It may be cold in the Midwest and much of the country, but our neighbors to the south in Florida are enjoying a warm winter. In fact the above picture was taken of flag flying from a house in Florida – note the palm trees in the background! Do they really have to rub it in?
Quinn talks about building the middle class like his friends in Washington when he and his political associates in Springfield and Washington through their misguided policies are destroying the middle class. Lets look at Quinn’s accomplishments and goals:
67% increase in state income tax and he wants more
Proposes reducing fee for filing as a limited liability company from $500 to $39. At the present time fee is among the highest in the country. Quinn’s philosophy – give the people a crumb – one reduction for every ten increases whether it be court filing fees, license fees, or various tax increases. And don’t bet on the reduction passing the legislature! Not enough to make Illinois a “business friendly” state since once a business is formed in this state, Illinois makes it difficult to stay in business.
Pension reform – not enough and unlikely to survive the challenge from the public employee unions
Increase the state minimun wage from $8.25 an hour to at least $10.00 – he must be talking to Obama
These are just a few of his “accomplishments.” Now let’s look at the real state of this state!
Economic Performance – Illinois ranks 47 (50=worse)
Economic Outlook – Illinois ranks 48 (50=worse)
One Real Accomplishment – Quinn and associates are driving people out of Illinois. Domestic migration – Illinois ranks 48. From 2002 to 2011 Illinois lost 627,630 residents and they are still leaving!
For details see 2013 Alec-Laffer State Economic Competivieness Index
And the real joke – Quinn plans to run again for governor and the sad part is that only in Illinois could he possibly be re-elected!
A taxpayer undergoing an audit at an Internal Revenue Service office on Long Island successfully sued the IRS for $862,000 after he was injured by tripping over a phone cord. The taxpayer claimed in his lawsuit that he could not enjoy activities from golf to sex after he fell during a 2008 audit at an IRS office in Hauppauge, N.Y., according to the New York Post. He had visited the offices to work out a payment agreement for a $60,000 tax bill when he tripped on the phone cord. He then spent 17 days in hospitals and rehabilitation centers recovering from his injury. Attorneys for the IRS claimed he was exaggerating his injury, but the judge awarded him $862,000 for pain and suffering. He won’t have to pay taxes on the damages either.
The moral of this story – Don’t let an IRS agent come to your office. If the agent comes to your office, then you will not only end up paying your tax bill, but damages to the agent who falls in your office on a pile of your tax records stacked on your floor!
Read the judge’s decision at http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nyedce/2:2010cv03888/308197/57/0.pdf?1388754242
The State of Illinois makes everything difficult. The new law dealing with medical marijuana went into effect January 1, 2014. The Department of Public Health has posted online 48 pages of draft rules to implement the new law. A good overview of the law can be found at http://www.mpp.org/states/illinois/IllinoisHB1BillSummary.pdf
If you want to read all of the proposed rules, then go to
Click to access DPH%20medical%20cannabis_DRAFT%20proposed%20rule%2001%2021%2014.pdf
If you want to keep your guns, forget it if you want to qualify for medical marijuana. Part of the proposed rule says:
That the applicant understands that a qualifying patient or designated caregiver with a current Firearm Owners Identification Card or a Concealed Carry Weapons Permit who is approved for a registry identification card shall be in violation of and may not possess firearms under relevant state and federal law. As such, registered qualifying patients and designated caregivers are not eligible for a Firearm Owners Identification Card or a Firearm Concealed Carry License and may be subject to administrative proceedings by the Illinois State Police if they do not voluntarily surrender such card or license.
I guess that means that if someone tries to take your medical marijuana at gun point, the criminals will have a license to kill you since they know you are defenseless.
The historic Civil War Monument in downtown Freeport, dedicated in 1871 and on the National Register, is in need of repair. This Expo showcases the monument and the repair efforts. In addition, the Expo includes a display of Civil War memorabilia provided by the Stephenson County Historical Society . The Expo can be viewed at the Freeport/Stephenson County Visitors Center, 4596 US Highway 20 East, Freeport from 8 am to 6 pm. 815.233.1357
To read more about the monument and how you can donate, go to http://www.monumentfund.org/index.html
Winter activities in the Freeport Parks include ice skating, ice hockey, sledding, and cross Country skiing. The ice skating and hockey are Read Park while the sledding is at Krape Park.
At Oakdale you can enjoy cross-country skiing, and if you don’t have skis (or snowshoes), you can rent them for the weekend at the Park District main office in Read Park. Go to the Park District website for details at http://www.freeportparkdistrict.org/ and look under programs, winter activities.
And don’t forget snowmobiling –
There are over 300 miles of marked trails for snowmobiling in Northwest Illinois, including on the Jane Addams Trail between Freeport and Wisconsin. Detailed trail maps are available at the Freeport/Stephenson County Visitors Center, 4596 US Highway 20 East, Freeport. Call 800.369.2955 for snowmobile conditions.
The Weather Channel at one time really did give the weather. Since it was purchased by NBC in 2008, it has in recent years become just another source of entertainment. When you turn on the channel to get the weather, you often just get programs on topics only marginally related to the weather such as one of its newest programs dealing with prospectors. During the recent cold weather in the Midwest, the weather persons had a field day in their warm studios in Atlanta talking about the cold weather. Terms such as “killer cold” were thrown around by individuals who looked like the coldest weather they had even seen was the morning frost on their cars in Atlanta. The U.S. Weather Bureau names hurricanes, but not winter storms, so the Weather Channel decided that America needs to name its winter storms. What a joke! The last winter storm was named Ion – so the Weather Channel could then say – “Ion Blasts Plains.” For most of us it would be enough to say – It looks like another cold, snowy and windy day tomorrow – dress warmly. The Weather Channel would say – It looks like another killer day where you will die in minutes outside with the snow making travel impossible and the winds are so strong that you will be unable to walk. Give America a break and go back to reporting the weather!
The concert will be at 7:30 pm at the Jeannette Lloyd Theatre, 701 W. Empire Street, Freeport. The 101st annual formal band concert featuring the FHS Concert Band, under the direction of Mr. T.J. Mack, and the FHS Symphonic Band, under the baton of Mr. Bill Petersen, will include a variety of band music and some of the greatest music written for wind band including works by Gustav Holst and Ludwig Von Beethoven. The featured guest artist with the Symphonic Band will be Mr. Mark Baldin, Principal Trumpet with the Rockford and Elgin Symphonies as well as the Rockford Wind Ensemble. 815.990.1739
The meeting will be at 6:00 pm in City Council Chambers at 524 West Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor.
If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.
Items of interest:
Presentation by students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Urban and
Regional Planning on projects such as passenger rail, housing, Tutty’s crossing, and public transit.
This should be an interesting presentaton. Go to http://urpl.wisc.edu/ for more about the Department.
Update from Dave Young, Director of Northwest Illinois Development Alliance (NIDA). Probably wants more money!
1st Reading (no comment allowed since there was a public hearing) of Ordiance for Variation for Group
Home (eight residents) for special need individuals at 325 West Rye Ridge. Since there were no written
objections and a unanimous recommendation from Planning Commission, it can be voted on with only one only one reading. In the minutes of the meeting, Laura Kelly who represented the applicant,
Northwest Illinois CILA, LLC, of Galesburg, Illinois, when asked what types of disabilities the residents would have stated that the primary disability would be developmental/mental retardation. The use of the term “mental retardation” which many people find offensive has been replaced by the term “intellectual disability” by most organizations and governmental agencies such as Social Security. It is surprising that someone in this field who purports to be an advocate in the area of helping individuals with special needs would use such a term. Someone should ask Ms. Kelly if she has heard of “Rosa’s
Law.”
Now for the big question that no one asked – How much will this home pay in real estate taxes or is it just another tax exempt parcel in Freeport which will demand city services and pay nothing towards them? A similar home for individuals with intellectual disabilities at 1774-1776 S Hance Dr pays –you know the answer – no real estate taxes!
The minutes of the Planning Commission hearing are informative and can be found at http://www.cityoffreeport.org/OrdRes/SUP%20325%20RYE%20RIDGE%20_20140121.pdf
For the complete agenda of the council meeting, go to http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20140121a.pdf
On November 2, 1983, former President Ronald Reagan signed into law House of Representatives Bill Number 3706 declaring January 15, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a national holiday. His birthday is now observed on the third Monday of January.
In Freeport there will be a celebration of his birthday at the Boys and Girls Club at 511 S. Liberty Avenue, Freeport at 5 pm. The community is invited to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King through song, dance and praise. Praise and worship service from 5 to 6 pm, and the program begins at 6:15 pm with the theme “Strength to Love” with Rev. Dr. Kenneth Board, Pilgrim Baptist Church, Rockford as guest speaker. 815.233.1600
Good Day Illinois - Happenings in Northwest Illinois 