Will Assist in New York City Emergency Operations Center

SPRINGFIELD - November 1, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today announced the deployment of 13 local emergency managers and two Illinois Emergency Management Agency's (IEMA) employees to New York City to help emergency management officials coordinate recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The responders will assist with operations and logistics in the city's emergency operations center. The duration of the deployment is two weeks, with responders set to return to Illinois on Nov. 16.

"Hurricane Sandy left behind unbelievable devastation affecting millions of people along the East Coast," Governor Quinn said. "This recovery will be long and difficult, and the impacted communities will need help. Illinois stands ready to provide any assistance we can, like the dedicated emergency responders who are headed to New York today."

The responders, from across the state, reported to the state's Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration (RSOI) operation at the IEMA headquarters in Springfield this morning to receive event identification, mission and safety briefings and mobilization assistance. This process ensures the accountability and readiness of personnel and assets before departure.

This deployment is the first from Illinois in response to Hurricane Sandy-related requests submitted through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), the nation's state-to-state mutual aid system.  EMAC coordinates the assistance needs of states affected by disasters with available resources from unaffected states to support response and recovery efforts. IEMA, the Illinois National Guard and other Illinois public safety agencies are standing by, ready to provide assistance in response to further EMAC requests.

Illinois has deployed assets to other states on several occasions, most notably following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when more than 2,500 first responders and other personnel from Illinois were sent to the Gulf Coast.

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It is not unusual today to find the language of religion mixed up with the language of politics. The Republican Party's platform mentions God no less than 12 times, and Republicans have condemned Democrats for not mentioning God in theirs. Many Republican politicians do not hesitate to proclaim their Christian faith as a great motivator of their policies. So we have a right to expect that those policies will reflect godly values and honor the founder of the religion its adherents proclaim.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan insist that their tax proposals would not burden the middle class. However, the figures do not support this claim. According to the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (Aug. 1, 2012), "A revenue-neutral individual income tax change that incorporates the features Gov. Romney has proposed ... would provide large tax cuts to high-income households, and increase the tax burdens on middle- and/or lower-income taxpayers."

The great transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, resulting from our recent financial crisis, will continue.

In addition to more tax advantages for the wealthy at the expense of others, the Republican plan will further shred the social safety net by virtually dismantling Medicaid. It will shrink the program drastically, replacing the current system with block grants to the states. To make up for the shortfall, families who are already struggling will be charged part of the cost of their elderly loved ones' care.

Medicare, too, would change beyond recognition. People would receive a fixed amount from the government to purchase their own plan. Called "premium support," this is really a euphemism for "voucher." These Medicare vouchers will not keep pace with rising health care costs, which traditionally outrun inflation. Medicare as we know it will come to an end. And once again, the burden will fall on the poor and middle class.

How do they justify this? Paul Ryan actually refers to his faith. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (April 10, 2012) Ryan stated: "A person's faith is central to how they conduct themselves in public and in private. ... To me, the principle of subsidiarity, which is really federalism, meaning government closest to the people governs best."

Ryan found a nice word to theologize his economics. The principle of "subsidiarity" was formalized in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, who in all likelihood never intended it to supersede the Gospel, or to justify a reverse-Robin Hood economics of taking from the poor to give to the rich. But Ryan sees dismantling the safety net for disadvantaged people as actually helping them, by teaching them "independence." His "preferential option for the poor" means, in practice, cutting their benefits.

These positions are gaining popular support largely because they play on people's fears and resentment. "If I am doing poorly in this economy," one may be tempted to think, "it's because there are so many lazy people who consume my tax dollars without giving anything back."

But many of those who would suffer under Romney/Ryan economics are hard-working and do have jobs. I think of my friend who works long hours at a simple retail job that does not pay what her efforts deserve, and that gives her no health coverage. There are many like her. They work much harder than many who would judge them, including people who live off their investment income and don't work at all. Yet under Romney/Ryan the latter would pay even lower taxes, while the rest would suffer more.

And many others, including older people on fixed incomes; people with severe disabilities (mental, physical, or both) who need government assistance; people who are homeless not by choice but due to mental illness; and people with dementia whose family members may give up their own lives and livelihoods to support them, cannot simply go out and get a job. Many are unskilled and unemployable. Age and disability discrimination are rampant, even though we deny it. Yet in spite of this we seem to have a new Republican Gospel: when Jesus said (Matthew 25:36) "I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me" he was encouraging dependence. Better he should have said, "I was naked, I was sick, and you told me to get a job."

This is the politics of resentment, of stigmatizing the poor as parasites who deserve to lose their benefits. In an offhand moment, Romney said it all: These are people "who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it." This resentment is self-justifying: "I have mine, and if you don't have yours, it's your own fault. So lower my taxes."

Those who practice this resentment seem not to mind that in the richest nation on Earth, millions of people go without health care. "Are there no emergency rooms?" they ask, much as old Scrooge asked "Are there no workhouses?" But emergency rooms only stabilize you until you can receive some other form of care - which you won't if you lack insurance. If you have a chronic, degenerative disease, you are on your own. This inequality is criminal, but it is so easy to justify by playing on resentment.

This is the opposite of what Jesus stood for. So those who try to turn him into their political partisan may find themselves in for a shock. When we focus on what Jesus actually taught, we may be quite surprised that he does not share our party affiliation.

Charles Gourgey is a licensed creative arts therapist and author of Judeochristianity: The Meaning and Discovery of Faith (available at Amazon.com), which explores what faith can mean if we restore Jesus's teachings to their rightful place of central importance.

$1.7 billion project now the single largest capital investment in Iowa history

(SIOUX CITY) - The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board held a special, telephonic meeting to take action to award direct financial assistance and tax credits to CF Industries, Inc., for an expansion of its existing fertilizer manufacturing operation in Woodbury County.

The Port Neal project will add new state-of-the-art ammonia and granular urea production units to meet customer demand.  The project will supplement existing production of ammonia and urea ammonia nitrate (UAN).

The project will have a total capital investment of $1.7 billion and will create 100 new jobs with a qualifying wage of $20.12.

"This is another great announcement for Iowa, and we are proud that CF Industries has chosen us for its $1.7 billion expansion," said Governor Terry E. Branstad. "Our state is clearly well-positioned to take advantage of the growing domestic fertilizer industry.  Not only does that mean significant investment that will continue to grow our economy, but also the creation of high-paying jobs for Iowans."

Today, the IEDA Board awarded the project $1.5 million in direct assistance and tax credits in the total amount of $22 million.  The tax credit award is made up of $13 million in sales tax refunds paid during construction and $9 million in investment tax credits (ITC).  The board will also consider future amendments to the award to allocate an additional $12 million in ITC in each of the next four fiscal years (FY13-FY16) for a potential total ITC award of $57 million.

"It is so rewarding to watch existing companies continue to make investments in Iowa.  With today's announcement that a company with current operations in Iowa will make a capital investment of nearly $2 billion, it is obvious that we are on the right track to reaching our goals of creating jobs and increasing wealth for Iowans," said Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds.  "Just since January 2011, the IEDA has projects under contract that will result in $5.23 billion of capital investment in our state."

CF Industries is a global leader in fertilizer manufacturing and distribution, the second largest nitrogen fertilizer producer in the world and the third largest phosphate fertilizer producer among public companies. CF Industries owns and operates world-scale nitrogen and phosphate plants and serves agricultural and industrial customers through its best-in-class distribution system.

"CF Industries is proud of its long history of serving Iowa farmers and we are pleased to increase our manufacturing presence in Iowa in a major way," commented Stephen R. Wilson, chairman and chief executive officer, CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

In 2010, CF Industries acquired Terra Industries Inc., positioning the company as a nitrogen bellwether in the global fertilizer industry and the premier nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer manufacturer in North America.  In addition to its Port Neal facility, the company operates terminals at Spencer and Garner.

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