Portion of Donated Items for Philippine Relief Will Help Hundreds in Southern Illinois Who Lost Homes, Possessions in Storm

BROOKPORT - Governor Pat Quinn today announced the delivery of nearly 300 pallets of donated supplies to help people in Brookport recover from the deadly tornado that damaged or destroyed more than 150 homes. Prior to the Nov. 17 tornadoes, the supplies were originally collected to provide assistance for people who were devastated by Typhoon Haiyan, but the Rizal Center has not yet been able to transport the goods to the Philippines.

Over the weekend, Governor Quinn stepped in and worked with the Help for Haiyan relief effort and Rizal Center to send a portion of the donated supplies directly to Brookport to aid residents recovering from the deadly storms. Today the state of Illinois loaded and delivered nearly 300 pallets to Brookport.

"Illinois is a community of shared values and we will always help our neighbors when they're in need," Governor Quinn said. "Now that we have an emergency situation here at home, these supplies will immediately aid those who need it the most."

The items, which include 10,000 pounds of water, and 50,000 pounds of non-perishable food items, medical supplies and more, had been stored at the Rizal Center's Fellowship Hall in Chicago while transportation options to the Philippines were pursued. On Nov. 15, the governor submitted a request to federal officials for permission to use the Illinois National Guard to send the aid to the Philippines. The tornadoes hit Illinois on Nov. 17.

"We appreciate what Governor Quinn is doing to move donated supplies to people in need," Rose Tibayan, co-organizer of the Help for Haiyan relief effort, said. "We have been unable to move all of our donations overseas, so we are grateful for this opportunity to work with our Governor to help families in our home state."

Governor Quinn also announced the opening of a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) in Brookport to make it easier for people affected by the tornadoes to access disaster-related relief services and information. The MARC, which will be open today and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 306 Crockett (behind the Elementary School), will bring together representatives from several local and state agencies in one location.

The Governor is committed to helping communities across Illinois recover following the Nov. 17 storms. For more information about disaster recovery resources, including shelters and ways to help tornado survivors, visit www.ready.illinois.gov.

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November 25, 2013

Calls Efforts like Harkin Proposal "... An idea that deserves to be on the table."

In a recent column, New York Times op-ed contributor, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said there is a strong case for expanding, not contracting, Social Security.

Earlier this year, Harkin introduced the Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013, a bill that would increase benefits by approximately $65 per month for future beneficiaries, ensure that Cost of Living Adjustments reflect the actual costs faced by seniors, and extend the life of the Trust Fund through 2049 by ensuring that payroll taxes apply fairly to every dollar of wages.

Today, half of Americans have less than $10,000 in savings, and only 14 percent are "very confident" they will have enough money to retire, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.  Nationally, Social Security lifts more than one-third of retirees from poverty, and the impact in Iowa is even more dramatic:  three in 10 Iowans over the age of 65 rely on Social Security as their only source of income, provides a modest benefit, an average $14,000 per year, to approximately 400,000 seniors across Iowa.

Read Krugman's article here.

Expanding Social Security

By PAUL KRUGMAN

For many years there has been one overwhelming rule for people who wanted to be considered serious inside the Beltway. It was this: You must declare your willingness to cut Social Security in the name of "entitlement reform." It wasn't really about the numbers, which never supported the notion that Social Security faced an acute crisis. It was instead a sort of declaration of identity, a way to show that you were an establishment guy, willing to impose pain (on other people, as usual) in the name of fiscal responsibility.

But a funny thing has happened in the past year or so. Suddenly, we're hearing open discussion of the idea that Social Security should be expanded, not cut. Talk of Social Security expansion has even reached the Senate, with Tom Harkin introducing legislation that would increase benefits. A few days ago Senator Elizabeth Warren gave a stirring floor speech making the case for expanded benefits.

Where is this coming from? One answer is that the fiscal scolds driving the cut-Social-Security orthodoxy have, deservedly, lost a lot of credibility over the past few years. (Giving the ludicrous Paul Ryan an award for fiscal responsibility? And where's my debt crisis?) Beyond that, America's overall retirement system is in big trouble. There's just one part of that system that's working well: Social Security. And this suggests that we should make that program stronger, not weaker.

Before I get there, however, let me briefly take on two bad arguments for cutting Social Security that you still hear a lot.

One is that we should raise the retirement age ? currently 66, and scheduled to rise to 67 ? because people are living longer. This sounds plausible until you look at exactly who is living longer. The rise in life expectancy, it turns out, is overwhelmingly a story about affluent, well-educated Americans. Those with lower incomes and less education have, at best, seen hardly any rise in life expectancy at age 65; in fact, those with less education have seen their life expectancy decline.

So this common argument amounts, in effect, to the notion that we can't let janitors retire because lawyers are living longer. And lower-income Americans, in case you haven't noticed, are the people who need Social Security most.

The other argument is that seniors are doing just fine. Hey, their poverty rate is only 9 percent.

There are two big problems here. First, there are well-known flaws with the official poverty measure, and these flaws almost surely lead to serious understatement of elderly poverty. In an attempt to provide a more realistic picture, the Census Bureau now regularly releases a supplemental measure that most experts consider superior ? and this measure puts senior poverty at 14.8 percent, close to the rate for younger adults.

Furthermore, the elderly poverty rate is highly likely to rise sharply in the future, as the failure of America's private pension system takes its toll.

When you look at today's older Americans, you are in large part looking at the legacy of an economy that is no more. Many workers used to have defined-benefit retirement plans, plans in which their employers guaranteed a steady income after retirement. And a fair number of seniors (like my father, until he passed away a few months ago) are still collecting benefits from such plans.

Today, however, workers who have any retirement plan at all generally have defined-contribution plans ? basically, 401(k)'s ? in which employers put money into a tax-sheltered account that's supposed to end up big enough to retire on. The trouble is that at this point it's clear that the shift to 401(k)'s was a gigantic failure. Employers took advantage of the switch to surreptitiously cut benefits; investment returns have been far lower than workers were told to expect; and, to be fair, many people haven't managed their money wisely.

As a result, we're looking at a looming retirement crisis, with tens of millions of Americans facing a sharp decline in living standards at the end of their working lives. For many, the only thing protecting them from abject penury will be Social Security. Aren't you glad we didn't privatize the program?

So there's a strong case for expanding, not contracting, Social Security. Yes, this would cost money, and it would require additional taxes ? a suggestion that will horrify the fiscal scolds, who have been insisting that if we raise taxes at all, the proceeds must go to deficit reduction, not to making our lives better. But the fiscal scolds have been wrong about everything, and it's time to start thinking outside their box.

Realistically, Social Security expansion won't happen anytime soon. But it's an idea that deserves to be on the table ? and it's a very good sign that it finally is.

Nearly 1,000 Uninhabitable Homes Across Illinois; 2,441 Homes Damaged by Tornadoes

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today asked President Barack Obama to declare 15 Illinois counties major disaster areas to help people and businesses recover from a violent outbreak of tornadoes across the state on Nov. 17. Governor Quinn requested a federal disaster declaration for Champaign, Douglas, Fayette, Grundy, Jasper, LaSalle, Massac, Pope, Tazewell, Vermilion, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, Will and Woodford counties.

"The lives of thousands of people across Illinois were torn apart by this deadly outbreak of tornadoes," Governor Quinn said. "We expedited the damage assessment process in order to submit this request and the required documentation as soon as possible. I encourage President Obama to quickly approve this request and help our communities recover and rebuild."

Governor Quinn made the request after five teams comprising personnel from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and local officials assessed damage in the 15 counties hit by the Nov. 17 tornadoes and severe storms. The teams identified 2,441 homes that were damaged, including 781 homes that were destroyed. The teams completed their assessments in less than four days.

If Governor Quinn's request is approved, people in the approved counties would be eligible to apply for grants and low-interest SBA loans. In addition, affected businesses would be able to apply for low-interest SBA loans.

Representatives from IEMA and FEMA will meet with local government officials beginning in early December to document expenses related to the tornadoes and storms, including emergency protective measures, debris removal and repair or replacement of roads, bridges and other public facilities. That information could be used to support a request for federal assistance to help state and local governments recoup a portion of eligible tornado-related expenses.

Under the Governor's direction, the state continues to support recovery efforts in several communities hard hit by the tornadoes. The State Incident Response Center in Springfield is activated to coordinate deployment of state assets and personnel in response to requests from affected areas.

Trucks and heavy equipment from the Illinois Department of Transportation and inmate crews from the Illinois Department of Corrections continue to assist with removal of massive amounts of debris in communities. IEMA personnel were deployed to impacted communities, where they continue to coordinate with local officials on a variety of disaster-related issues. The state also continues to provide law enforcement officers to assist with security and other issues in affected communities.

Several state and local agencies are helping tornado survivors with a variety of issues at Multi-Agency Resources Centers (MARCs) set up in Washington and Brookport through Tuesday. The Illinois departments of Human Services, Insurance and on Aging have staff at both MARCs, and the Secretary of State's Office will be on hand to help residents with driver's licenses, vehicle registration and other issues.

The American Red Cross will provide client casework, information and referrals. More than 20 local disaster relief agencies will also be there to provide assistance and give people much needed information about their recovery process. Additionally, there will be bulk distribution of a variety of items.

For more information about disaster recovery resources, including shelters and ways to help tornado survivors, visit Ready.Illinois.gov.

Please join The Art Project as we celebrate our first year of changing lives through art.

Sunday, December 15th from 12:30pm until 2:30pm.

at The Center, 14th and Brady Streets, Davenport (across 14th Street from St. John's United Methodist Church).

Light refreshments will be prepared.

A place for spiritual health and self-empowerment.