Announces up to $50 million for permanent supportive housing

 

CHICAGO - August 3, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today signed two new housing laws to provide people with disabilities with more access to affordable rental housing, and to further protect homeowners from mortgage fraud. The supportive housing law makes $10 million in rental housing subsidies available over 15 years to eligible landlords. In addition, the governor announced the commitment of up to $40 million in Illinois Jobs Now! capital funds for developers of permanent supportive housing. These laws build on the governor's strong commitment to providing more housing options for people with disabilities, and to protecting consumers from predatory lenders.

"I am committed to strengthening Illinois' communities and our economy," Governor Quinn said. "Thanks to these new laws, more people with disabilities will have a safe and comfortable place to call home and homeowners will be better protected."

House Bill 5450, sponsored by Rep. Esther Golar (D-Chicago) and Sen. William Delgado (D-Chicago), enables grant funding to be designated for people with disabilities under the Rental Housing Support Program, one of the nation's largest state rental assistance programs, which is administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA). The new law and the Illinois Jobs Now! funding commitment will significantly increase opportunities for people with disabilities to access affordable rental housing throughout Illinois. The new law takes effect immediately.

"I was able to work with IHDA on this new law, which allows grant funding to develop housing opportunities for people with disabilities," said Sen. Delgado, Chairman of the Senate Public Health Committee.  "The previous law stated that to qualify for these grants a person had to have a specific disability, the new law will allow all with disabilities to qualify for assistance."

Also today, Governor Quinn signed House Bill 4521, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) and Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago), which raises fees for mortgage company licensees and significantly increases fines penalizing mortgage fraud to better protect homeowners. The new law also strengthens the ability of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's Division of Banking to investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud throughout the state. The new law is effective immediately, with one provision taking effect Jan. 1, 2013.

"Exercising vigilant oversight in the areas of loan modifications and short sales will be particularly beneficial as we work to slow the rate of foreclosure and protect distressed homeowners from financial exploitation," said Sen. Collins.

Earlier this year, Governor Quinn launched the Active Community Care Transition (ACCT) Plan to increase the number of people with developmental disabilities and mental health conditions living in community-based care settings across Illinois. The ACCT Plan also will help the state save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year while providing good care for people with developmental disabilities.

"Supportive housing makes a difference in the lives of people with disabilities by empowering them to live independently as part of a community," said IHDA Executive Director Mary R. Kenney. "Under Governor Pat Quinn's leadership, IHDA has financed approximately 1,300 units of supportive housing to enable people with disabilities to live independently."

With House Bill 5450, landlords providing supportive housing units may apply for subsidies under the Long Term Operating Support (LTOS) portion of the Rental Housing Support Program. The LTOS program is funded through a $10 fee collected from real estate document recordings, and the new round of funding will help an estimated 150 households headed by a person with a disability.

In addition, today's Illinois Jobs Now! commitment will spur the development of approximately 200 new supportive housing units through a new round of the state's Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Development Program. Governor Quinn's historic capital program included $130 million for affordable and supportive housing to further create opportunities for people with disabilities to live independently. The first round of the PSH Program financed 122 units of supportive housing.

IHDA is currently accepting applications from landlords and developers for the LTOS and PSH programs.  Applications and information are available at www.ihda.org.

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(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad and co-chairs of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen, today announced the latest appointments for the six regional STEM network hubs advisory boards.

 

"The members of the STEM Regional Advisory Boards will serve as boots on the ground and be the most entrenched members of the STEM initiative in their region of the Iowa. I am confident that the appointees will provide leadership and assistance in launching the STEM initiative all across the state," said Reynolds.

 

The appointments are as follows:

 

STEM Advisory Council - North Central Regional

Robin Anderson, Mason City

Emily Banks, McCallsburg

Dr. Paul Bartelt, Forest City

Cheryl Carruthers, Bussey

Dr. Kelly Faga, Iowa Falls

Dr. Douglas Jacobson, Ames

Chad Kuhlers, Clear Lake

Dr. Adah Leshem, Ames

Corey Metzger, Ames

Ben Petty, Conrad

Sarah Rosenblum, Marshalltown

Camille Sloan Schroeder, Boone

Christine Sturgeon, Gowrie

Jan Westrum, Boone

Richard Wrage, Boone

 

STEM Advisory Council - Northeast Regional

Cheryl Beatty, Winthrop

Dr. Mark Biermann, Waverly

James Brown, Jr., Cedar Falls

Dr. Samuel Dosumu, Waterloo

Scott Fortune, Cresco

Dr. Scott Greenhalgh, Cedar Falls

Sarah Harris, Dubuque

Dr. Chad Heinzel, Cedar Falls

John Hjelle, Decorah

Kim Kerian, Cresco

Jason Martin-Hiner, Strawberry Point

Dr. Wendy Mihm-Herold, Fort Atkinson

Marcia Powell, Strawberry Point

Michelle Temeyer, Waterloo

Mark Wagner, Dubuque

 

STEM Advisory Council - Northwest Regional

Shaun Arneson, Spirit Lake

Jerry Chizek, Manson

Jim Christensen, Holstein

Marcella Frevert, Emmetsburg

Linda Gray, Everly

Cheryl Heronemus, Alton

Walter Johnson, Sioux City

Dr. Jasper Lesage, Sioux Center

Rick Reinking, Spirit Lake

Debora Robertson, Sioux City

Mary Trent, Carroll

Gerald Van Roekel, Orange City

Wade Weber, Spirit Lake

Ryan Welsh, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Mark Zabawa, Spencer

 

STEM Advisory Council - South Central Regional

Mary Bontrager, Cumming

William Burch, Mystic

Dr. Dennis Byron, Urbandale

John Chai, Norwalk

Tej Dhawan, Grimes

Jahna Duda, Johnston

Lowell Ernst, Pella

Dr. Kari Hensen, Ankeny

Rodney Henshaw, Des Moines

Rob Kleinow, Grimes

Carol LaFaver, Osceola

Dr. Randall McCaulley, Perry

Lyn Schneider, Urbandale

Dr. Lee Sharpe, Grinnell

Igor Takacs, Leon

 

STEM Advisory Council - Southeast Regional

Patrick Barnes, Bettendorf

Kimberly Beals, Marion

Timothy Bower, Muscatine

Bryan Braack, Eldridge

Joseph Crozier, Robins

Susan Dunek, Keokuk

Linda Fischer, Vinton

Dennis Hinkle, Burlington

Dr. Roger Johanson, Lisbon

Michael Lazere, Ames

Craig Martinson, Central City

Deborah Stanton, Washington

John Tursi, Cedar Rapids

Jacqueline Williams, Iowa City

DaLayne Williamson, Iowa City

 

STEM Advisory Council - Southwest Regional

Dr. Jane Bradley, West Des Moines

Dr. Barbara Crittenden, Creston

Barbara DeVore, Osceola

Jill Euken, Lewis

Dr. David Evans, Newell

Dr. Alan Ladd, Atlantic

Thomas Lesan, Creston

Kathi Most, Red Oak

Dr. Lane Plugge, Council Bluffs

Christopher Russell, Omaha, Nebraska

Brandi Shay, Tingley

Doug Sobotka, Diagonal

Adam Triggs, Mount Ayr

 

The six regional network hubs are the first major initiative of the new Governor's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Advisory Council, a public-private partnership, whose overarching goal is to boost student achievement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and promote STEM economic development.

The six regional boards are in congruence with the signing of Senate File 2321, Section 12. Members will serve at the pleasure of the governor. Each board will have a maximum of 15 members.

 

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Does our society hold too narrow a view of what defines strength?

The things many would point to as indicators - youth, wealth, a fully capable body - fall short, says Charles Gourgey, a veteran hospice music therapist and author of Judeochristianity: The Meaning and Discovery of Faith (www.judeochristianity.org), a book that explores the unifying faith elements of Judaism and Christianity.

"Youth is ephemeral, abundant wealth is for just a few, and we all experience some kind of disability, usually at several points in our lives," he says. "A car accident, the loss of a job or a home, grief over a loved one's dying: such things can happen to anyone and easily destroy our happiness."

Gourgey says some of the greatest strength he's ever seen was demonstrated by certain of his patients facing imminent death.

"Some people have complete love and grace when facing death - it's how they've lived their lives, and at the end of their lives, it's what supports them," he says. "Those who, at the end, are peaceful, grateful and confident share some common characteristics."
They are:

• Their love is non-self-interested. When we have awareness of and deepest respect and reverence for the individuality of others, we overcome the high walls of ego and experience a tremendous sense of freedom, says Gourgey. He says he continues to be inspired by patients who cared more for the well-being of others, including their fellow hospice patients, than themselves while facing their own mortality. Non-self-interested love - loving others for themselves without expecting or needing anything in return - is the greatest form of love, he says.

• They had an unwavering faith that transcended religious dogma. Faith is the knowledge that there is more to life than the apparent randomness of the material world; a sense that we are known to a greater reality and will return to that reality. No matter what their religion, the patients who were most at peace with their life's journey were those who had faith in something higher than themselves. The problem with many concepts of faith, Gourgey continues, is that people attach specific doctrines to it, which means some people will always be excluded. A unifying faith - that all people are connected and love is the force that binds us - allows for trust, compassion and caring.

• They were motivated by an innate sense of what is good. They didn't get mad at themselves; they didn't beat themselves up for mistakes they might have made in the past. That's because they were always guided by their sense of what is good, and they made their choices with that in mind. That did not prevent them from making some bad choices or mistakes over the course of their lives, Gourgey says. But when they erred, they addressed the problem with the same loving compassion they extended to others. "Their compassion overcame even any self-hate they may have experienced."

Many patients left lasting impressions on Gourgey, and taught him valuable life lessons. He remembers one in particular.

"She was in hospice, a retired nurse who had developed a rare, incurable disease," he recalls. "She would go around every day, checking to see what she could do for the other patients. She fetched blankets for a 104-year-old lady who always complained of cold feet. She sat with and listened to patients who needed company and someone to talk to. She had an attentive awareness about her, like she was fully in touch with her soul."

Gourgey was with the woman when she died.

"She was radiant, she just glowed. She kept repeating how grateful she was for her life," he says. "It was as if the life of love she'd lived was there to transport and support her at the end."

About Charles "Carlos" Gourgey

Charles "Carlos" Gourgey, PhD, LCAT, MT-BC, is a board-certified and New York state-licensed music therapist. He has more than 20 years of experience working in hospices and nursing homes, and for 10 years was music therapist for Cabrini Hospice in New York City. He has published articles on psychology and religion in various journals.

Walgreens Adds 500 Jobs, Spurs Economic Growth in Northern Illinois

DEERFIELD - August 3, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn and Walgreens today announced the "Invest Illinois Initiative," an agreement that calls for the nation's largest drug store chain to create 500 jobs over three years and invest $75 million to expand and renovate more than two dozen corporate offices spread throughout metropolitan Chicago. Walgreens currently employs more than 5,000 workers at its Deerfield headquarters and surrounding offices. Governor Quinn has made economic growth and job creation his top priority.

"Walgreens has deep roots in Illinois and is an important part of the region's flourishing health care hub," Governor Quinn said. "This expansion will create good paying jobs, attract additional investment to the area and help fuel our economic recovery."

The new jobs will focus heavily on supporting Walgreens' growing online business and its expanding pharmacy, health and wellness services. The new jobs are corporate positions and don't include the additional store-level positions the company anticipates creating in the same time period.

Walgreens' corporate workforce is currently housed in 27 different office buildings in Deerfield, Northbrook, Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire, Bannockburn, Mt. Prospect, Northlake and Chicago. The company's investment will be used to retrofit disparate offices and make it easier for workers to travel between buildings.

Walgreens opened its first downtown Chicago office at the historic Sullivan Center in 2010 where it houses its e-commerce staff. It opened its first store on Chicago's South Side in 1901. The company has been based in Deerfield since 1975.

"We are proud of our Illinois heritage," said Greg Wasson, Walgreens president and CEO. "Just as our stores and pharmacies are health and daily living anchors for the communities we serve, we as a company are now recommitted to serving as an economic anchor for northeastern Illinois. A state and workforce that has served us so well for more than a century will now see our footprint grow even larger."

Under Governor Quinn's leadership, the state of Illinois has worked diligently to identify companies with the potential to bring jobs and economic growth to Illinois.  Illinois has added 140,700 private sector jobs since January 2010, when job growth returned to the state following a two-year period of declines during the recession.

Under the terms of the agreement, Walgreens will also be eligible for tax credits tied to retaining 1,500 existing jobs. The state's targeted investment package, estimated at $47 million, includes Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits, which are based on jobs and distributed over a period of 10 years; tax credits under the High Impact Business (HIB) Program which supports companies that propose substantial capital investments in operations; and training grants through the Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP). The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will administer the package.

Walgreens operates 592 drugstores in Illinois. Last year it announced plans to quadruple the number of Chicago stores offering healthy food selections to urban communities identified as food deserts. Walgreens had fiscal 2011 sales of $72 billion and serves nearly 6 million customers a day. It operates 7,907 drugstores in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations nationwide.

For more information on why Illinois is the right place for business, visit http://illinoisbiz.biz.