News from the last 30 days
-
September 02, 2010
Report questions cost, benefits of Taylorville clean-coal plant
State Journal Register
The Illinois Commerce Commission says a proposed Taylorville power plant would produce costly electricity and offer uncertain benefits. An ICC report released Wednesday estimates the cost of the proposed Tenaska plant, which would be designed to reduce pollution, at between $3 billion and $4.2 billion. Electricity from the plant would cost 30 percent more than from traditional coal-fired... <read more> -
September 02, 2010
Steel curtain for OMC Wreckage from lakefront site gets recycled
Waukegan News Sun
Steel curtain for OMC Wreckage from lakefront site gets recycled September 2, 2010 By DAN MORAN dmoran@stmedianetwork.com WAUKEGAN -- The 5,000 tons of steel taken down this spring and summer at the former Outboard Marine Corp. property couldn't be set out at the curb, but most of if ended up being recycled anyway as crews tackled a key component in the lakefront's environmental cleanu... <read more> -
September 01, 2010
Guest view: Levee plan is good but help's still needed
Belleville News Democrat
Southwestern Illinois marked an important milestone in August. It has been three years since the Federal Emergency Management Agency surprised our region with its decision to deaccredit the metro-east levees. The announcement triggered a process that would declare almost all of the American Bottoms a Special Flood Hazard Area with potentially devastating economic outcomes for the St. Louis... <read more> -
September 01, 2010
Dudley using online poll to determine where he will volunteer time at local businesses
Belleville News Democrat
DECATUR - Voters, or just people with an Internet connection, now have the chance to dictate part of Tim Dudley's campaign for state senator in Decatur. The Decatur Democrat and member of the Macon County Board has decided to pull shifts at five local businesses during his campaign against state Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon. Which ones he decides to work at will be determined by an online p... <read more> -
September 01, 2010
Quinn criticizes Brady over gas tax proposal
Bloomington Pantagraph
SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday criticized state Sen. Bill Brady's plan to remove the Illinois sales tax on gasoline, saying it would shortchange important state programs. "How's he going to pay for education, health care public safety and helping our veterans?" Quinn told reporters. Quinn, a Democrat, rebuked the Bloomington Republican's reluctance to release specific state budg... <read more> -
September 01, 2010
More kids lining up for free lunch
Bloomington Pantagraph
SPRINGFIELD -- In another sign of the sour economic times, about half of all Illinois school students are eligible for free or low-priced meals at school. As more than 2 million students settle into their classrooms, figures compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education show the percentage of kids who qualify for the meals based on their parents' incomes hit 51.5 percent on June 30. That... <read more> -
September 01, 2010
130 Ill. employers to get retiree health subsidy
Bloomington Pantagraph
CHICAGO -- Early retiree Richard Rouse told federal officials Tuesday he would like to know that his former employers' health plan for retirees is stable and won't be raising his $500 monthly premiums. "A lot of predictions show that in January things are going to go up quite a lot," Rouse, 62, said at a Chicago senior center after U.S. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Howard Ko... <read more> -
September 01, 2010
Violations show lack of attention to public access
Bloomington Pantagraph
At least two government bodies in Central Illinois have to do a better job of fulfilling their responsibilities to the public, complying with state law and conducting business in the open. Within the past month, the Pontiac Elementary District 429 school board and the LeRoy City Council were each told by the public access counselor in the attorney general's office that they violated the Illi... <read more> -
September 01, 2010
Daley going to China, Korea
Chicago Sun Times
Mayor Daley traveled the world promoting Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games -- and all he got to show for it was a first-round flame-out in the competition ultimately won by Rio de Janeiro. Apparently, the mayor's traveling days are not over. The mayor's office announced Tuesday that Daley will lead a delegation of Chicago's business and cultural leaders on a trip to Shan... <read more> -
September 01, 2010
Sheraton workers walk out for 2 hrs.
Chicago Sun Times
About 200, or roughly half of the workforce represented by Unite Here Local 1 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, staged an impromptu, two-hour walkout Tuesday to protest increased workloads and managers doing union work amid labor layoffs. "Managers are doing our jobs, while people who've worked here for 10 years are being laid off or are being given shorter work weeks," said Diane Ches... <read more>