Editorial - The Case for More Stimulus - NYTimes.com

 

Lawmakers in both parties fret that large budget deficits preclude more stimulus, lest the burden of debt outweigh the benefit of deficit spending. Both arguments are wrong.

If anything, ongoing economic problems are a sign that stimulus needs to be bolstered. Deficits are a serious issue, but the immediate need for stimulus trumps the longer-term need for deficit reduction.

The Senate could take a step in the right direction by extending unemployment benefits without further delay. That is the single most effective way to boost consumption

Next, Congress and the administration should agree on ways to ease the dire financial condition of the states

Without another round of effective stimulus, the worst recession in modern memory will likely become — at best — the weakest recovery in modern memory.

Click on the following for this editorial:  Editorial - The Case for More Stimulus - NYTimes.com

Psychotropic drugs given to nursing home patients without cause

New report from Tribune Watchdog Section. 

Frail and vulnerable residents of nursing homes throughout Illinois are being dosed with powerful psychotropic drugs, leading to tremors, dangerous lethargy and a higher risk of harmful falls or even death, a Tribune investigation has found.

Thousands of elderly and disabled people have been affected, many of them drugged without their consent or without a legitimate psychiatric diagnosis that would justify treatment, state and federal inspection reports show.

Tribune identified 1,200 violations at Illinois nursing homes involving psychotropic medications since 2001. Those infractions affected 2,900 patients.

unprecedented review of more than 40,000 state and federal inspection reports found that nursing homes ranging from "five-star" establishments on the North Shore to run-down facilities in urban neighborhoods have been cited for improperly administering psychotropic drugs.

In 2003, an 83-year-old woman without a diagnosis of mental illness was placed on Haldol -- among the most dangerous antipsychotic drugs -- two days after being admitted to the Heartland Health Care Center in Moline

Click on the following for more details:  Compromised Care: Psychotropic drugs given to nursing home patients without cause -- chicagotribune.com

Palin receives $1.25M for book retainer

She kept a fairly low profile as she worked with her book's ghostwriter.

"Going Rogue" catapulted to No. 1 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com after HarperCollins announced in late September it had moved up the release date of 1.5 million copies from spring to Nov. 17.

Click on the following for more of the story:  Daily Herald | Palin receives $1.25M for book retainer

Dealers anxious as Chrysler stays mum on car plan

Taxpayer money, around $15 billion

tough year for the auto industry has turned into an especially trying one for Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler dealers. Sales are down almost 40 percent versus 27 percent for the industry.

Dealers are impatient for details about Marchionne's five-year game plan -- to be announced on Nov. 4. Many say calls to headquarters have gone unreturned or they're told to wait as the CEO tries to keep his plans secret until next month.

only vague assurances of seeing a redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee in the spring and a new Chrysler 300 large sedan sometime next year

Clunkers windfall all but bypassed Chrysler because it lacked enough fuel-efficient models on lots to meet demand

The automaker stopped building 2009 Calibers and won't ship 2010 models with improved interiors until November.

Click on the following for more details:  Daily Herald | Dealers anxious as Chrysler stays mum on car plan

Boone planning commission has three vacancies

 

Interested parties are asked to send a letter and resume expressing interest and qualifications to Boone County Board Chairman Bob Walberg, 601 N. Main St., Belvidere, IL 61008.

Boone planning commission has three vacancies - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

AMCORE losses accelerate

 

AMCORE reported a $156.4 million loss in its third quarter.The company’s revenue plummeted to just $34.7 million, the lowest quarterly total by more than $9 million this decade, and because the value of the company’s assets continues to decline, it shifted $60.3 million more into its loan-loss reserves to cover future loan failures.

The losses continue to chip away at AMCORE’s operating capital. The company said in the earnings release that it had $430 million in bank capital at the beginning of the quarter and still had $350 million at the end of the quarter and that potential future credit losses can be covered by its remaining capital

Click on the following for more details:  AMCORE losses accelerate - - BusinessRockford.com

Children rescued in prostitution sting | Seattle Times Newspaper

initiative has rescued nearly 900 children, led to the conviction of 510 pimps, madams and their associates, and seized $3.1 million in assets, according to the FBI. 

Most of the children recovered through the project have been girls, who usually become victims of traffickers around the age of 12, Allen said. He estimated that 100,000 children are still involved in sex trafficking in the U.S., adding that the problem is growing partly because of the recession

Within 48 hours of hitting the streets, one-third of runaways are lured into prostitution or pornography, according to research by the Klaas Kids Foundation, a nonprofit established to help find and rescue missing children..

Click on the following for more of this story and its particular’s for Seattle:  Local News | Children rescued in prostitution sting | Seattle Times Newspaper