SPRINGFIELD - Governor Bruce Rauner today announced an expanded partnership between the State of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) with Casey Family Programs.

"The State of Illinois is faced with the immediate, difficult task of addressing the issues and the short-comings of our child welfare system. To help us accomplish this, we need to bring in the best of the best," Gov. Rauner said. "Casey Family Programs is one of the most respected and well-known child welfare foundations in the country. I'm excited to announce it has agreed to expand its partnership with us and provide additional resources, expertise, and know-how to help us address the needs of the children and families we serve."

Casey Family Programs has been partnering with the State of Illinois since 2009 on multiple projects by providing resources and technical assistance to support new supervision and program models, as well as, provide support around Illinois' innovative federal demonstration waiver focused on research-based alternatives to long term foster care. The new, expanded partnership will initially cover three key areas, including reforms to residential care, new practice models to assist with child safety decision-making assessments, and support the creation and expansion of data capabilities.

"We are pleased to assist the State of Illinois in finding better ways to support vulnerable children and families," Dr. William C. Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs said. "This collaboration allows us to support practices and policies that safely reduce the need for foster care, strengthen families, and increase the safety and success of children."

In the coming weeks, Casey Family Programs' team will be meeting with DCFS staff and leadership to complete a full assessment of the agency, and further clarify additional needs and strengths.

About Casey Family Programs: Casey Family Programs is the nation's largest operating foundation focused solely on safely reducing the need for foster care and building Communities of Hope for vulnerable children and families across America. Founded in 1966, we work to influence long-lasting improvements to the safety and well-being of children, families and the communities where they live. For more information visit: www.casey.org.

GENESEO FOUNDATION IS MAKING A SPLASH IN THE COMMUNITY

The Geneseo Foundation continues to have a positive impact on the lives of the citizens in Geneseo and the surrounding areas by being the first to support the Geneseo Park District's plan to build a new Outdoor Pool facility. The Foundation has pledged a matching grant of $400,000. This is a $1 for $1 matching grant on individual donations of $9,999 and under, effectively doubling contributor's donations, up to $400,000.

"The Geneseo Park District is very grateful for this early and generous matching grant from the Geneseo Foundation. Their support of the Outdoor Pool project is an indication of the Foundation's on?going commitment to enhancing the quality of life in our community. The mission of the Geneseo Foundation aligns with the mission of the Geneseo Park District and we are very grateful for the visionary grant from the Geneseo Foundation. It is fitting that the Foundation has selected to name the new Bathhouse with their gift, as the 62 year old structure represents the legacy of outdoor aquatics that our community has enjoyed for decades." Molly Hamer, Geneseo Park District Executive Director.

The $400,000 grant will name the new Bathhouse which will be located on the east side of the property. The Bathhouse will include admissions area, locker?rooms, a family changing room, natural light and ventilation, recycled content items, concession stand featuring enhanced menu and a year round community room for rentals, parties and meetings.

The Geneseo Foundation was established in 1961 and is based on very simple principles:

For assisting charitable, benevolent, civic or educational institutions, whether support is in whole or in part, by private donations or by taxation.

For the care of the sick, aged, handicapped, orphaned and helpless, and the care of needy men, women, and children.

For promoting scientific or medical research for the advancement of human knowledge and the alleviation of human suffering, or the suffering of animals.

For such other civic or charitable purposes as the Board of Managers of The Geneseo Foundation may select from time to time, after determining that such purposes are within its province.

By establishing these principles, Mr. Dedrick was able to assure growth and vitality for future generations.
Upon his direction, Mr. George Dedrick clearly expressed his wishes for the fund to be called The Geneseo Foundation. Some often refer to the Foundation as the "Dedrick Fund", a name which the unassuming Mr. Dedrick would have refused to accept. His wish to name it the Geneseo Foundation clearly put the emphasis right where he wanted, on Geneseo and not on himself.

For more information visit www.GeneseoFoundation.org or www.GeneseoParkDistrict.org

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After years of hard work, you've built the family business into a great success and you take pride in meeting the challenges that each day brings.

At some point, though, the day arrives when it's time to turn the reins over to the next generation.

That can be an exciting moment or an anxiety-ridden one, depending on what has gone on before to prepare for the momentous occasion.

"Laying the path to a successful family-business transition requires a bit of threading the needle," says Henry Hutcheson, author of the book "Dirty Little Secrets of Family Business" (http://dirtylittlesecretsoffamilybusiness.com).

"On the one hand you don't want to paint an overly rosy picture to the next generation. That could create a sense of entitlement and the false perception that running a business is easy and all you need to do is count the money and show up every now and then to check on things."

At the same time, he says, if you put too much emphasis on the difficulties of running a business and the stresses that come with it, your sons and daughters might not clamor to be first in line to take over.

Ideally, it's best to think ahead and start grooming the next generation long in advance, Hutcheson says. Give them summer jobs while they are in high school and college so they can start testing their abilities.

When they join the family business full time, find initiatives for them to work on that involve group dynamics. But also hand them individual projects where they hold sole responsibility for the results.

"It's critical when you are selecting the next leader to realize that it's not all about who will lead," Hutcheson says. "It is also about ensuring that those who are not selected are in support of the decision and can work as a team with the new leader."

Hutcheson says there are four key ingredients to developing the right person to take over the family business.

•  Independence. Next generation leaders must have confidence in themselves, their thoughts and their beliefs. "Much of this can be developed while working in the family business by constructing and leading significant projects," Hutcheson says. But one shortcut to accomplish this is to work for some other company early on. Many multi-generation family businesses like to make that a requirement for family members.

•  Competence. This is more than just being able to do the work. It means developing bottom-up experience. Not just being the accountant, but being able to reconcile the accounts and perform the journal entries. Not just being sales and marketing manager, but having been on a quota and worked the trade shows. Experience doing some of the day-to-day grunt work can pay dividends down the line.

•  People skills. "It's not enough to just be smart and confident," Hutcheson says. "You need to be able to work with people." He notes that in the book "Emotional Intelligence," Daniel Coleman outlines two studies that measured the success of a batch of high school valedictorians and Harvard graduates. Those who were able to perceive the emotional state of others and react to it appropriately proved to be the most successful.

•  No special privileges. The person in line to take over the family business needs to be willing to show up to work on time, stay late, take on special projects and be measured by the same metrics as everyone else. "This will show that you are part of the team and that you want to be judged on the merits of your work, not your bloodline," Hutcheson says. It will also help the next generation gain the respect of co-workers.

About Henry Hutcheson

Henry Hutcheson is president of Family Business USA and specializes in helping family and privately held businesses successfully manage transition, maintain harmony, and improve operations. His newest book is "Dirty Little Secrets of Family Business: How to Successfully Navigate Family Business Conflict and Transition" (http://dirtylittlesecretsoffamilybusiness.com). He's also quoted in "Kids, Wealth, and Consequences" and "Sink or Swim: How Lessons from the Titanic Can Save Your Family Business." Hutcheson grew up working for his family's business, Olan Mills Portrait Studios. He studied psychology and has an MBA from Columbia Business School, and is a popular speaker at professional, university and corporate-sponsored events.

The Eastside Bakery on the corner of 15th and Harrison Street in Davenport is holding an anniversary celebration on Sunday, Feb. 22   It's free, of course, and will  last  from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

This event is in celebration of its  first anniversary  on The Hilltop!  It's also an opportunity to preview potential  new menu items and enjoy old favorites!

Spread the word and plan to attend!