By Jason Alderman

The 2015 Financial Literacy Summit 2015, (http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/summit2015/) held April 15 in Chicago and co-hosted by Visa Inc. and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, focused on how mobile technology might improve millennials' learning, savings and investing behavior in the future.

A recent FICO study said millennials, the demographic born between 1980 and 2000, not only represent the largest group of individuals using mobile banking applications, but also the biggest cohort partaking in Internet browsing, emailing, searching, social networking and news consumption on a smartphone or tablet, bypassing desktop machines entirely. By comparison, only 5 percent of 35-54 year-olds and 3 percent of those 55 years and older are using mobile devices exclusively.

The Summit audience heard particularly eye-opening insights from a panel on how early education and mobile technology applications can help build future generations' financial literacy. While online gaming (http://practicalmoneyskills.com/games/) is showing particular success in training grade- and high-school age students in financial fundamentals, panelists suggested that the broader solution will depend on national educational policy and a broader understanding about young adults and their financial needs.

Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, told the audience that young Filipino adults are "struggling more than their older counterpart groups with regard to budgeting" and retirement planning, but he said he is still optimistic: "I believe there are certain characteristics of millenials that provide opportunities to build [their financial capabilities]. They have a desire for change." Such change, he said, should be driven by data and policy should be made personal and tied to technology solutions embraced by younger citizens.

Panelist Jason Young, CEO and Co-Founder of MindBlown Labs, an Oakland, California-based software developer behind the Thrive 'n' Shine personal finance game app for teens and young adults, said mobile technology will bridge the gap between financial literacy and a lifetime of successful financial decision making. "Eighty to 90 percent of U.S. teens have smart devices. That's huge, but the important thing to understand is that these aren't just things they use. They're a way of life."

Developing a stronger connection between financial literacy education and mobile technology could be beneficial for global educators and policymakers trying to improve spending, saving and investing knowledge for future generations. In January, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a first-time global financial literacy study (http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-volume-vi.htm) that revealed that U.S. students ranked between eighth and twelfth place among all 18 participating countries in overall literacy skills.

Bottom line: Focusing on the way under-35 consumers use smartphones and tablets might provide a way for educators, financial services companies and policymakers to narrow the financial literacy gap

CHICAGO (05/03/2015)(readMedia)-- Thousands of people gathered at Grant Park in downtown Chicago for the 2015 National Football League Draft from April 30 to May 2. Behind the lights, the vendors, and the regalia of the draft, the Illinois National Guard's 5th Civil Support Team out of Bartonville, Illinois and their partners were on duty, silently protecting the masses from threats.

Working events like this is what the 5th CST does. They are a 22-person, full-time, team comprised of highly trained Soldiers and Airmen that specialize in all aspects of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives and weapons of mass destruction threats. The team is broken into six specialized teams that identify and respond to those threats; a command and control team, a science team, a medical team, a decontamination team, a survey team, and a communications team.

For this event, the CST brought personnel to conduct joint hazard assessment team, or JHAT, patrols. The JHAT teams are comprised of Illinois National Guardsmen an dcivilian partners.

Though the NFL Draft is a major event, it is not necessary for the full complement of the CST to deploy every time explained Capt. Christopher Young of Morton, Illinois, Medical Operations Officer for the 5th CST.

"Though it was a large event, when we're asked to do a JHAT mission, we typically just send the necessary pieces," said Young.

While the CST works with local and national government agencies regularly, for the majority of events, they are requested by the U.S. Department of Energy. Once on site, they provide their expertise and abilities to assist in threat detection and response.

"It's tremendous to have the CST augment us," said Christine Van Horn, Regional Response Coordinator for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) 5 of the U.S. Department of Energy. "The RAP community is relatively small; the CST really brings a lot to the table to help our operations."

Chicago Fire District Chief Josh Dennis praised the CST for their abilities.

"The CST brings a technical expertise that we can definitely use," said Dennis. "We work with much of the same equipment, but the CST does it on a daily basis and has a level of familiarity that is unmatched."

CST members train not only to augment with their interagency partners, but to be interchangeable with them, making them a much greater asset in an operation, said Dennis.

Staff Sgt. Maggie Cronin of Peoria Heights, Illinois, a Survey Team Member with the CST stressed the importance of interagency work.

"The good thing about the interagency work is that most of the equipment is the same, so anyone can operate virtually anything that we use," said Cronin

Pitcher and position player honored at each in-season affiliate 

 

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros Player Development Department has named April's Minor League Pitchers and Players of the Month at each of their four in-season minor league affiliates. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team.

At Triple A Fresno, RHP Richard Rodriguez was named April Pitcher of the Month after going 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA (5ER/17IP) in seven games during the month. The right-hander closed out April with three straight scoreless outings, spanning 8.0 innings. Fresno's Player of the Month award went to OF Preston Tucker, who led all of minor league baseball in home runs (9) and RBI (29) during the month of April. The left-handed hitter batted .329 (27x82) with a .371 on-base percentage and a .683 slugging percentage (1.054 OPS) during the month.

 

RHP Chris Devenski fired 19.1 scoreless innings across four games (2 starts) en route to getting named Double A Corpus Christi's Pitcher of the Month for April. Acquired by the Astros in the Brett Myers trade with the White Sox in 2012, Devenski was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 20-26. He went 2-0 with 16 strikeouts and a .121 opponents' batting average in April while leading the Texas League in ERA. SS Carlos Correa was named the Hooks Player of the Month for April after hitting .385 (30x78) with 11 doubles, one triple, five homers, 22 RBI, five steals and a 1.198 OPS (.455 OBP/.744 SLG) in 19 April games. Ranked by MLB.com as the No. 3 prospect in baseball, Correa was named the Texas League Player of the Week for the week of April 20-26. During the month of April, he ranked among the top five Double A players in extra-base hits (1st), doubles (1st), slugging (1st), OPS (1st), hits (T-1st), runs (19, T-1st), RBI (2nd), batting average (3rd) and homers (T-3rd).

At Class A Advanced Lancaster, RHP Tyler Brunnemann earned Pitcher of the Month honors after giving up just one run in 15.2 relief innings in April (0.57 ERA). Last year's California League Championship Series MVP fanned 18 batters in his eight games during the month. The Astros 2014 Minor League Player of the Year, OF Brett Phillips, picked up right where he left off by claiming JetHawks Player of the Month honors this April. The left-handed hitter posted a .341 (28x82) batting average with 13 extra-base hits (6 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers) and a 1.013 OPS (.379 OBP/.634 SLG) in 20 games in April. Phillips ranked second in the California League in total bases (52) and fourth in OPS in April.

Class A Quad Cities Pitcher of the Month honors went to RHP Joe Musgrove, who went 3-1 with a 0.87 ERA (2ER/20.2IP) and 20 strikeouts in four games (2 starts) in April. Musgrove walked just one batter in his 20.2 innings, posting the fifth-lowest ERA in the Midwest League during the month. A 2014 draftee (13th round), C Jamie Ritchie received Quad Cities Player of the Month honors after hitting .344 (21x61) with two doubles, one homer, seven RBI and a .467 on-base percentage in 17 games in April. Ritchie finished second in the Midwest League in on-base percentage, fourth in OPS (.926) and sixth in batting average during the month

Springfield - Governor Bruce Rauner today submitted his statutorily-required Statement of Economic Interests as well as the Supplemental Statement of Economic Interests required by the governor's Executive Order 15-09.

When filling out his Statements of Economic Interests, the governor used a broad definition of "doing business in Illinois" to determine what to include. For example, the governor lists "Pittsburgh Steelers Sports, Inc." even though he owns a minority stake in the organization and the Steelers did not play a game in Illinois during the calendar year.

The statements INCLUDE the holdings of the Rauner Family Foundation.

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