Governor Quinn Announces $100 Million for Local Transportation Improvements Across Illinois

Illinois Jobs Now! Investments Include $3.2Million for Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Warren and Whiteside Counties to Address Critical Needs Following Historic Winter

CHICAGO - As the spring thaw begins, Governor Pat Quinn today announced $100 million from the Illinois Jobs Now! construction program to repair municipal and township infrastructure throughout the state. The funding will help communities throughout Illinois combat potholes and make other critical infrastructure repairs following the historic winter weather Illinois faced. Today's announcement is part of the Governor's agenda to create jobs and build a 21st century infrastructure that will drive Illinois' economy forward.

"The extreme and historic winter has left many roads in rough shape," Governor Quinn said. "This investment will help local communities repair the damage done by Mother Nature and improve the quality of life for residents and businesses."

Today's announcement includes approximately $3.2 million for local governments in Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Warren and Whiteside Counties. The funding is the last of a series of annual transportation investments that municipalities have received through Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! program since 2010. In his fiscal year 2015 budget address, the Governor proposed a bipartisan working group to develop a new capital spending plan for the next five years.

The projects will be selected and managed locally, with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) providing oversight.

"This capital funding for local transportation projects shows our continued dedication to supporting local governments," IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider said. "These local projects will improve the quality of life for residents, stimulate the economy and address immediate infrastructure needs."

In addition to the Illinois Jobs Now! funds announced today, local governments in the counties listed above will receive more than $18.4 million in Motor Fuel Tax funds this year.

Late last week two bond rating agencies released their reviews of Illinois' finances ahead of the upcoming sale of $250 million in General Obligation bonds that will finance roads, bridges and schools around the state. While they say the state still has work to do, they note the hard work the state has done to cut costs, pay down old bills and pass a comprehensive pension reform plan. Both agencies agreed that the Governor's proposed budget would bring long-term fiscal stability to Illinois.

According to Fitch Ratings, "The governor's recommended budget for the coming fiscal year would ... provide a basis for the state to achieve fiscal balance."

For a list of the local governments receiving funding through today's announcement, please visit dot.il.gov.

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (630 - 7th Avenue, Rock Island) will host a three part screening and discussion of the 2013 American Experience documentary The Abolitionists.  The center's Director, Reverend Dwight Ford will lead the discussions on three consecutive Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m.: Part 1 on April 15th, Part 2 on April 22nd, and Part 3 on April 29th.  This documentary is one of four films featured in the Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle film series. These events are free and no registration is required.

The Abolitionists vividly brings to life the struggles of the men and women who led the battle to end slavery. Through innovative use of reenactments, this three episode series puts a face on the anti-slavery movement?or rather, five faces: William Lloyd Garrison, impassioned New England newspaper editor; Frederick Douglass, former slave, author, and activist; Angelina Grimké, daughter of a rich South Carolina slaveholder; Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the enormously influential Uncle Tom's Cabin; and John Brown, ultimately executed for his armed seizure of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The film's release in 2013 also marked the 150th anniversary year of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Reverend Dwight Ford has served as Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center since 2012.  He has a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in business management from Western Illinois University.  He also served in the United States Marine Corps from 1989 to 1994, serving in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, and received several medals during his service.  He grew up in Rock Island and has been a featured speaker at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service and Awards Celebration.

 

Created Equal is presented as part of the six-week series Created Equal and Changing America, which explores our nation's civil rights history through film, exhibition, and presentations.  More information can be found online at molinelibrary.com/createdequal, by visiting the library at 3210 - 41st Street, or by calling 309-524-2470.

Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Changing America is presented by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The traveling exhibition is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

Local support for Created Equal and Changing America has been provided by Friends of the Moline Public Library, WQPT, and The Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus/QCOnline.

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Stay-at-Home Mom & Entrepreneur Shares How-to's

Dreaming of launching a business from your home? You'll join an ever-growing number of entrepreneurs, according to a broad new report based on 6,000 surveys.

Sixty-nine percent of all U.S. businesses start in the home and half of them are still home-based long after they launch, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report.

"The median start-up cost was $15,000 but remember, that's the median - it means plenty of people spend much less than that," says Renae Christine, a serial entrepreneur who has created dozens of successful home-based businesses for herself and others. She shares practical how-to advice in her new book, "Home Business Startup Bible," (www.richmombusiness.com).

"I started out helping other stay-at-home moms who wanted to create businesses, but there are men and women of all ages who want the freedom and independence you get from owning your own business and keeping it in the home."

Christine says she learned a lot from early colossal failures and from her successes, too.

"A lot of people just starting out don't think in terms of, 'Will this choice still work in five years if the business is very successful?' You need to consider that because it's difficult and sometimes bad for business to go back and change things once you've become established," she says.

If you're thinking about starting a home-based business, she shares some tips for laying the groundwork.

•  It all starts with an idea - is yours a good one?
You need to be able to easily explain your idea (product or service) in one or two sentences because that's all you'll get to "sell" it to customers, investors and the media, including bloggers who you seek out for reviews. If you can't explain it well in two sentences, either work on a simpler way to describe it or come up with a new idea.

•  Determine whether your idea has been done before or if it's brand new.
There are generally three possibilities: It has been done but there's still demand; it has been done and the market is saturated; or it has never been done. You can be successful in any of these scenarios, if you know where your idea falls and strategize appropriately. Search keyword phrases to see if what you have in mind already exists. If you come up empty, there's either no demand or it's never been done before. If it's been done, search for competitors and see how many they are, what they're doing, and how you might innovate to provide something even better, whether it's product quality or service.

•  Create a list of all the things you need to plan for in your business.
The list might be a series of questions whose answers will be the basis for your business plan. They might include - but by no means are limited to: What are you going to sell and for how much? Will you make or buy the product? How will you package and ship it? Will you ship internationally? How will you communicate with customers? What will be your business colors? Will you hire a bookkeeper or explore software to do that yourself? The list may seem daunting, but take time to make each decision one at a time and soon, you'll see your business taking shape.

•  Name your company after yourself or give it a made-up, easy-to-remember one-word name.
Naming the company after your product or service seriously limits future expansion (remember - it's important to think ahead!) Naming it after yourself or giving it a one-word, made-up name allows you to expand into other products, services, and even industries. It also provides a common denominator that ties everything together. If you think you may eventually sell the company, go with a made-up name (think Zappos, Etsy, Google.) Doublecheck the U.S. Patent and Trademark website to ensure the name - even if it's your own! -- is not already trademarked.

About Renae Christine

Renae Christine is the owner of by Renae Christine, a company that has launched several successful businesses and has helped launch dozens more for others. A journalist, she's known for her popular YouTube videos (search Rich Mom Business channel), which use humor and pragmatism to advise others who want to launch home-based businesses. She recently published "Home Business Startup Bible," (www.richmombusiness.com), a comprehensive how-to guide. Christine is also the founder of the Rich Mom Business University and co-hosts the online TV show, "Funny Stuff and Cheese."

Rock Island County parents have the opportunity to find out how their little ones are progressing. A free "early learning readiness fair" is being held THIS week.

(Rock Island, IL)  Rock Island County Regional Office of Education Superintendent, Tammy Muerhoff, says birth to age five is an integral time period for the development of young children. And because of that, the Rock Island County Regional Office of Education, the Early Childhood Coalition and the All Our Kids Early Childhood Network are collaborating to offer parents of children age birth to age five an opportunity to acquire resources from community agencies, school districts, and child care centers.

Muerhoff says "The Early Learning Readiness Fair "provides an opportunity for parents to gather information and ask questions in one location.   "Children's experiences in their first few years of life influence how they develop, learn and interact with the world and so parents must know what they can do to make sure that time is filled with great growth".

The fair is being held THIS Wednesday, April 9th from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Building in Rock Island?4600 46th Avenue  Rock Island.   At the fair there will be vision and hearing screenings, information on family resources available in the community, age appropriate activities, summer learning activities and tours of a school bus for those going to kindergarten in the fall.