Project Will Replace Route 6 Bridge

GENESEO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced a capital investment of more than $2.9 million for a bridge replacement project in Henry County, part of his Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program. The project is part of Governor Quinn's commitment to create jobs and drive Illinois' economy forward.

"Our investment will make travel along Route 6 safer and more efficient," Governor Quinn said. "The project will also employ a number of construction workers, which will help the local economy."

The bridge carrying U.S. Route 6 over Mineral Creek about a mile east of Green River Road will be replaced for $2,915,555 by McCarthy Improvement Company of Davenport, Iowa, the lower of two bidders. The project will also involve the replacement of several culverts carrying U.S. Route 6 over drainage ditches in the area. The project will be overseen by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"By providing funds to make improvements in Henry County along Route 6, we are further enhancing the infrastructure throughout the 36th District," State Senator Mike Jacobs (D-Moline) said.  "These funds will provide jobs and benefit the economy in Henry County.

"Route 6 is a vital part of the network of roads that help make the Quad Cities a regional economic hub," State Representative Mike Smiddy (D-Hillsdale) said. "We need to ensure that it continues to bring needed jobs and economic development to our district, especially in Henry County."

The project is part of Governor Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years. Illinois Jobs Now! is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest capital construction programs in the nation.

Forty years ago on December 28, 1973,  the most important wildlife protection measure in U.S. history was signed into law by President Richard Nixon, who marked the occasion by issuing the following statement: "Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed."

That's the point of view that helped give rise to the Endangered Species Act. The long list of species it has helped save from extinction includes birds such as the Peregrine Falcon, Wood Stork, Kirtland's Warbler, California Condor, and N?n? (Hawaiian goose). Other well-known beneficiaries of the ESA include Louisiana black bear and black-footed ferret. The need for the ESA is proven by the fact that in the United States and its coastal waters, scientific studies have resulted in nearly 1,500 plants and animals being added to the federal list of threatened or endangered species. That should come as no surprise given the global extinction crisis.

The ESA protects these plants and animals by protecting their natural habitats. Sometimes, but not always, that is a process that puts limits on proposals to develop certain portions of those landscapes.  It's also a process that has helped prevent the extinction of 99 percent of the plants and animals it has been used to protect, including irreplaceable but less charismatic species ranging from Okaloosa darter to Maguire daisy and Lake Erie water snake.

In other words, when this law is allowed to work as it was designed to, it has been remarkably effective. Unfortunately, the ESA has been undercut for years by high-profile critics. Some of these critics blame the ESA (falsely) for larger economic problems. Some would gladly sacrifice rare species and their habitats in order to boost short-term profits.

Allies of these critics in the U.S. Congress have repeatedly slashed funding for the ESA listing and enforcement process, which has been admirably carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. Under the Obama administration, problems linked to funding cuts have been compounded by a series of controversial ESA listing proposals. For various reasons, those proposals fail to protect species in desperate need of conservation measures, such as the Lesser Prairie Chicken, Streaked Horned Lark, western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a distinct bi-state population of the Greater Sage-Grouse, and Northern Spotted Owl.

In Congress, bills that would destroy the ESA's effectiveness have been unveiled repeatedly in recent years. The latest example is the "Endangered Species Management Self-Determination Act," which was recently re-introduced in both the House (H.R. 3533) and Senate (S. 31731). This bill would require governors and Congress to sign off on all new endangered species listings, and it would allow governors to take over management of species that reside solely inside their states' borders. On top of that, this bill would automatically remove protected plants and animals from the Endangered Species List after five years. The bill has little chance of passing this Congress and effectively turns biological and ecological decision-making into politically motivated decision-making.

Changes such as these could undo much of the good work done since 1973. If that happens, we will lose the wildlife that Richard Nixon called "a many-faceted treasure, of value to scientists, scholars and nature lovers alike ... a vital part of the heritage we share as Americans."

Dr. George Fenwick, President

American Bird Conservancy

1731 Conn. Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20009

202-234-7181

DAVENPORT, IA - On December 19, 2013, Autumn E. Skelton, age 38, of Port Byron, Illinois, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James E. Gritzner to 18 months imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute at least 50 kilograms of marijuana, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Skelton was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following the imprisonment and to pay $100 towards the Crime Victims Fund. Beginning in approximately October 2010 and continuing until about October 27, 2012,
Skelton conspired with other persons to distribute marijuana in the Quad Cities area.

Specifically, Skelton and co-defendant John Michael Masterson received multiple kilograms of marijuana on multiple occasions from persons transporting the marijuana in vehicles from Northern California to the Davenport, Iowa area on behalf of co-defendant David Gabriel Morago. Skelton further distributed the marijuana he received to customers in the Port Byron, Illinois area.

On October 8, 2013, Chief Judge Gritzner sentenced Masterson to 24 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release following imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. On October 23, 2013, Judge Gritzner sentenced Morago to 110 months imprisonment and four years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency - Quad Cities Metropolitan Enforcement Group; Davenport, Iowa, Police Department; South Dakota Highway Patrol; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Mendocino County California Sherriff's Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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