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10/16/2009 Voters in Illinois…will be given the chance to choose whether they want the power to recall crooked governors in the future. A constitutional amendment will be placed on the ballot in November 2010. If it passes, Illinois will adopt a convoluted mechanism for recalling governors seen as corrupt or incompetent. “The very best way to make sure the governor does the right thing all the time is to have in our constitution the power of recall,” said Gov Pat Quinn who took office in January after his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich was impeached. Three of our Illinois governors have gone to prison in the past 3 decades, the most recent being George Ryan. Ryan is serving a 6 year prison sentence after he was convicted in 2006 of federal corruption charges involving a scam to illegally sell licenses to truck drivers while he was secretary of state. Well, I guess you know that I definitely will vote yes for that amendment. I am sickened by corrupt government in Illinois. Because of our corrupted government Illinois is so far in debt that it seems unlikely that we will ever see the light of day. ***************************************************************************************************************************************** It is still a drizzly chilly day here with the temperature hovering at 41 degrees. There is promise of sunshine and warmer days predicted for next week. Sunshine would be nice. I went to the hardware store yesterday and purchased 2 twenty pound bags of ice melt. Last year the stores in the big city and here ran out of ice melt by Christmas. I would have bought a 50 lb bag but I didn’t want to lug that up on the porch. It was right at $28 for the 2 bags but cheaper than a trip to the emergency room after a fall. I hope you all have a great weekend. Stay safe and be happy!
1/24/2008 Baby it's cold outside... (Plus it's Thursday and time for the local news)but baby it's cold outside. This very minute it is 7 below zero with a wind chill of 20 below. I am not getting the energy up yet to go outdoors and start the car warming up in preparation to go to workout. This morning I am waiting until after 8 to go out. Expected high today is 10 degrees. And now for the weekly local news. Headline: Clerk pleads innocent to 8 felony crimes, including 4 counts of official misconduct. (He is the county clerk for the county where the city was flooded) His bond has been set at $100,000. He supposedly sold the county a trailer for voting purposes without disclosing the trailer belonged to him, Way to go buddy!! Rubble is removed from the downtown fire that destroyed the theater building on Nov. 13, thank heaven. I need 70 degrees and bright sunshine.
Our county has received 20 smoking complaints of violations of the state's new smoking ban which went into effect Jan. 1 of 2008. The curfew is still in effect in the little village that had several cases of arson last fall. A local firefighter has confessed to one of the fires. The rest remain unsolved. Thus, the curfew. Reward still offered for info on trash can bandits. Crimestoppers schedule meetings for Wednesdays. Three pages of local sports and only 1/2 page of obituaries. That's good news. I always feel better when I don't see my name there. I did make it to Curves this morning, otherwise I wouldn't have my local newspaper. Stay warm!!! 2/3/2007 Every light in the house is on; better not, Ameren CIPS has hit Illinois with giantic rate increases...Better not leave every light in the house on. Ameren CIPS (or whatever else they are called in various parts of the state) has increased your power bill from 40 - 60% depending on what part of the state you live in. My brother in southern Illinois just received his Ameren bill. It had increased over 100% from the previous bill. My daughter in central Illinois received her inflated bill. I haven't received mine yet; it comes around the 15th of the month.
Now, get this, this big hearted company has sent fliers to all of its customers giving us an option. Here it is. Tell me what you think. I quote Ameren CIPS "In January 2007, as a nearly decade-long rate freeze came to an end, Illinois utility customers began paying electric rates that reflect the higher costs of generating and delivering power to their home - prices that are closer to the national average." Unquote. They go on to state that we may choose to defer a certain amount of our bill for three years at which time we would have to make arrangements to pay the remainder of our bill which has been assessed a monthly compound interest rate of 0.2669% (a 3.25% annual percentage rate.)
I fail to see how if you couldn't afford the full payment now you would be able to pay it in 3 years plus the interest. Myself, I will pay it as I go along and complain all the while.
Turn your lights off!! 6/2/2006 Driving feet...I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this.
Wellington, New Zealand (AP)
An armless man stopped for speeding was driving with one foot on the steering wheel and another on the pedals, a police officer testified.
Colin Smith, who was born without arms and has never held a driver's license, appeared in court Thursday, charged with driving in a manner likely to be dangerous to the public.
The police officer who stopped Smith said the driver's seat was reclined and the man appeared to be using one foot to steer the car and the other to work the accelerator and brake.
Smith, 31, entered no plea but said he would defend himself against the charges.
He told the court he had been driving for years, using his feet to steer, and had never had an accident. 5/25/2006 Older American's month...I didn't know until I picked up the paper the other day that May is Older American's Month. Older American's Month was created by John F. Kennedy in April 1963.
When Older American's Month was established in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthday. About 1/3 of older American's lived in poverty and there were few programs to meet their needs. Interest in older Americans and their concerns was growing, however. In April of 1963, President John F. Kennedy's meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens served as a prelude to designating May as "Senior Citizen's Month."
Thanks to President Jimmy Carter's 1980 designation, what was once called Senior Citizen's Month is now called Older American's Month and has become a tradition.
I think this is great but I was alive in 1963 and I don't remember any of this. I had two small children and I guess I was living in a capsule. No one has made any mention of Older American's Month from that date on to my knowledge.
I know now, however, and I am ready to celebrate along with my other blogging friends who are over 65.
Break out the pizza and Maalox. We are celebrating Older American's Month!!
*** "I have no doubt that our world leaders are leading the world. It's where they are leading that I question." 4/18/2006 RYAN IS GUILTY - A FEDERAL JURY FINDS RYAN GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS!Finally, some vindication for the state of Illinois! Yesterday former Illinois governor George Ryan was found guilty on all counts in his racketeering and fraud trial. Also found guilty was his friend and co-defendant Larry Warner.
After a five-month trial in federal court a jury found Ryan guilty. I should not take pleasure in this I know. :o) I watched as Ryan led our state from a healthy financial standing to utter financial ruin. I watched as his office under his guidance while he was Secretary of State sold driver's licenses to truck drivers who had the money to pay a bribe. I watched, while as his final act in office as governor, he declared a moratorium on the death penalty in the state of Illinois.
The scandal that to led Ryan's downfall began over a decade ago with a van crash in Wisconsin that killed six children. The 1994 wreck exposed a scheme inside the Illinois secretary of state's office in which truck drivers obtained licenses for bribes.
Ryan is the third former Illinois governor in the past three decades to be convicted of federal felonies. Otto Kerner was found guilty in a racing stock scandal; Dan Walker was convicted of corruption involving bank loans.
I would hope that this will be the end of corruption in the state of Illinois. I seriously doubt that is the case!
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