Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
MARION – A long time icon in Southern Illinois politics Marion Mayor Bob Butler will be retiring from office effective January 31, 2018.
Please click on the following link to read the statement issued by Mayor Butler to WSIL-TV.
http://www.wsiltv.com/story/36972647/marion-mayor-bob-butler-to-retire-in-january
BENTON, IL- Franklin County Government officials will hold a ceremony on Monday, December 4th, 2017 at 12:00 PM at the Franklin County Courthouse to honor the Illinois Bicentennial as well as the Bicentennial of the County of Franklin. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this event on the south lawn of the Courthouse. The event schedule will include guest speakers, presentation of proclamations, and a flag raising ceremony.
SPRINGFIELD – A group of Republican Illinois lawmakers and pro-life organizations are suing the state of Illinois in an attempt to block controversial new legislation that would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to pay for elective abortions in the state.
The Thomas More Society said it filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs and taxpayers across the state today in Sangamon County Circuit Court to halt implementation of House Bill 40.
“The people of Illinois totally reject taxpayer-funded abortions,” Thomas More Society Special Counsel Peter Breen, who drafted the lawsuit, said in a statement. Breen also is a Republican state representative from Lombard.
Please click on the link below for the full story from Illinois News Radio Network.
https://www.ilnews.org/news/state_politics/gop-lawmakers-pro-life-groups-sue-state-over-taxpayer-funded/article_cb6106c0-d5f7-11e7-9ecf-0bbd0fbfaf53.html
MARION, IL – On November 27th, Senator Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) hosted his first-ever Veterans Advisory Committee at the Carnegie Library in Marion, inviting local veterans and veteran service providers throughout the region to join him for a discussion about the issues important to the veterans in the 59th Senate District.
“Our veterans give so much to our nation and ask for so little in return. We have a responsibility to ensure that their voice is heard and their needs are represented,” said Sen. Fowler. “Yesterday’s event was about giving our veterans a platform to openly discuss the issues that matter to them and provide me with feedback on the needs of our veterans.”
Almost 30 veterans and veteran service providers joined Senator Fowler for his first meeting, discussing issues including housing for veterans, healthcare access, available services provided by the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the need for skilled and basic care providers, honor flights and concealed carry issues.
“I’m excited about taking what I heard from our discussion, moving forward and doing more to ensure that we’re taking care of the brave men and women who have already sacrificed so much so that we can have the opportunities and freedoms we enjoy today,” said Sen. Fowler. “This is just the first of what I hope is many conversations, and I’m excited to take what I heard in our meeting and work to better represent the interests of our veterans in state government.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) released the following statement after the House adopted a resolution requiring all members and staff to complete mandatory training on anti-harassment policies and workplace rights:
“From Hollywood to the newsrooms to the boardrooms, many American workplaces have been shaken in recent weeks by reports of sexual harassment. Congress, sadly, is no different. As a husband, a father and a grandfather, I would be furious to hear one of my children or grandchildren were made to feel unsafe or intimidated in their work environment. This type of conduct is simply unacceptable, and I’m pleased the House is taking steps to decrease the chances it ever happens again.”
MARION — Gov. Bruce Rauner traveled today with the Japanese Consul General for the Midwest to meet with key educational and manufacturing leaders in southern Illinois, where the state’s business ties with Japan are paying dividends in jobs.
Today’s schedule included a tour of the Aisin Manufacturing campus in Marion. The company’s footprint has grown from one plant to three since the Japanese firm’s first Illinois groundbreaking in fall 2001.
“Aisin — an esteemed, world-class auto supplier — is among the many examples of Illinois’ strong relationship with Japanese investors,” Rauner said while touring with Consul General Naoki Ito. “We have over 630 Japanese companies at 1,206 locations, employing more than 44,000 Illinoisans.”
“Aisin is very pleased to support the Japan Consulate-Midwest visit to our plant and honored that Gov. Rauner was able to attend,” said Glenn Edwards, executive vice president of Aisin Manufacturing in Marion, where a combined 2,500-plus are employed at the three Aisin Group plants. “This type of interaction and activity is key to a positive, long-term business relationship.”
Before the tour, business, government and educational leaders gathered for a working luncheon at Rend Lake College, a community college in Ina. New Southern Illinois University System Chancellor Carlo Montemagno, Rend Lake College President Terry Wilkerson, state Sen. Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo, and state Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, were among attendees.
Boosting coordination between colleges, universities and manufacturers to ensure a well-prepared, well-educated workforce is among the Rauner administration’s signature goals.
Jonathon Hallberg, executive director of the Jefferson County Development Corp., said Marion and other southern Illinois communities have benefited greatly from the Illinois-Japan connection, which dates back more than 140 years.
“Illinois has tremendous locational advantages for companies, with major cost advantages in the downstate area in particular,” Hallberg said. “I think that is why you have seen sustained investment by companies like Aisin, the Koito Group, and German-owned firms like Continental Tire the Americas LLC in our area. These international partnerships are the backbone of our local economy.”
Rauner said Japanese companies have driven economic development throughout the state. In smaller communities like Shelbyville, Lawrenceville, Marion and Mattoon, they form the foundation for robust economic development, he added.
Mark Peterson, president and CEO of Intersect Illinois, said Wednesday’s activities were a great follow-up to the governor’s fall trade mission to Japan.
“We are delighted that Consul General Ito is visiting southern Illinois to see the depth of the Illinois-Japan relationship,” Peterson said. “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the strength of Illinois’ manufacturing sector, workforce and partnership with academia to meet the needs of business.”
CHICAGO — Today the State of Illinois priced $750 million in new money General Obligation bonds for 2018 capital expenditures. Bond proceeds will be used to fund major capital construction projects and finance information technology projects.
The General Obligation bonds were priced competitively in two separate bids:
• The $655,000,000 Series of December 2017A fixed-rate bonds with a final maturity in 2042 will be used to fund major capital construction projects. The 2017A bonds received eight bids and the bonds were awarded to Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a true interest cost of 4.33 percent.
• The $95,000,000 Series of December 2017B fixed rate bonds with a final maturity in 2027 will be used to finance information technology projects. The 2017B bonds received 10 bids and the bonds were awarded to Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a true interest cost of 3.71 percent.
Today’s bond issue has an all-in borrowing cost for the combined series of 4.29 percent. The bonds are being issued as fully tax-exempt from federal taxation and are rated “BBB” by Fitch Ratings, “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service and “BBB-” by S&P Global.
“We are very pleased with the strong response that the State received on today’s competitive bids,” said Scott Harry, director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. “These transactions will allow the State to move forward with funding to address essential capital and infrastructure needs at an attractive interest rate.”
Chapman and Cutler LLP and Hardwick Law Firm LLC are acting as co-bond counsel for the State. Chapman and Cutler LLP is the State’s disclosure counsel. The State’s financial adviser for the transaction is Sycamore Advisors LLC.
Washington, DC (November 29, 2017) – Today, attorneys for Illinois public servant Mark Janus filed the first merits brief in the Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME. The brief asks the High Court to recognize that the First Amendment protects public workers from being required to make payments to union officials as a condition of working for their own government.
Plaintiff Mark Janus is an Illinois child support specialist who filed the challenge with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the Liberty Justice Center. Janus is currently required to pay union fees to AFSCME union officials even though he opposes many of the positions union officials advocate using his money and feels he would be better off without the union’s so-called representation.
In the 1977 Abood v. Detroit Board of Education case, a divided High Court ruled that public employees could not be required to subsidize many political and ideological union activities; however the court left in place forced fees used to subsidize union monopoly bargaining with the government. In a series of cases in the last five years, the Supreme Court has begun to question the theory underpinning Abood.
In the National Right to Work Foundation-won Knox v. SEIU (2012) and Harris v. Quinn (2014) cases, the Supreme Court made clear that mandatory union payments invoke the highest level of First Amendment protection. In Janus, Mark Janus asks the Supreme Court to apply this heightened scrutiny to all mandatory union payments required of government employees.
If the High Court rules in Janus’ favor, over 5 million public school teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other government employees who currently are forced to pay money to union officials just to keep their jobs would be free to decide individually whether or not to make voluntary union payments. Oral arguments in the case are now expected to occur in late February.
“Forced union fees remain the largest regime of compelled speech in the nation,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “Forty years ago in Abood, the Supreme Court erroneously left forced fees in place citing the artificial distinction between union officials’ ideological activities and union bargaining with the government that inherently seeks to alter public policy.”
“Now that the Janus case is being briefed for argument at the High Court, we are hopeful that in the coming months the Supreme Court will correct this anomaly in First Amendment jurisprudence by striking down all mandatory union payments for public workers,” continued Mix. “Americans shouldn’t forfeit their First Amendment protections just to work for their own government.”
“Government workers like Mark Janus shouldn’t have to pay for union politics just to keep their jobs,” said Jacob Huebert, director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center. “The First Amendment gives everyone the right to choose which political groups they will and won’t support with their money.”
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The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in more than 250 cases nationwide per year. Its web address is www.nrtw.org.
Benton, IL – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rend Lake Project, will hold a public workshop regarding the Master Plan update for the project. The public is invited to attend the workshop, which will provide information on the Master Plan update process and afford the opportunity to receive input from the public about their issues and concerns regarding the future management of Rend Lake.
The Master Plan addresses outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship activities occurring on lands owned by the Corps of Engineers at Rend Lake. The Master Plan does not address shoreline management, water control or water quality, since these activities are included in other Corps of Engineers operating plans.
Stakeholder input is extremely important to this process update. The current Master Plan, along with comment forms and additional information concerning the updates, will be available on the “St. Louis District website at http://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/. The public workshop will be held using an “open house” format, allowing time for participants to review specific information about the Master Plan update process, ask questions and provide written comments to the Corps of Engineers staff attending the meeting.
The workshop will be held on December 12, 2017, from 5-7pm, at the Rend Lake Visitor Center, located at 11981 Rend City Road, Benton, Illinois 62812. For more information feel free to contact Dawn Kovarik at 618-724-2493.
Washington, DC — Today, U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) joined Republican Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation in response to letters they received last week from Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth concerning tax reform and the impact on middle-income families.
The following letter was sent by U.S. Reps. John Shimkus (IL-15), Peter Roskam (IL-06), Randy Hultgren (IL-14), Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Mike Bost (IL-12), and Darin LaHood (IL-18):
Dear Senators Durbin and Duckworth,
We are writing to address your recent letter to Republican members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. The massive 32 percent state income tax hike that was forced onto families earlier this year by Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly hurt the residents in our districts and across the state deeply. We have seen the negative impact these high taxes have had on our state’s economy and Illinois families. Now, we are coming together at the federal level to create a more competitive tax code and give middle-income families the tax relief they deserve.
The nonpartisan Tax Foundation projects that under H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Illinois will see an estimated 37,010 jobs added and an after-tax income gain of $2,333 for middle-income families as a result of this legislation. The Chief of Staff for the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation recently testified before the Ways and Means Committee that on average at every income level there will be a tax cut.
In your letter, you list deductions for medical expenses and state and local income and property taxes – as you are aware, the majority of middle-income taxpayers in Illinois see no benefit from these deductions, which are only available to those who itemize. However, lowering rates and doubling the standard deduction allows individuals to save a greater amount than they currently do even with the student loan deduction.
From businesses on Main Street to middle-income families across our great state, everyone deserves a tax code that rewards hard work by allowing them to keep more money in their paychecks. We urge you to reject the status quo and do what’s right for hardworking taxpayers in Illinois.
We encourage you to work with your colleagues to address any concerns you may have as they craft the Senate bill and we hope you will support these efforts to reform our tax code. Middle-income families deserve to keep more of what they earn and we are committed to lowering taxes for these families. By lowering rates, doubling the standard deduction, and increasing and expanding the child tax credit, the data clearly shows the majority of middle-income families in Illinois will receive a tax cut under H.R. 1.
We hope you will work with us to put an end to a tax system that benefits the wealthy over the middle-class. We look forward to working with you to get a bipartisan tax reform bill to President Trump’s desk.
