Governor Quinn issued the below statement regarding Chicago's Jackie Robinson West Little League team who today played in the Great Lakes Championship and lost to Gross Pointe Shores, Michigan:

"Today we are all proud of Chicago's Jackie Robinson West Little Leaguers.

"These young players made it all the way to the Great Lakes Region Tournament Championship game.

"Jackie Robinson would be proud that this team - named in his honor - played hard all season and achieved such success. We are all proud of the parents, coaches and members of the community who supported them.

"It is so important for our state's youngest residents to be active and involved.

"Thank you, members of the Jackie Robinson West Little League team, for setting an example for the children of Illinois."

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In a suit filed in federal
court in Washington DC, two veterans organizations have filed suit against
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, for failing to provide
benefits to a group of Vietnam War veterans who served aboard ship off the
coast of Vietnam.  Over a hundred thousand of these Blue Water veterans
were exposed to Agent Orange through their drinking water while providing
gunfire support, air support and logistic support in the territorial seas
off the coast of the republic of Vietnam.   The Blue Water Navy Vietnam
Veterans Association, (BWNVVA) a not for profit corporation chartered to
advance the cause of the Blue Water Navy veterans, along with
Military-Veterans Advocacy (MVA) another non-profit who advocated for
veterans, filed the 32 page suit charging that the Secretary ignored
scientific evidence which showed the presence of Agent Orange in the
waters off shore as well as solid proof that the shipboard distillation
process, which converted saltwater to potable drinking water, enriched the
effect of the dioxin.  Attorney John Wells, who brought the suit, is a
retired Navy Commander and served as Chief Engineer on three Navy ships.
"I am very familiar with the naval operations at the time and the
distillation equipment that enriched the dioxin." Wells said.  "We have
taken this evidence to two separate committees of the Institute of
Medicine, and they agree that the distillation process, based on Henry's
law of thermodynamics, would have co-distilled and enriched the dioxin.
This confirmed an earlier study by the University of Queensland."  Wells
is the Executive Director of MVA and previously serves as Director of
Legal and Legislative Affairs for the BWNVVA.  After retiring as a surface
warfare officer he opened a law practice in Slidell Louisiana with
emphasis on military and veterans law.   John Paul Rossie, a retired
Information Technology expert, served in the Navy off the coast of
Vietnam.  Rossie has served the BWNVVA since its inception as its
Executive Director. He said as follows: "Sea service personnel operating
in the war zone were given a straight shot of Agent Orange into their
drinking water.  They drank it, showered in it and had their food prepared
with it," Rossie continued, "but the VA has just ignored them.  Now they
are dying and leaving their families without the VA compensation that they
earned."  Prior to 2002, the Blue Water Navy veterans were granted the
presumption of exposure. This was rescinded based on a 1997 VA General
Counsel's opinion that concluded the words "service in the Republic of
Vietnam" meant "service in-country."  Australia, an American ally in
Vietnam, has been granting benefits to their naval personnel since 2003.
The Blue Water Navy veterans actually won a restoration in benefits from
the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in 2006 but that decision was set
aside on administrative law grounds by the United States Court for the
Federal Circuit in 2008.  "This suit covers different grounds," Wells
noted.  "We are not attacking the lack of rulemaking as was the case in
the previous suit, but we are showing that the Secretary's decision was
arbitrary and capricious, unsupported by substantial evidence and in
violation of existing law. The VA currently grants the presumption of
exposure for ships that steamed into inland waterways that they have
arbitrarily defined as rivers.  What the VA either did not know or
intentionally ignored, is that the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Seas
and the Contiguous Zone, which the United States has signed and ratified,
includes bays and harbors as inland waterways.  Additionally the treaty
makes the territorial seas part of the sovereign territory of the nation.
"I sat down with John Gingrich, who at the time was the Chief of Staff for
the VA and showed him a picture of Da Nang Harbor (attached), which is
surrounded on three sides by land. He thought that the harbor was covered.
I had to show him his own manual which specifically excepted the harbors.
He agreed that the VA's position did not make sense and agreed to
re-visit it. Instead last December, the VA published a Notice saying that
they would not change their policy.  The VA did not return the telephone
calls I made to them after the notice was published."  The plight of the
Blue Water Navy veterans has support in Congress.  Presently 127 members
of the House (including Rep Mike Michaud (D-ME) ranking member of the
Veterans Affairs Committee) are co-sponsoring a bill by Rep. Chris Gibson
(R-NY) to restore the presumption of exposure to those who served in the
territorial seas of the Republic of Vietnam. "We are heartened by the
bi-partisan support of this bill," Rossie said, "but despite the support,
it is still stalled in Committee.  So while we are continuing to gather
support in Congress, we felt the need to also move forward in court.  Our
people are dropping like flies and we need to try any avenue we can to
obtain these benefits."  -End-

Twelve Arbitrators Reappointed as Commission Sees Continued Success Following System Overhaul

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced the appointment of three new arbitrators to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (IWCC) who perform the duty of enforcing the provision of the Workers' Compensation Act. These three arbitrators will join the 27 who are currently serving. In 2011, Governor Quinn championed and signed into law historic worker's compensation reform legislation to overhaul the system in Illinois. Today's announcement continues the Governor's commitment to making Illinois government more efficient, accountable and effective.

"These individuals have years of professional experience that will benefit the Illinois' workers' compensation program," Governor Quinn said. "I am pleased to appoint these arbitrators and a commissioner who will work for the people of Illinois to resolve workers' compensation cases in a manner which treats injured workers with respect and ensures that employers in Illinois receive a fair and efficient resolution to claims."

The reforms signed into law by Governor Quinn in 2011 called on the Governor to appoint new arbitrators to the Commission, considering the recommendations made by the Workers' Compensation Advisory Board, which is a body composed of six members representing the employer community and six members representing employees and working people in Illinois. Arbitrators at the Commission are responsible for ruling on claims filed by employees who suffer an injury at work.

The law requires that all newly-appointed arbitrators must be attorneys and that both arbitrators and Commissioners are subject to the ethical rules and requirements followed by Illinois judges. Arbitrators and Commissioners must also take at least 20 hours of training every two years while in office regarding professional and ethical standards, detection of fraud, evidence-based medical treatment, and Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis.

Governor Quinn appointed the following new arbitrators to the IWCC:

 

·         Molly Dearing, J.D., Southern Illinois University School of Law; B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; A.A., Southeastern Illinois College

·         Jeffrey Huebsch, J.D., Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago-Kent Law School; B.A., North Central College

·         Ketki Steffen, J.D., The John Marshall Law School; B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Governor has appointed the following Commissioner to the Workers' Compensation Commission:

·         Michael Brennan, J.D., DePaul University College of Law; B.A., DePaul University

 

The Governor reappointed the following Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Arbitrators:

·         William Gallagher, J.D., Southern Illinois University - Carbondale; B.A., Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville

·         Carolyn Doherty, J.D., The John Marshall Law School; B.A., Marquette University

 

·         Joshua Luskin, J.D., University of Michigan; B.A., Macalester College

·         Robert Williams J.D., Loyola Law School of Chicago; M.B.A. University of Illinois at Chicago; B.S., Le Moyne-Owen College

·         Barbara Flores, J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law; B.S., University of Illinois

·         Deborah Simpson, J.D., The John Marshall Law School; B.A., DePaul University

·         Brian Cronin, M.B.A., University of Chicago; B.B.A., University of Notre Dame

·         Kurt Carlson, J.D., The John Marshall Law School; B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison

·         Gregory Dollison, Paralegal Certificate, Roosevelt University; B.S., Illinois Institute of Technology

·         Edward Lee, J.D., The John Marshall Law School; B.A., Tulane University

·         Molly Mason, J.D., Loyola University Law School; B.A., Harvard University

·         Douglas McCarthy, J.D., Southern Illinois University Law School; M.A., Sangamon State; B.S., Illinois State University

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Friday, August 9, 2013

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Dear Friend,

This spring, Iowa again saw rising rivers and streams across the State due to record levels of rainfall. As Iowans, the threat of flooding never seems far away, and it's only getting worse. Each time waters begin to rise, thoughts of 2008 and the devastation that families and communities suffered quickly returns. This year the rising waters once again sent communities scrambling to prepare for the worst and thousands of acres of farmland sat underwater, unable to be planted. The rising waters also sent another check from the federal government to help cover the necessary disaster costs of preparing and recovery. We can do better.

In Iowa, folks like those at the Iowa Flood Center and the University of Iowa are doing work that is helping Iowa communities prepare better and smarter for flooding. This success is already at work saving our communities money, time, and resources. The entire country should follow Iowa's lead in planning better and smarter for flooding in order to help families and communities, and achieve significant, long-term savings to the federal government. This is why last week I introduced the National Flood Research and Education Center Act (NFERC). This bill would create a National Flood Center to study ways to better predict and prevent flooding, and provide valuable information to the public.

Flooding is costing taxpayers billions of dollars a year for preparation and recovery. The prediction and prevention tools from a National Flood Center would help prevent damage and allow our communities to better allocate resources such as sand bags, machinery, volunteers, and temporary flood walls. Every year flooding costs taxpayers, and the new technologies and methods already being put to use in Iowa could save our country untold millions.

As Iowans, we have experienced the devastation that flooding can bring. I believe through a National Flood Center we can help prevent similar devastation across the country and in Iowa. We don't need to wait for the next devastation to act. No time is better than now to get a National Flood Center into action to save lives and resources, and achieve significant long-term savings. I look forward to chatting more about my bill with you in Iowa soon.

Sincerely,

Dave Loebsack
Iowa's Second District