Will Create Jobs and Economic Growth in Bureau, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Knox, LaSalle, Lee, Rock Island, Stark, Warren and Whiteside Counties

OTTAWA - Governor Pat Quinn today announced capital investments of more than $26 million for construction projects in Bureau, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Knox, LaSalle, Lee, Rock Island, Stark, Warren and Whiteside Counties. The investments will create jobs and improve transportation safety and efficiency throughout Northwest Illinois. Funded by his Illinois Jobs Now! construction program, the projects are part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and drive Illinois' economy forward.

"These investments across Northwest Illinois are putting people to work, creating jobs that will help drive the local economy," Governor Quinn said. "They are also helping to repair and maintain Illinois' infrastructure to improve safety and efficiency throughout the region."

Today's announcement follows last week's news that Illinois' unemployment rate declined in July to 6.8 percent from June's 7.1 percent. During July, 11,200 new private sector jobs were added, including 3,900 manufacturing jobs. The state's unemployment rate has fallen steadily since July 2013, when it stood at 9.2 percent, and has completed its steepest 12-month decline of 2.4 percentage points since August 1984. Since February 2010, Illinois has added 263,100 private sector jobs.

Construction payrolls are up by 8,500 jobs since the beginning of the year, nearly four times as strong as the gain posted for this same period in 2013. Specialty trade contractors' payrolls posted healthy gains for the third straight month, fueled in large part by Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program.

The projects below will be managed by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Bureau County

U.S. Route 34 will be resurfaced in Bureau County from 3200 E to 3320 E Road for $718,710 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton.

A bridge carrying 470 Street over I-80 will be cleaned and painted for $274,832 by Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc. of Pevely, Missouri, the lowest of five bidders.

11.85 miles of Illinois Route 40 will receive intermittent milling and resurfacing from north of I-80 to Illinois Route 92 for $280,076 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton, the lower of two bidders.

U.S. 34 will receive 4.8 miles of resurfacing from 6th Street in Princeton to the eastern city limits of Dover for $1,287,701 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton.

Bureau and LaSalle Counties

Various routes in Bureau and LaSalle Counties will receive intermittent milling, resurfacing and striping for $668,725 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton.

Fulton, Henderson, Knox and Warren Counties

Bridge painting will be done on Illinois Route 17 over I-39 in Marshall County, on Illinois Route 116 over Spoon River on the west side of London Mills in Fulton County, on Illinois Route 94 over the Henderson Creek Overflow south of Bald Bluff in Henderson County, on Lincoln Park Drive over U.S. 35 in Knox County and on U.S. 67 over Middle Henderson Creek 10 miles north of Monmouth in Warren County for $823,882 by ERA Valdivia Contractors, Inc. of Chicago, the lowest of six bidders.

Knox and Warren Counties

U.S. 34/ Illinois Route 110 will receive 7 miles of patching from one mile west of Cameron Road to Main St. for $330,678 by Midwest Bridge and Crane, Inc. of Good Hope, the lower of two bidders.

Henry County

Grange Road will receive 1.97 miles of resurfacing from Illinois Route 92 to Sand Road for $328,657 by Valley Construction Company of Rock Island, the lowest of four bidders.

Knox County

Main Street in Galesburg will receive resurfacing and pavement marking from Soangetaha Road to State Street for $163,011 by Gunther Construction of Galesburg.

Improvements will be done at the intersection of Illinois Route 97 and 1st Street in Maquon for $173,176 by Gunther Construction of Galesburg, the lower of two bidders.

U.S. 150 will receive 1.6 miles of patching and resurfacing from Home Boulevard to north of North Lake Storey Road, interconnect installation, guardrail removal and replacement, and renovation on Lake Storey Bridge for $1,593,420 by Gunther Construction of Galesburg, the lowest of three bidders.

LaSalle County

A bridge carrying Interstate 39 over a service road and conveyor 0.43 miles south of U.S. 6 will be cleaned and painted for $80,766 by Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc. of Pevely, Missouri, the lowest of five bidders.

Illinois Route 23 will receive intermittent resurfacing north and south of Streator for $265,841 by H.J. Eppel & Co., Inc of Pontiac, the lower of two bidders.

Illinois Route 71 will receive 3.76 miles of shoulder widening, rumble strips and signing from Illinois Route 89 to E. 275^th Road through Cedar Point for $785,985 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton.

I-80 will receive 3.95 miles of milling and resurfacing from Fox River Bridge in Ottawa to just west of CH 15/Marseilles interchange for $8,495,025 by D Construction, Inc. of Coal City, the lower of two bidders.

I-39 will receive pavement patching from the Marshall County line to the Lee County line for $408,408 by G. M. Sipes Construction, Inc. of Rushville.

1.29 miles of work on base course widening, leveling, pipe culverts, shoulders and pavement markings will be done from 100 feet south of North 4425th Road to 75 feet north of 4550th Road for $539,625 by D Construction of Coal City, the lower of two bidders.

Lee County

Illinois Route 2 will receive 0.73 miles of resurfacing from east of River St. to Ottawa Avenue in Dixon for $420,542 by Martin & Company Excavating of Oregon, the lowest of three bidders.

Four bridges carrying I-39 over Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company Railroad and over Steward Creek will be partially cleaned and painted for $356,847 by Eagle Painting & Maintenance Co., Inc. of Lansing, the lowest of five bidders.

Two bridges carrying I-39 over U.S. 30 will be cleaned and painted for $731,637 by Three Star Painting, Inc. of Merrillville, Indiana, the lowest of four bidders.

Rock Island County

3rd Avenue will receive reconstruction from 19th St. to 23rd St. in Moline for $6,902,871 by McCarthy Improvement Company of Davenport, Iowa, the lower of two bidders.

Stark County

Removal of wingwalls and pipe, and removal and replacement of culvert will be done 1.5 miles west of Speer over the tributary to Mud Run Creek for $370,126 by Stark Excavating, Inc. of Bloomington, the lowest of three bidders.

Whiteside County

Two bridges carrying Avenue G over the Rock River in Sterling will have substructure repairs made and joint replacement done for $427,205 by Kovilic Construction Company, Inc. of Franklin Park, the lowest of four bidders.

The projects are 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 construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest construction programs in the nation.

Churches United of the Quad City Area has received a $2,500.00 grant from The Walmart Foundation, in support of the new Sam's Club location in Moline.

This award supports Winnie's Place, a shelter serving women (and their children) who are homeless and/or victims of domestic violence.

Churches United has a 53-year history of reaching out to our community. Its 134 member churches represent 50,000 people from the Quad City Area. As well as Winnie's Place, Churches United operates 25 food pantries and 3 hot meal sites in the Quad City Area. For information about services offered, or ways to support Churches United, call 563-332-5002, or visit our website at www.CUQCA.org.

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The start of football season may be months away, but the game's on the minds of many after the NFL draft. Minicamps are gearing up and team personnel are organizing in preparation for the 2014-15 season.

Football is a big deal in the United States - and so is the surge of retirees - 10,000 baby boomers every day for the next 18 years, says multi-certified planner Larry Roby. The last thing pre-retirees want to do at this stage of their lives is to fumble while in the red zone of their retirement date, he says.

"Only 23 percent of pre-retirees have calculated how much they'll need to save for retirement, according to New Retirement Landscape; while three-quarters say they're confident in the red zone of retirement, an equal amount of people haven't even done the math yet!" says Roby, founder and president of Senior Financial Advisors, (www.sfabridge.com), a wealth-management firm that holds ethics and education as top priorities.

"Confidence in your retirement portfolio is good - if it's justified. Otherwise, it can lull people into a false sense of security and lack of preparedness."

Having a diverse portfolio and understanding your options for life insurance, Social Security and 401(k) or other retirement accounts are staples for retirement planning. But there are also six crucial documents that are often either not in an individual's playbook or are overlooked.

Here are the six documents you need for a solid red zone estate plan:

•  Joint Ownership -- Enables you to own property jointly with another person and upon the death of the joint tenant, the surviving joint tenant automatically becomes the owner of the property.

•  Last Will and Testament - A legal document which expresses the wishes of a person concerning the disposition of their property after death and names the person who will manage the estate.

•  Durable Power of Attorney - Grants authority to another individual to act on behalf of the person who executes the instrument and are commonly used for legal and financial purposes.

•  Durable Health Care Power of Attorney- Grants authority to another individual to make health care decisions on your behalf should you be unable to make such decisions.

•  Advance Care Directive - A set of written instructions in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their health, if they are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or incapacity.

•  Living Trust - Created during your lifetime.  Assets are transferred to the trust while you are alive.  Provides written instructions for the disbursement of the trust assets upon your death.

"These documents can play a vital role in the major plays during the fourth quarter of your life," Roby says. "Understanding how they work now can make the difference between a last-minute victory or loss."

About Larry Roby

Larry Roby is the founder and president of Senior Financial Advisors, (www.sfabridge.com). He is a four-year member of the Million Dollar Round Table and has achieved "Court of the Table" status for the past three years. Roby attained his Series 65 license, which allows him to serve as an Investment Advisor Representative. He is also a Registered Financial Consultant, IARFC.org; RICP, Retirement Income Certified Professional; Licensed Insurance Agent and MCEP, Master Certified Estate Planner - NICEP.com.