes, said James Joseph, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

Meantime Rauner has been working to free up state resources for local communities.

"At this point we've authorized the national guard to be ready to move, especially in Alexander County, where the levee has been topped by the river," Rauner said

the state has assembled hundreds of thousands of sandbags for towns in harm's way, first responders say.

As the Mississippi in Randolph County recedes in the coming days, it can't come too soon for Welge, whose employees have seen their commute times, more than triple.

"If they are working eight hours they leave two hours earlier and they get home two hours later," Welge said.

The Mississippi needs to drop at least four more feet there before the Chester bridge gets back to business as usual, after being closed for the last few days. 

Above is from:  http://www.wsiltv.com/story/30868537/governor-bruce-rauner-warns-of-minimal-state-funds-for-flood-damage

My View: Bleak future for Affordable Care Act in Illinois

    • By Stephen T. Parente

    • Posted Dec. 31, 2015 at 5:10 PM

      Jan. 1 marks the third anniversary of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Illinois. So it makes sense for Illinoisans to ask: How is the law playing out in your state?
      Not well. Roughly 340,500 people purchased 2016 health insurance on the state’s Affordable Care Act’s online exchange, where they likely found an unpleasant surprise. Monthly premiums for their plans will be 21.86 percent higher, on average, than they were in 2015. Deductibles and out-of-pocket costs are also on the rise, and health care provider networks are narrowing. The combination of these factors helps explain why the federal government recently halved the number of people it expects to sign up for the law’s health insurance.
      Yet while the outlook for the Affordable Care Act is already bleak, the data show it will likely become even worse.
      That’s the result of an analysis I conducted in recent weeks. Using the latest health-insurance-exchange enrollment data and a model funded in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I estimated how the Affordable Care Act will affect the health insurance market over the next decade.
      In brief: Costs will continue to rise and coverage will continue to underwhelm. In fact, coverage will likely begin declining in the next few years, leaving millions more Americans uninsured than today.
      The looming premium increases in Illinois show that next year will be a particularly rough one, but subsequent years will also be costly. I project premium increases for 2017 health insurance will average at 7.4 percent for individual plans. Family policy holders will likely pay 6.2 percent more. That trend will hold for years to come; the Affordable Care Act’s tax dollar assistance programs for insurers, known as “risk corridors” and “re-insurance,” will expire at the end of next year, leading to further growth in premiums.
      Over the next decade, I estimate individual and family policy holders will see their rates increase more than 61 percent by 2025. That comes to $5,500 a year for an individual policy, and $23,500 for family coverage, on average.
      Even federal subsidies will not be enough to cover these costs. Just between 2016 and 2017, policy holders should expect to pay $600 more in premiums, even after subsidies are factored in. As premiums continue to increase in subsequent years, that out-of-pocket cost will rise correspondingly. Illinoisans with individual and family plans, respectively, can expect to pay $2,000 and $8,000 more a year by 2025.
      This leads to the second component of my study — the decreases in overall coverage. As costs continue to rise, they will discourage people in Illinois and across the country from purchasing any health insurance at all.
      This is happening already. Last year’s data show that the IRS fines approximately 7.5 million Americans for choosing to forgo health insurance entirely, even though the Affordable Care Act penalizes them for doing so. The reason is often simple. Consumers forced to choose between an expensive penalty and an even more expensive health-insurance plan will often choose the cheaper option. It may be a financial necessity. The number of people making this choice will rise as insurance becomes ever more expensive.
    • This will undermine the Affordable Care Act’s central goal of universal coverage. I estimate the total number of uninsured in 2025 will be roughly 40 million — roughly as many uninsured Americans as there were before the law was passed.
      Such is the Affordable Care Act’s likely future. This puts in context the claims of the presidential candidates such as Hillary Clinton, who earlier this month said the Affordable Care Act is “working.” That may make for a good sound bite on the campaign trail, but it doesn’t match with the experiences of many of the Illinoisans who are dealing with the law firsthand. They’re paying more and getting less with every passing year — a trend that shows no signs of changing any time soon.
      Dr. Stephen T. Parente is a professor of Health Finance, the associate dean of the Carlson School of Management, and the director of the Medical Industry Leadership Institute at the University of Minnesota.
    • Above is from:  http://www.rrstar.com/opinion/20151231/my-view-bleak-future-for-affordable-care-act-in-illinois/?Start=2
    •  

    These 2 Jaw-Dropping Statistics May Change Your Tune About Obamacare

    image

    By Sean Williams | More Articles
    January 2, 2016 | Comments (10)

    As billions of people around the world celebrate the New Year and think long and hard about their resolutions for 2016, Americans who haven't already done so will be turning their attention to obtaining health insurance.

    Health insurance is on Americans' minds
    The Affordable Care Act, also known by its shorthand of Obamacare, requires everyone to purchase health insurance via the individual mandate or face a penalty come tax time, unless by some chance they qualify for an exemption. Open enrollment for Obamacare's third year began on Nov. 1, and it will officially wrap up on Jan. 31, 2016. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that Obamacare will have 10 million paying consumers by the end of 2016.

    Out of the 13 weeks consumers have to enroll, none proves more important each year for HealthCare.gov than the week in which the January enrollment deadline and HealthCare.gov auto renewals kick in. This year, HealthCare.gov, which is the federally run healthcare marketplace that represents 38 states, pushed back the deadline for obtaining Jan. 1 coverage by two days to Dec. 17, and auto enrollments were ongoing throughout week seven, which ended on Dec. 19, 2015. Last year, 43% of total HealthCare.gov enrollment occurred between Dec. 14, 2014 and Dec. 20, 2014, so this year's enrollment data for the week that included both the auto renewal and the January coverage deadline was expected to be substantial as well.

    Why Obamacare's future could be in doubt
    Shortly before the Christmas holiday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a deluge of marketplace data, including not only the highly sought-after enrollment statistics but also data detailing some finer points about total enrollment thus far. What emerged from this data were two statistics that may change your mind about the health of Obamacare.

    Aside from the generally negative sentiment toward the law evidenced by Kaiser Family Foundation's near-monthly Health Tracking Polls, there has long been concern that Obamacare isn't an economically feasible law.


    Image source: Flickr user Francisco Osorio.

    The nation's largest health insurer, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH ) , recently lowered its full-year profit forecast solely due to losses being experienced from plans on Obamacare marketplace exchanges. UnitedHealth blames the losses on higher-than-expected insurance usage by its marketplace enrollees and the ease for consumers to switch plans year to year.

    For the time being, UnitedHealth is so convinced that Obamacare is toxic to its bottom line that it has decided to pull the plug on all marketplace advertising for the current open enrollment period, and it may leave Obamacare entirely in 2017. The way Obamacare skeptics see it, if the nation's largest health insurer can't make money from Obamacare, then what company can?

    The lack of funding for the "risk corridor" has also been a concern. The risk corridor is a fail-safe that's designed to funnel a percentage of excess profits from insurers who are rolling in the dough with Obamacare to insurers who are losing excessive amounts of money. The problem is that money-losing insurers are only in line to receive 12% of what they've requested via the risk corridor. This lack of funding has put more than half of all approved Obamacare healthcare cooperatives out of business, and it could seriously deter new and inexperienced entrants from entering the field. Less competition is ultimately bad news for the consumer, who's counting on competition to keep premium cost inflation at a reasonable level.

    These two statistics could change everything
    However, two key statistics from the week-seven update issued by CMS suggest that Obamacare may be a lot healthier heading into 2016 than some pundits have recently opined.

    1. HealthCare.gov's enrollment data is crushing last year's figures thus far
    First, we have the overall enrollment data through the "auto renewal and January coverage deadline" period. Between Dec. 13, 2015 and Dec. 19, 2015, nearly 4.1 million people selected a plan. All told, 78% of these enrollees were consumers who renewed their coverage ahead of the January coverage deadline. The flood opf enrollees practically doubled the cumulative enrollment of the prior six weeks to 8,250,276 through Dec. 19, 2015.


    Data source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

    Now here's the interesting thing: Automatic renewals were still not completely accounted for at the time of the CMS data release. A vast majority of them do appear to be accounted for, but it's not out of the question that we could still see a minor jump in enrollment data based on automatic renewals within HealthCare.gov. Some of the dozen states operating their own exchanges have even later January enrollment deadlines, meaning renewals could pour in for those states as well. However, for the figures above, we're strictly looking at enrollment data for the 38 states operating under HealthCare.gov.

    Furthermore, at the end of last year's auto renewal and January coverage deadline week, "only" 6.39 million people had selected a plan. This year, we're already up to 8.25 million. To be fair, consumers have had an extra 15 days to shop for health insurance this year, with open enrollment having begun on Nov. 1 for calendar year 2016 as opposed to Nov. 15 for calendar year 2015. But enrollment this year ends on Jan. 31, 2016, whereas last year consumers could shop until mid-February. In any case, enrollment appears to be pacing well ahead of last year, and this could imply that either consumers are eager to be insured or higher shared-responsibility payments are doing the trick. Either way, higher enrollment usually bodes well for insurers.

    2. Plan selections for younger adults have soared
    Arguably, the bigger news came from a same-day but separate press release from the CMS showing that enrollment for young adults (those below the age of 35) had almost doubled prior to the January coverage deadline this year as compared to last year.


    Data source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

    As you can see above, approximately 1.1 million young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 enrolled prior to the January coverage deadline last year (last year was also the second open-enrollment period under Obamacare, thus the labeling of OE2). This year, some 2.1 million young adults have selected a plan in OE3 (the third year of open enrollment).

    Additional analysis provided by CMS also shows that it's not just auto renewals driving this surge in young adult participation. Last year, 670,000 young adults selected a plan for the first time via HealthCare.gov. In the current enrollment period, we've seen an almost 50% jump to 980,000 new, young enrollees.


    Image source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

    Young adults are a critical component to success for health-benefit providers, as they're often healthier and far less likely to go to the doctor. This means young adults, more often than not, tend to be a source of profit for insurers. They can also help offset the high costs of treating elderly and terminally ill patients. If insurers are going to thrive under Obamacare, they need young adult enrollment to pick up. Once again, it's possible consumers simply want to be insured heading into 2016, but I suspect the likely culprit in the enrollment surge for young adults is the rapid rise in the shared-responsibility payment to the greater of $695 or 2.5% of modified adjusted gross income in 2016, up from $325 or 2% of MAGI, in 2015.

    What's next for Obamacare?
    As is often the case, Obamacare's future remains somewhat murky. The latest CMS data suggests a vibrant enrollment environment complete with a growing number of younger, healthier enrollees. Yet UnitedHealth's warning, coupled with the closure of 12 Obamacare co-ops, also demonstrates that not everything is going according to plan.

    Beyond the dynamics of the exchange itself, the 2016 elections could dramatically reshape the healthcare landscape. Depending upon which candidate takes the Oval Office and which political party controls Congress, Obamacare as it currently exists may be altered or removed completely in the coming years. Investors will want to monitor enrollment developments closely through the end of the current open-enrollment period, but also keep an eye on the elections, as they'll be paramount to deciphering Obamacare's long-term potential.

    ABOVE IF FROM:  http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/01/02/these-2-jaw-dropping-statistics-may-change-your-tu.aspx?source=eogyholnk0000001&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article