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Showing posts with label #pensions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #pensions. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
AFSCME 31 PAC contributes $767,800 to Madigan's Campaign
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Not one penny should be spent on pork,' Ives says
FY19 Budget: 'Not one penny should be spent on pork,' Ives says
Illinois Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) believes state lawmakers need to reject political pork spending that was hidden in the budget that was passed earlier this year.
"The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget acknowledged in August that the new state budget is unbalanced by a staggering $1.2 billion," Ives said in a statement. "Now it is coming to light that untold millions of dollars in spending was hidden in the new state budget for legislators in both parties to designate for pork projects in their districts."
Gov. Bruce Rauner in May signed the $38.5 billion bipartisan compromise budget that "holds the line on taxes, increases funding for education, curbs spending, and creates a new adoption tax credit that will make it less costly for Illinois parents to adopt children," he said.
The budget overwhelmingly passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly with a 56-2 vote in the Senate and a 97-18 vote in the House of Representatives. Ives was among the few lawmakers who voted against it.
Ives hasn't warmed up to the budget, according to her statement.
"I refuse to participate in this initiative and am calling on my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, to do likewise," Ives said. "Illinois taxpayers deserve to know where every dollar in the budget is being spent. Not one penny should be spent on pork.”
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Coalition Of Reformers Refuse Taxpayer Funded Pensions If Elected
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Sunday, September 9, 2018
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Batinick “problem solving” video focuses on savings to Illinois pension systems
News From
State Representative Mark Batinick
For Immediate Release
August 20, 2018
Contact: Debbie Kraulidis
(815) 254-0000
Batinick “problem solving” video focuses on savings to Illinois pension systems
PLAINFIELD – State Representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) has released his second “problem solving” video, this one concerning ways to save more than $200 million in administrative costs within the Illinois pension system.
“If you want lower property taxes, watch this short video and see how Illinois wastes $277 million per year and how we can start to solve the problem,” Batinick said.
The video highlights inefficiencies in Illinois’ various pension systems which cost taxpayers millions of dollars every year. The video is available on Rep. Batinick’s Facebook page. It can also be viewed along with an accompanying white paper with more details at www.repbatinick.com.
# # #
Mark Batinick
State Representative 97th District
815-254-0000
In order for my office to keep you up-to-date on topics concerning our district and Illinois as a whole, I would like to give you the opportunity to sign up for my E-Newsletter by just clicking the link below.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Is China Winning the 5G Race?
| Is China Winning the 5G Race? | ||
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Is China winning the 5G race?
This technology is fairly new, so it might be too early to say China is winning the 5G race, but the country is very focused on becoming a leader in the industry.
According to a study released by Deloitte, since 2015, China has built about 350,000 cell sites. The U.S., meanwhile, has built around 30,000.
China has been working diligently to install new wireless sites, which need to be placed on either lampposts or utility poles in densely populated areas.
China is so focused on expanding 5G throughout the country that it’s making a significant economic commitment to the technology. Its five-year economic plan, which runs through 2020, is calling for $400 billion in spending on 5G investment.
The Deloitte report said, “Consequently, China and other countries may be creating 5G networks, which will ultimately be used to power self-driving cars, virtual reality, and smart cities.”
5G networks will unlock endless possibilities from technology and enhance any smart devices we already use.
Obviously, the first country that successfully sets up 5G networks will have a massive lead over other countries working toward 5G adoption. The Deloitte report mentioned “first-adopter countries embracing 5G could sustain more than a decade of competitive advantage.” And right now, China is dominating with its installation of new wireless sites, which means it has the competitive advantage.
Two other important factors in the 5G race are research and development and the ability for the government to quickly allocate additional radio frequencies to wireless companies. 5G needs more bandwidth, and the only way to achieve it is with these radio frequencies.
The time, money, and energy devoted to research and development in new technologies is always key when it comes to becoming a global leader in a certain industry or tech. China is devoting its time, money, and energy to 5G, and it’s already paying off.China Mobile Hong Kong is Completing 5G Network Tests
China Mobile Hong Kong continues to work on 5G Wi-Fi. It recently announced that it is completing 5G network tests and is succeeding in connecting non-5G devices and computers to its Wi-FI hotspots.
5G-capable smartphones are still a year or more away from being fully accessible; however, devices will have the opportunity to connect using 5G Wi-Fi hotspots. China Mobile Hong Kong believes it will be ready to provide full services once rollout is complete.
The company said:
This is just one example of the dedication China and its tech companies have to 5G.
China Mobile Hong Kong continues to heavily invest in 5G research and development. It recently signed agreements with HTC to develop a solid 5G infrastructure and compatible 5G devices.
The realization that this industry is going to bring in huge profits and economic benefits is going to outweigh the current costs to deploy the technology. It's all going to be worth it in the end.Does the U.S. Have a Chance?
Despite what is happening right now, the U.S. isn’t sitting back and watching China dominate the 5G market. The U.S. is making its own strides to become a world leader of the next-generation technology.
Last month, the U.S Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was advised by the Executive Branch to deny China Mobile entry. The Executive Branch made this decision based on “substantial and unacceptable risk to U.S. law enforcement and foreign intelligence collection.”
The CIA, FBI, and NSA told Americans in February that they shouldn’t use products from Huawei and ZTE because of the potential security risks with their devices. However, these agencies don’t have any evidence to back up these claims, but warning Americans that there might be some risk if they purchase devices by those companies could help reduce the market share of the companies, and ultimately China’s lead in the 5G race.
Additionally, the Trump administration has been contemplating creating a set of standards for a nationwide 5G mobile network to prevent China from dominating the industry. The threat is real. But it doesn’t seem like the U.S. is entirely afraid of its place in the industry.
The U.S. is gaining speed when it comes to its research for 5G. In fact, two industry giants, Intel and Qualcomm, are hard at work researching and developing 5G technologies, so the U.S. will have a chance to win the 5G race in the same way it became a leader in 4G technologies.
But as of right now, China is in the lead. A report from CTIA, a trade association for the U.S. wireless industry, said China was the country most prepared to deploy 5G networks. South Korea was second, the U.S. was third, and Japan was fourth.
It’s going to be an interesting race to 5G. I know I’m going to be paying very close attention to it!
If you want to profit no matter which nation wins the race, there's a way to do that. Click here for my colleague Jason Stutman's presentation on the companies set to dominate the 5G revolution.
Monica Savaglia is Wealth Daily’s IPO specialist. With passion and knowledge, she wants to open up the world of IPOs and their long-term potential to everyday investors. She does this through her newsletter IPO Authority, a one-stop resource for everything IPO. She also contributes regularly to the Wealth Daily e-letter. To learn more about Monica, click here.
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lawsuit that claims the county failed to follow a state constitutional amendment protecting road construction funds.
Cook County seeks dismissal of lawsuit
claiming violations of state constitution, state could see same challenge
Lawyers
representing Cook County want a judge to toss a lawsuit that claims the county
failed to follow a new state constitutional amendment aimed at protecting road
construction funds.
If the
county loses, it could put a massive hole in its budget. And the state of
Illinois could be next.
A group
of associations representing the construction trades sued Cook County alleging
it moved $250 million meant for road, bridges and other projects to other
things not related to construction. That was outlawed in 2016 when voters
passed the Safe Roads “Lockbox” amendment.
The
constitutional change, which was supported by a majority of voters, requires
funds put into special accounts meant for roads, bridges and other construction
funds to be restricted to those purposes.
Before
the amendment was passed, it was commonplace for state lawmakers to authorize
money be “swept” from special funds like this and then the debt would be
forgiven at a later date. When construction industry groups pushed for the
constitutional change ahead of the 2016 election, they said lawmakers had
diverted billions in gas tax revenue designated for road work to shore up budgets.
Mike
Sturino, president and CEO of the Illinois Road & Transportation
Builders Association, said Cook County hasn’t been honest with its budgeting.
“When
an elected official promises to raise revenue based upon transportation so that
it can be reinvested to be used more as a user fee instead of a tax, the people
who they represent deserve to be leveled with,” he said. “What we’ve found time
and again are diversions, sweeps of money that were promised for infrastructure
were being spent on unrelated uses.”
His group
is looking into a number of other units of government that it suspects aren’t
abiding by the constitutional provision, including the state of Illinois
itself.
“The
state of Illinois is one of the governmental bodies that we’re looking at to
make sure they’re in compliance,” he said. “We have a number of inquiries going
on throughout the state.”
Cook
County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office declined to comment on the pending
litigation.
The
hearing for the dismissal plea is set for Aug. 24.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Grocery stores across Illinois are closing. Why?
Grocery stores across Illinois are
closing. Why?
· 
Tim Gray |
Shutterstock.com
In the
past year, grocery stores in Clinton, Moline, Effingham, Kankakee and several
Chicago suburbs have closed and two more in central Illinois are slated to
close by the end of this month.
Two
Kroger grocery stores are slated to close later this month, one in Decatur and
another in Lincoln. Statements from Kroger corporate says the stores weren’t
expected to return to profitability.
“Company
leaders praised the stores’ associates, saying the closings are not a
reflection on them or their work,” a statement from Kroger said. “The 76
members of the Kroger team in Lincoln have performed extremely well and have
been committed to customer service in spite of the business challenges
experienced by their store.”
A
statement from Kroger about the Decatur closing said customers will still be
able to shop, fill prescriptions and get fuel at two other locations in the
central Illinois community.
“The HR
team will strive to find other positions for the (95) store associates at the
other Decatur Kroger stores,” the statement said.
Illinois
Retail Merchants Association President Rob Karr said while each business is
unique, there may be one commonality.
“No
longer are companies willing to subsidize underperforming stores,” Karr said.
“If stores aren’t meeting their targets, aren’t meeting what they need to meet
the needs of the companies, then they are more likely to close them than to
subsidize them with more profitable stores.”
Karr
said people trending to eat out more could be another reason. But he said the grocery
business lives on the narrowest margins where there’s very little room for
error amid intense competition. But there’s another factor, he said.
“We
can’t overlook the fact, and people tend to roll their eyes sometimes, but it’s
real, the combined impact of local government and state government’s pressures
on business also impacts them negatively,” Karr said.
State
reports through the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification
(WARN) Act indicate since July 2017, at least 17 grocery stores or food
retailers have closed throughout the state, impacting around 1,660 employees
and countless consumers.
Snap
Kitchen, billed online as a “one stop healthy meal shop,” closed seven
locations in Chicago in December 2017 affecting 76 employees.
Several
months ago, multiple Sam’s Club stores closed in the Chicago suburbs: Wheeling
with 138 employees, Streamwood with 191 employees, Matteson affecting 166
workers, Naperville with 170 employees, Batavia with 150 employees, Moline with
155 and Romeoville with 167.
In
other parts of the state, Walmart in Clinton with 80 workers is set to close by
the end of the month. Martin’s IGA in Effingham closed, affecting 275 in
January 2018. Ultra Foods in Kankakee closed in September 2017 affecting 92
employees.
While more
urban areas may have access to other grocery choices, things get more difficult
in rural areas where the Rural Health Information Hub says “access to food may
be limited by financial constraints or other factors, such as transportation
challenges.”
“Rural
shoppers may rely on more expensive and less nutritious options, such as those
available at gas station convenience stores, or face a long drive to a town
with a grocery store that stocks fresh produce, milk, eggs, and other staples,”
it said.
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