Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has announced $1.6 million in federal grants to allow municipal, county, and state law-enforcement agencies in northern Illinois to acquire in-car computer equipment to help improve access to criminal records during traffic stops and enhance public and police safety. Recipients from Henry County include the Geneseo Police Department ($17,400) and the Kewanee Police Department ($11,092). Rock Island County recipients include East Moline ($8,503), Milan ($11,792), Moline ($8,022), and Rock Island County ($10,646). In addition to data access, law-enforcement officers can use the terminals for note-taking and report-writing, as well as wirelessly entering incident, accident, and arrest information.

(Part two of a series. Part one can be read here , and part three can be read here .)

Two parallel movements are making hospitals more accountable in terms of their processes and outcomes: an orientation toward consumers, and an increasing emphasis on quality by the organizations that pay for health care - particularly the federal government.

"We're in kind of a new age," said Dr. Tom Evans, president and CEO of the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative, an organization formed by the Iowa Hospital Association and the Iowa Medical Society. "Transparency wasn't really even germane until recently. We couldn't even define what good health care was until 15 years ago."

I'm confused. By what authority does Davenport City Administrator Craig Malin issue a "no contact with staff" order against Third Ward Alderman Keith Meyer, or any other council member for that matter? Davenport is a strong-council/weak-mayor form of government, making city-council members Malin's bosses, not the other way around.

The Young Professionals Network of the Quad Cities and neXt Professionals have joined forces to host a "Rock the Vote" event on Friday, October 12, from 7 p.m. to midnight at John O'Donnell Stadium in Davenport. "Rock the Vote" is a nationwide movement that focuses on registering individuals to vote and getting them more informed about the elections. The Quad Cities event will features opportunities for people to register to vote, along with local bands such as Blue Fuzzy Monkey and Justin Morrissey & Friends.