Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great week and relaxing weekend. It’s been another busy week in the 111th District! I’ll update you on what’s going on with Gordon Moore Park, a local blood drive, corruption, education, and jobs.
GORDON MOORE PARK
Gordon Moore Park is Open! It was great to drive by and see the gates open wide. I want to thank the workers at Alton Parks and Recreation and Spencer T Olin Golf Course for maintaining the park and course while things were closed.
BLOOD DRIVE
The East Alton Fire Department wants your blood! On Friday, August 30th from 10a-3p, come to the Keasler Recreation Complex in East Alton to donate your blood to the American Red Cross. To schedule an appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter: EastAltonFire.
CORRUPTION
Prosecutors Ask Court to Reject Effort to Sever Upcoming Racketeering Trials of Michael Madigan, Michael McClain. Federal prosecutors argued ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidant and current co-defendant Michael McClain should not be tried separately later this year, as it would give each man the ability to “blame a missing person.”
Prosecutors late Tuesday filed their response to McClain, whose attorneys last month filed a motion seeking to sever his case from Madigan’s before the men are set to go to trial on racketeering charges later this year.
McClain in his motion argued that Madigan could try to point the finger at him during trial, but prosecutors contend that Madigan would also benefit from the cases being tried separately.
“This makes it obvious that Madigan, even though he has not joined the motion, wants severance just as badly as McClain, for it will allow him (and McClain at his own trial, if there were one) to do precisely what the Seventh Circuit has cautioned joinder is meant to avoid: blame the absent defendant,” assistant U.S. attorneys wrote in the 11-page response.
The longtime House speaker is accused of participating in, and benefitting from, a variety of corruption schemes. Among the charges he’s facing are counts of racketeering conspiracy, using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion.
EDUCATION
Keep kids safe as they head back to school. Children will soon be boarding buses to head back to school. According to the State Board of Education and the Illinois State Police the most dangerous part of the school bus ride for students is the bus stop.
Children are at greatest risk when they are getting on or off the school bus. Most of the children killed in bus-related crashes are five- to seven-year-olds getting on or off the bus when they are hit by motorists illegally passing a stopped school bus.
In neighborhoods, near schools, and at bus stops, drivers need to take special care because children do not behave like adults. Elementary school children become easily distracted and may start across the street without warning. They don’t understand the danger of moving vehicles and can’t judge vehicle speed or distance. Their view may be blocked from by the bus and they could step out into oncoming traffic. Most importantly, children expect vehicles to stop for them at the school bus stop. And so does law enforcement.School bus laws apply to all drivers, including those on school property, who meet or overtake a school bus that is operating all of the appropriate warning signals indicating that pupils are exiting or boarding the school bus and may be crossing the roadway.
Read more on school bus safety at The Caucus Blog.
JOBS
Illinois unemployment rate rises again in July. The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced Thursday that the unemployment rate increased +0.2 percentage point to 5.2 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased +12,900 in July, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and released by IDES. The June revised unemployment rate was 5.0 percent, unchanged from the preliminary June unemployment rate. The June monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +10,400 to -4,300 jobs. The July unemployment rate and payroll jobs estimate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
In July, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month job gains included: Government (+11,400), Private Education and Health Services (+3,400), and Other Services (+2,300). The industry sectors with monthly payroll job declines included Manufacturing (-2,500), Leisure and Hospitality (-1,500), and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-800).
The state’s unemployment rate was +0.9 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for July. The national unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in July, up +0.2 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was up +0.8 percentage point from a year ago when it was 4.4 percent.
Morton Salt moves headquarters out of Illinois to Kansas. Morton Salt, which mines and distributes a wide variety of salt products, has been headquartered in the Chicago area for more than 100 years. The firm’s iconic slogan, ‘When it Rains it Pours,” is a product of Morton Salt’s Chicago years. The ownership family endowed what is now the Morton Arboretum in DuPage County, one of Illinois’ largest private parklands that is open to the public. When Morton Salt set up their current headquarters in Chicago, the office was the work focus of 350 Illinois-based employees.
Morton Salt is now leaving Illinois. Overland Park, Kansas, their new home, is close to a big Morton salt mine, and is adjacent to the airport and urban amenities of Missouri’s Kansas City. The firm is moving its headquarters to a state that is seen as more tax-friendly and business-friendly than the Chicago-dominated Prairie State. The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate survey, a nonpartisan ranking of states and their business climates, currently ranks Illinois at #37 among the 50 states, well below the nationwide median point. The Tax Foundation reports that two of the states that border Illinois, Indiana at #10 and Missouri at #12, rank much higher than Illinois.
Thank you for taking time to read this week’s Capitol Update! Have a great week, and I’ll update you again soon!