Illinois Legislator’s Pension

 

Our fine lawmakers get a pension after as few as four years in office. Their benefits as a share of salary rise as much as 5% per year of service — more than twice the rate earned by ordinary state workers. And since the General Assembly has its own retirement system, lawmakers don't have to share the loot with state police, university professors, health-care workers or prison guards.
   As a result, a lawmaker with 20 years on the job can retire at age 55 and get 85% of his or her final salary.

the House speaker and Senate president, minority leaders, deputy and assistant leaders, etc. — make as much as $95,312 a year.

Click on the following for more details:  Greg Hinz Blog | Crain's Chicago Business

Ron Wait opposed to Gitmo in Illinois

In reaction to Governor Quinn’s plan to sell the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois to the federal government for use as a prison and detention facility for terrorists, I have signed on to House Resolution 762 calling for the immediate halt of the negotiations. Just because Obama has failed to follow through on his campaign promise to close Guantanamo Bay does not mean we should bail him out and ship terrorists within 100 miles of Belvidere and Rockford . This is a completely irresponsible plan from Governor Quinn just to help out his buddies in Washington .

Thomson Correctional Center was built in 2001 as an adult male maximum-security facility with 1,600 cells and a separate 200-bed minimum-security unit. Currently, only the 200-bed minimum-security unit is open due to state budget constraints. The center was controversial during its construction due to the negative impact on the environment, especially being so close to the Mississippi River .

I am calling for the correctional facility to be used as a conventional 1,600-bed maximum-security prison as originally intended. I am also not opposed to the sale of the facility to the Federal Bureau of Prisons as long as it is used as a conventional 1,600-bed maximum-security prison as originally intended. A 1,600-bed prison fully operating would be wonderful for the local economy. Restructuring the prison as a federal detention center for up to 200 detainees will house far fewer prisoners and create much fewer jobs. Not only are we risking the safety of our citizens, we will be creating far fewer jobs than the Democrats are promising.

People have warned the Obama administration and the American people that the persons detained in Guantanamo have allies around the world who can be expected to respond to these detentions with an ongoing threat of homicidal violence that will stretch indefinitely into the future due to the culture of militant Islam.

Thank you so much for reading my E-Newsletter. I hope that Governor Quinn will come to his senses and abandon this plan to bring terrorists into our state. With your continued support, I am confident that we can accomplish these feats and address the issues that matter to us the most. Again, thank you and God bless.

 

Wonderful free service from Secretary of State

 

Beginning this month, the State of Illinois is offering a new service connected to your driver's license. You can click on the link below and add two emergency contacts to your license data. Therefore, if you are incapacitated in some way, your license can be scanned and the emergency contacts retrieved so your loved ones can be contacted.  It only takes two minutes to complete.

Please click on the following and follow the instruction:  http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/drivers/ecd/home.html

The following is taken  from that site.

Welcome to the Secretary of State's Emergency Contact Database

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This database allows Illinois instruction permit, driver's license and identification card holders to enter their emergency contact information into a voluntary, secure database. Starting in August 2009, in the event of a motor vehicle crash or other emergency situation where a person is unable to communicate directly, law enforcement may access this database to help them reach the person's designated emergency contacts.
If a person holds both an Illinois driver's license or permit and an Illinois identification card, the emergency contact information can be entered for both cards in one transaction. The information will only be associated with the record(s) selected by the participant.
Participants can add, modify, or delete their emergency contact information at any time by visiting this web page. Any modifications or deletions will overwrite all previously entered information. Previously entered emergency contact information will not be displayed, in order to ensure the privacy and security of the information. Participants can print the page containing their emergency contact information upon completion for their records.
Participants may select one or two persons as their emergency contacts, and are encouraged to share their participation with the emergency contacts they have chosen.
It is the responsibility of the holder of the driver's license, instruction permit, temporary visitor's driver's license and/or identification card to enter accurate data into the required fields, as well as to update contact data should any data change after initial enrollment in the emergency contact database. The Secretary of State assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the data entered by the holder of a driver's license (including commercial driver's license), instruction permit, temporary visitor's driver's license and/or identification card and disclaims any liability for damages, costs, and/or expenses, including, without limitation, consequential damages, arising or resulting from any inaccurate data or failure to update contact data.
Read the Frequently Asked Questions

Join The Emergency Contact Database

Stephenson County Sheriff delivers 29 layoff notices - Freeport, IL -

As of 2000, the population of Stephenson County was 48,979;  Boone County’s 2000 population was 41,786. 

sheriff delivered 29 layoff notices to employees in anticipation of the “worst-case scenario” of complying with spending levels in the county’s proposed 2009-2010 budget.

Currently, three deputies patrol the day shift each day and four patrol the night shift for the sheriff’s office. With the cuts, the numbers may be reduced to two on the day shift and possibly two on the night shift, Snyders said

Click on the following for more details:  Sheriff delivers 29 layoff notices - Freeport, IL - The Journal-Standard

Chrysler pays late property taxes, interest - Rockford, IL

paid its nearly $1 million property taxes Friday, paving the way for the Boone County treasurer’s office to begin sending out payments to area taxing districts.

[States Attorney] Courier said her office filed a claim Nov. 2, in conjunction with Chrysler’s settlement agreement, seeking the full property tax payment and $30,000 in interest penalties.
“They pretty swiftly gave us the money,” she said. “We executed that Nov. 2, and we got the money on Friday. When you’re talking about $914,000, it’s pretty significant.”

Interest penalties totaled $53,051 as of last week, Newport said, but the county has only received $30,000 in interest which will be paid to the county’s general fund on Dec. 1.

Click on the following for more details:  Chrysler pays late property taxes, interest - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

One in seven Americans short of food | U.S. | Reuters

 

one in seven -- struggled to get enough to eat in 2008, the highest total in 14 years of a federal survey on "food insecurity," the U.S. government said Monday.

huge increase from the preceding year when 36.2 million people had trouble getting enough food and a third of them

The number of Americans receiving food stamp assistance soared above 36 million for the first time in August[2009], the eighth month in a row that enrollment set a record, the USDA said earlier this month.

One in seven Americans short of food | U.S. | Reuters

Work-Related Injuries Are Habitually Underreported, Report Says

 

The accountability office noted that the rate of workplace injuries — there were 4 million in 2007, including 5,600 fatalities — has declined fairly steadily since 1992, which OSHA attributed to improvements in workplace safety and the decline in the number of manufacturing jobs.

 

Work-Related Injuries Are Habitually Underreported, Report Says - NYTimes.com