SPRINGFIELD - Governor's office spokesman Lance Trover released the following statement regarding Senate Bill 570:

"As a result of bipartisan discussions with legislators concerning the future of the Child Care Assistance Program, the Rauner administration today plans to amend the emergency rule it filed at the beginning of the fiscal year.  Under the amended rule, income eligibility will rise to 162% of the federal poverty level while current co-pays will remain intact. Other eligibility and restrictions will also be lifted pending further review and legislative consultation. Additionally, the governor's office will establish a bipartisan, bicameral task force aimed at ensuring the long-term stability of the program.

The governor's office thanks the serious, good-faith negotiations by members of the legislature who made today's announcement a reality.  This bipartisan agreement will allow us to avoid the unintended consequences and costs that SB 570 would have brought.  By working together, we will be able to bring financial stability to an important program valued by members of both parties."

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It will begin soon enough - all those "beat the rush!" ads for holiday shopping, activities and events. Right now, you have a great opportunity to beat the rush to organize your year-end finances and make some smart moves for the New Year.

Consider the following tasks for your year-end financial to-do list.

Total up your year-to-date spending. Whether you organize by computer or on paper, make sure your tracking system for spending, saving and investment is up to date. This way, you can make sure you are on budget for the year and ready with data for tax time. Once you are finished, determine your net worth - what you own less what you owe - and get an early idea of what you need to change next year.

Check in with your planner or tax professional. Late December is a busy time for financial professionals. Take a minute to see if they can review your numbers and make suggestions on year-end financial activities and new moves you should make in 2016.

Make sure you've reviewed all your credit reports for the year. You are entitled to one free copy (https://www.annualcreditreport.com) of each of your three major credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. It's generally wise to schedule delivery of each at different points in the year to catch errors or irregularities.

Check and rebalance your portfolio. With the dramatic market swings this past year, be sure to check if your retirement and other investments are still on track with your investment goals. Get qualified help if necessary to see if the assets you own still fit your needs. And if you need to do any tax selling by the end of the year, now is the time to start thinking about it.

Check your insurance coverage. If you buy your own home, auto, life or other insurance policies, contact two or three agents representing highly rated (http://www.ambest.com) insurers to review the adequacy and pricing of your coverage. If you have made any structural changes or improvements to your home, make sure those actions are reflected in your homeowners insurance. Such work may boost your home's replacement value. Also, if you've had a major life or financial event like a new baby or the purchase of a new home it's time to make sure all your coverage is sufficient.

Update your W-2, benefits and estate plan if necessary. While you're updating your insurance and investment needs for big life events related to family, property or marital status, see if your tax withholding and employee health coverage and investments need review. Get qualified help to make this assessment if you are not sure.

Empty out your flexible spending accounts. If you have a Flexible Spending Account for health care or other qualifying expenses, it's time to submit outstanding claims from the doctor, dentist or optometrist. Remember you can only transfer $500 in your remaining balance over to the next year. Make any appointments or medical purchases you need to now and get the paperwork in fast.

Do a last-minute tax review. If you work alone or with a tax professional, review your annual income, investment and spending data to see if there's anything you can do in the final weeks of the year to save on taxes. If tax-deductible donations to qualified charities and nonprofits are recommended, consult sites such as GuideStar (http://www.guidestar.org), CharityWatch (https://www.charitywatch.org/home) and Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org) to evaluate your choices so you know your contribution is being well spent.

Save time and cut back on waste with online bill pay and deposits. Automatic online bill pay means you won't have to waste time writing checks or risk late payment fees. Scheduling bill payment through your checking and savings accounts can save time and money, while setting up regular electronic deposits to savings and investment accounts can also help you save money before you are tempted to spend it.

Bottom line: Doing a last-minute review of your finances can potentially save money and help you save, spend and invest smarter in the coming year.

·         Novel Research Model to Tap Best and Brightest Minds from Various Disciplines

ORLANDO, Florida, November 8, 2015 – The American Heart Association (AHA) and Google Life Sciences have announced a joint commitment to form a research collaboration that will bring new, unconventional thinking to one of the longstanding challenges of cardiovascular disease. Each organization will invest $25 million for a total of $50 million over roughly five years to support novel strategies to understand, prevent, and reverse coronary heart disease and its consequences, such as heart failure and sudden cardiac death.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally, accounting annually for approximately 17 million deaths, or about one of every three deaths.  Coronary heart disease itself is responsible for more than 7 million deaths annually. But the root causes of this disease continue to be explored and a concerted effort, combining technology and medicine, could help. Because traditional research funding models, which are often incremental and piecemeal, make it difficult to study a multifaceted subject that plays out over many years, AHA and Google Life Sciences have committed to a bold new approach: a $50 million investment in one research team, which will be tasked with developing a richer, deeper understanding of cardiovascular disease.

This marks the largest one-time research investment in AHA's history. In early 2016, a Joint Leadership Group made up of individuals from AHA and Google Life Sciences will select a team leader to run this effort. This team leader, who may be a cardiologist but could come from any background or area of expertise, will receive the full $50 million in funding over roughly five years to design a program, assemble a cross-functional group of investigators, and lead all efforts towards further finding new causes and drivers of coronary heart disease. The team will have support across many important areas, including clinical research, engineering, and data analysis, as well as ongoing strategic counsel, oversight and access to resources from the Joint Leadership Group.

"With its devastating human impact on countless generations of families, cardiovascular disease, and in particular coronary heart disease remains the greatest and deadliest global health challenge we face today," said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown. "By working together, AHA and Google Life Sciences will be able to serve as the catalyst for change and transformation in reducing the impact of coronary heart disease on people's lives and alleviating this global burden.  Just imagine if we could reverse coronary artery disease and restore the healthy heart muscle it destroys or, even better, prevent the whole process from beginning in the first place!"

Technology has a critical role to play. The collaboration will provide the scientific community with channels to technical capabilities and insights offered by Google Life Sciences. With the unique opportunity to access such resources, the collaboration will expand research pathways and empower researchers to conceptualize and test new approaches. AHA, the nation's authority on cardiovascular disease will contribute its vast scientific and medical resources, resulting in the application of a unique blend of technical and scientific knowledge to the search for new cardiovascular solutions.

"This is a fundamentally different kind of model for funding innovation," said Andy Conrad, CEO of Google Life Sciences. "The team leader will be able to bring together clinicians, engineers, designers, basic researchers and other experts to think in new ways about the causes of coronary heart disease. We're already imagining the possibilities when a team like that has access to the full resources of both Google Life Sciences and the AHA -- and we can't wait to see what they discover."

More information about the structure of the collaborative will be released as it's developed in coming months.

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About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke - America's No. 1 and No. 5 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the life sciences team at Google

The life sciences team at Google is focused on helping to move health care from reactive to proactive.  Combining expertise from the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, electrical engineering and computer science, we're developing new technology tools for physicians that can integrate easily into daily life and help transform the detection, prevention, and management of disease. Current projects in development include a smart contact lens with miniaturized glucose sensor; a collaboration to develop new kinds of continuous glucose monitors, a nanodiagnostics platform to help with early detection of disease; cardiac and activity sensors, and Liftware utensils for people with tremor. The life sciences team graduated from Google[x] and is now in the process of becoming a standalone Alphabet company.