Illinois unemployment rate hit 10.5% in September of 2009 and a Kewanee-based company, Jensen Construction, chose to use out-of-state workers to build a $3M building in Sycamore, IL. According to Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), the unemployment rate in DeKalb County is 9.2%.
Last week,
On Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, Carpenters Local 195 joined other members of the Illinois Valley Building Trades to picket a new Hampton Inn that is being built in Peru, IL. The Hampton Inn is being constructed in an enterprise zone and will not be paying property taxes for 10 years. They are using materials and workers from Indiana instead of supporting the local Peru economy.
Perhaps this photo says it best.
Calls started going out 2-3 days ago to Democratic activists in Kane and Kendall counties to notify them that Democratic Speaker of the House, Mike Madigan had chosen to support Linda Healy to run against Kay Hatcher for State Representative from the 50th District.
Linda Healy is the former director of Mutual Ground, a local shelter for abused women and men. In my opinion, Healy is an excellent pick to challenge Kay Hatcher who voted against funding for Mutual Ground earlier this year when Hatcher voted “no” for a fully-funded budget.
To learn more about Linda Healy or donate to Mutual Ground, follow this link.
Local activists pressured Hatcher and Republican Leader Tom Cross in efforts to keep the doors open at Mutual Ground, but both voted against the shelter.
On the eve of Barack Obama’s healthcare speech on 9/9/09, residents from Illinois’ 14th District took to the streets to encourage the President of the United States to push for comprehensive healthcare reform, Medicare for all.
Thanks to Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice and the Aurora Peace and Justice group, about 50 people showed up from all walks of life to show their support for the expansion of Medicare to all Americans. More people congregated as people got off of work and those that could not stop and join us used their horns to show their support.
The Beacon News covered the event here and an in-district blogger, Bill Baar, covered it here. More photos are available here.
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I am a middle-class worker who has decent health insurance (an 80-20 plan) and recognizes that my recently elevated private insurance premiums are paying for those who don’t have health insurance. In addition to paying for the uninsured, I calculated that I am also paying an extra $4,000-7,000 per year into the pocketbooks of Wall Street profiteers.
Maybe my story about a $110/month increase in health insurance premiums is not significant compared to the many stories of those who lose their homes, businesses and dignity because we continue to embrace the status quo, broken, for-profit healthcare system, but it still needs to be told.
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Most scientists, supported by concrete data, agree that the earth is heating up. Over the last ten years the average temperature has climbed about 1 degree Fahrenheit around the globe. And, even if you choose to reject science and the assessment that global temperatures and sea levels are rising, it would be difficult to ignore the economic recession. Rising gas prices compound the economic crisis caused by the mortgage meltdown and rising unemployment numbers
So, what do we do about it?
Do we all put solar panels on our roofs? Is it enough to replace our light bulbs with compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs)? Do we have what it takes to start carpooling to work, turning the thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer? I started asking myself all of these questions after being laid off from my last job as a carpenter at the LaSalle Nuclear Power Station (a touch of irony) in January of 2009.
Initially I came to the conclusion that we should focus our efforts on conserving energy or producing energy from non-carbon emitting sources like windmills or solar panels. It turns out that solar panels are actually a poor return on investment and wind only makes sense in rural areas. Nuclear invites controversy while we try to develop a better way of disposing of nuclear waste.
Last night, May 11, 2009, Alderman Bob Hausler was sworn in as the new Mayor of Plano.
It was an exciting night for progressives, union members and environmentalists — Bob Hausler is all of the above. The retired UAW Local 145 member
Bob fought off two strong opponents with a steady, consistent door-to-door campaign and became the Mayor-elect on April 7th. Much more could be written about the shy, grassroots Mayor of Plano and the many activists who helped get him into the winners circle, but I want to get to the good stuff.
Last evening on my drive home from work, I received a call from a campaign supporter by the name of Ben. He was calling to tell me that he had received a polling call yesterday.
Ben, who lives in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, did not know who conducted the poll, but he recognized that the polling questions were framed by the Republican Party. Issue questions framed Obama’s agenda in a negative light and focused on tax cuts. It always amazes me that the Republicans have not figured out the fact that their tried and true message of the past, “tax cuts will save America,” is not working.
The interesting part of the poll was the question about Dennis Hastert.
“If the election were held today, would you vote for Dennis Hastert or Bill Foster.”
The next question was similar.
“If the election were held today, would you vote for Ethan Hastert or Bill Foster.”
Speculate away.
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