Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Boone County settles with Northwest Pallet over mulch fire - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
By Jennifer Wheeler
Northwest Pallet Supply, which stored the mulch, must pay $4,500 to Boone County for the amount of overtime accrued by Sheriff’s Department deputies during the fire. The business had previously donated $16,000 to the Boone County Fire Protection District No. 2.
Northwest Pallet Supply also agreed to release any right to occupy the property in the future for storing or manufacturing mulch.
“The settlement considers the safety and welfare of the adjacent neighborhood. The property has been cleared of over an estimated 1,100 semi-truck loads of mulch,”
New Employee at Belvidere Township Assessor’s Office denied normal access
Normally employees are allowed access to their offices via a key code. The township administration is denying access to a full time employee for ninety days.
Is this reasonable or is it harassment?
HERE IS SOME OF THE CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THE ISSUE:
From: Patrick J Murphy [mailto:patrick@belvideretownship.org]
Sent: Monday, October 07, 2013 12:53 PM
To: 'Diann Helnore'
Subject: RE: Restricting Access of Full time Assessor's employee to Belvidere Township Building
Diann, Please reframe from unloading upon my staff, if you have any questions please direct them to me. Thanks for copying the board.
From: Diann Helnore [mailto:dhelnore@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, October 07, 2013 11:47 AM
To: Terri Bullard; patrick@belvideretownship.org
Cc: 'Kathy Grover'; 'Bill Robertson'; 'Richard Nelson'; 'Robert Turner'; 'Keri-Lyn Krafthefer'; TDever@uaw.net
Subject: RE: Restricting Access of Full time Assessor's employee to Belvidere Township Building
Dear Terri,
It is my understanding that you have not issued Jessica Muellner a key to the Township Building, as I had requested you to do, in my Email of October 2, 2013, because you did not think she should have a key until her 90 day probation period was up. In my opinion this is unprecedented discriminatory behavior. Please know that you are directly interfering with the operation of my department, and you are acting against my direct wishes and request.
Restricting Access of my employee to the Township building and the Assessor’s office is a decision that only I should make. Jessica Muellner is a FULL Time township employee in the Assessor’s office with the same rights and responsibilities as every other township employee. Any decisions related to her performance and/or her new employee probationary period rest with the elected department manager (the Assessor) and the Int. Union Representative as it relates to their bargaining agreement. This probationary period should not be reflected in any way to include building access.
Numerous people have access to the Township Building on a regular basis, and with the vast number of security cameras and electronic coded key card access I can see no logical reason for restricting my new employee, Jessica Muellner’s access to the building. Please issue Jessica a Building key card as soon as possible. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Diann M. Helnore
From: Diann Helnore [mailto:dhelnore@comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2013 3:44 PM
To: Terri Bullard (belvideret@yahoo.com); patrick@belvideretownship.org
Cc: 'Kathy Grover'; 'Bill Robertson'; 'Richard Nelson'; 'Robert Turner'
Subject: Change in Key Personnel - Belvidere Township Assessor's Office - CONFIDENTIAL
To: Terri Bullard and Belvidere Township Personnel
This memo is to update you on a recent change of Personnel in the Belvidere Township Assessor’s Office. With deep regrets on Friday afternoon, September 27, 2013, I received and accepted the resignation of Deputy Assessor/ Certified IL Appraiser, Anita Taylor. Anita has been with the Assessor’s department 2 + years. She is an extremely competent individual with a strong work ethic who has contributed greatly to the department’s growth and success. She will be missed in this department.
On September 30, 2013, I extended an offer of employment Jessica Muellner (Board of Review member since 2009) to fill this position). Jessica is well qualified and has strong credentials to do this job. Jessica accepted our offer and has begun working for the Township on October 1, 2013 in the position of Residential Deputy assessor. This morning, October 2, 2013 at 10:00 o’clock, she was sworn into office by our County Clerk, Mary Steurer.
I am hoping that you will join me in wishing both Anita and Jessica the best for their futures.
Terri, by copy of this letter I am requesting that you please complete the final paper work for Anita Taylor and schedule new employee orientation for Jessica Muellner as soon as possible. Jessica will also need to have a key card assigned to her in order to enter the Township building.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please call me.
Sincerely,
Diann M. Helnore
Mrs. Helnore has requested further information concerning the township’s policy by the following Freedom of Information Act request.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Illinois lawmaker proposes GMO labeling requirement - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
CHICAGO — A state senator from Peoria is calling for the labeling of any food available for retail in Illinois that's been produced with genetically engineering organisms.
Democratic Sen. David Koehler says consumers have a right to know if the food their putting into their bodies was made with so-called GMOs. He is proposing legislation requiring the labels and held three hearings on the issue around the state this year.
Ron Moore is a farmer in the western Illinois community of Roseville and president of the Illinois Soybean Association. He says genetically engineered plants are safe. He also says they are more resistant to drought and pests and boost the food supply.
Poplar Grove to consider chicken raising in backyards - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
Jennifer Wheeler
Poplar Grove will be the latest municipality to weigh in on the issue. Capron and Machesney Park leaders already rejected the idea of chickens, while Rockton officials say it’s OK to keep any type of fowl as a pet, so long as they have no more than five domestic animals….
Poplar Grove’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which will determine the feasibility of it, said member Ron Quimby. That group won’t be discussing it until the November meeting.
Meanwhile, he said board members will continue to research concerns about permits, aesthetics and ordinance enforcement.
Jennifer Wheeler: 815-987-1354; jwheeler@rrstar.com; @jenmwheeler
In the Polls: Republican Popularity Falls as Blame Rises | Wall St. Cheat Sheet - Part 2
A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling – with a sample size in each district consisting of 600-700 registered voters — did not bode well for Republican popularity. Done over the end of last week, the poll showed that the Republican incumbents in 17 out of the 24 districts polled were found to be behind the generic Democrat in approval ratings.
Pollster Jim Williams illustrates just how significant those numbers are. In the National Journal, Williams explains that, “Democrats must pick up 17 seats to win
control of the House. These poll results make clear that if the election were held today, such a pickup would be well within reach.” Williams also notes that this defies “conventional wisdom that gerrymandering has put the House out of reach for Democrats,” a scary thought for House Republicans.
Separate polls from both CBS and Fox News corroborate these findings. CBS found that 3 days into the government
WICS NewsChannel 20 :: News - Top Stories - Officials Rethink Video Gaming's Estimated Revenue
The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Government Accountability estimated the state would make 1-billion dollars off of video slots in its first year. They recently revised that to $200 million at most.
Vicky Dover owns the Jacksonville Bowl Inn. She says the machines have had a positive impact to her establishment. "The community really enjoys having this at their fingertips if they want to come in and play. For us as a business, I think it has done wonderful," Dover said.
She was able to remodel the bowling alley's bathrooms and purchase a new roof just off of income from the gaming. In Springfield, the owner of Fulgenzi's Pizza and Pasta says gambling has taken a slow start.
In order to get a license, businesses dished out $100. They receive 30 to 40 percent of profits from having the machine
WICS NewsChannel 20 :: News - Top Stories - Officials Rethink Video Gaming's Estimated Revenue