SPRINGFIELD - Governor Pat Quinn today issued the following statement to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust during today's "Yom HaShoah" - Holocaust Remembrance Day - in the Old State Capitol in Springfield. The Governor proclaimed April 27 - May 4 as Days of Remembrance throughout Illinois.

"Today we light six candles, each to remember one million lives lost during the Holocaust. Six million Jewish lives lost only begins to tell the story of one of the darkest times on the face of the earth.

"We gather in the Hall of Representatives, where Abraham Lincoln worked. Lincoln knew the dangers of cruelty, hate and bigotry. It is fitting to meet here, a place that remembers the lessons of the past so as to shape the present and guide the future.

New $7.2 Million Program Helps Local Governments Across Illinois Secure Abandoned Properties and Strengthen Communities

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced a $7.2 million investment that will allow communities across Illinois to clear blight and stabilize neighborhoods. The investment includes $84,000 for Rock Island and Whiteside County communities. Today's announcement is part of Governor Quinn's commitment to stabilize neighborhoods and return vacant properties to productive use to advance the economy.

"We are starting programs to reinvigorate our economy and strengthen communities in the wake of the national foreclosure crisis," Governor Quinn said. "This support will give local governments the tools they need to stabilize communities throughout Illinois."

The investments for today's announcement come from the new Abandoned Property Program, which is administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and funded through filing fees paid by financial institutions. The program was created by legislation Governor Quinn signed into law last year. This builds on the Governor's March 27 announcement that the U.S. Department of the Treasury will support IHDA efforts to leverage up to $30 million of its federal Hardest Hit Fund resources to eliminate blight in communities around the state.

A total of 53 municipalities, counties and land banks have been approved for the first round of funding based on need, capacity, impact, budget, cost reasonableness and readiness to proceed. Eligible uses for the grants include maintaining weeds and grass, trimming trees and bushes, installing fences to protect the public, and repairing or demolishing abandoned property.

The Quad Cities area communities receiving Abandoned Property Program funds include :

·         Moline, $58,909

·         Rock Falls, $26,774

Effective in June 2013, banks and other lending institutions began funding the new program by paying fees on a sliding scale based on how many foreclosures they file each year. For example, an institution that files more than 175 foreclosures must pay $500 per foreclosure, while one with between 50 and 175 must pay $250 per foreclosure, and those with less than 50 foreclosures a year must pay $50 per filing.

"Under Governor Quinn, the state has leveraged every available resource to enable more than one million families to access assistance to stay in their homes and help hard-hit communities thrive again," IHDA Executive Director Mary R. Kenney said.

"I'm focused on promoting strong development in the Quad Cities region to make sure we are bringing businesses and jobs to the region, and these grants will help in that regard," State Representative Pat Verschoore (D-Milan) said. "By revitalizing neighborhoods and removing abandoned and vacant homes, we can re-energize neighborhoods and encourage new growth."

"These projects will bring much needed investment to areas that have experienced too little of Illinois' economic recovery," State Representative Mike Smiddy (D-Hillsdale) said. "This investment will improve our community's ability to reclaim areas of blight and underutilization following the wave of foreclosures in recent years."

Since he took office in 2009, Governor Quinn has:

·         Successfully implemented the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) program in Illinois - creating four programs with $445 million in federal foreclosure prevention resources. The latest - the Blight Reduction Program - will help communities eliminate blight starting this summer.

·         Launched the Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN), a one-stop comprehensive, free resource to connect struggling homeowners with a safe and trusted source for assistance to keep them in their homes and help them from being victims of mortgage fraud. More than 1 million families have accessed this free assistance through the IFPN. Homeowners seeking assistance should visit the IFPN website at www.keepyourhomeillinois.org or call the hotline at 855-KEEP-411.

·         Created Illinois Building Blocks program - Available in 15 Illinois communities, buyers of vacant homes can access $10,000 in cash assistance to purchase a home. The program also provides funds for the re-development of vacant homes. To date, approximately 800 vacant homes have been purchased through this program.

·         Launched the Illinois Homebuyer Rehabilitation Assistance Program - $6.6 million to 16 public and not-for-profit organizations to allow 240 low- to moderate-income homebuyers of vacant homes to apply for rehabilitation grants in seven targeted communities.

·         Administered the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to purchase and rehabilitate 240 rental units and 106 foreclosed and abandoned homes that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight. An additional 29 blighted properties have been demolished.

·         Launched Welcome Home Illinois, a loan program for first-time homebuyers that provides $7,500 in down-payment assistance with an interest rate as low as 3.75 percent for a secure, 30-year fixed rate mortgage. As the spring buying cycle hits its stride, Welcome Home Illinois is generating interest rapidly because the program is tailored to working families with borrower income limits up to 140 percent of the area median income (AMI). For example, a family of three in Marion or Collinsville could qualify earning up to $82,915 in annual household income.

For more information on the programs above, visit www.ihda.org.

IHDA (www.ihda.org) is a self-supporting state agency that finances the creation and the preservation of affordable housing across Illinois. Since its creation in 1967, IHDA has allocated $12.4 billion and financed approximately 240,000 affordable units across the state.

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2014 - The next World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, which will be released at 12 noon ET on May 9, will present USDA's initial assessment of U.S. and world crop supply and demand prospects and U.S. prices for the 2014/15 marketing year. It will also present the first calendar-year 2015 projections of U.S. livestock, poultry, and dairy products.

The 2014 Farm Bill eliminated the Dairy Product Price Support Program and the Dairy Export Incentive Program and created a Dairy Product Donation Program requiring USDA to purchase dairy products for donation to food banks and other feeding programs during periods of low operating margins for dairy producers. The WASDE U.S. Milk Supply and Use table on page 33 has been reformatted because of these changes. The "CCC Net Removals" subcategories under Fat Basis Use and Skim-solid Basis Use have been changed to "CCC Donations." The category for "CCC product net removals" for butter, cheese, nonfat dry milk and whole milk powder has been eliminated.

An example of the change can be found in this announcement from the Office of the Chief Economist.

Background on USDA's WASDE report and past issues are available at: www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

Wow, it's that time of the year again. The flowers are blooming, the trees are greening and the Farmers Outdoor Market is opening! You are invited to join us for the Quad Cities freshest and finest products available. Come with the whole family and enjoy fresh products, fresh air, food and fun. We have entertainment, a children's jungle gym and bounce house and over 250 stands to help you build a healthy happy family.

Here is an easy meal with all those great Farmers Market Vegetables. Toss your favorite variety (i.e.:  asparagus, baby carrots, Brussels sprouts and white potatoes) in a roaster pan,sprinkle with oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place in center of oven at 425 for 30-40 minutes and enjoy.  You can add a bratwurst, chicken or beef and have a whole meal.  Leftovers make a great soup just dice up smaller and add stock.