On behalf of children caught in pension squeeze, effort will "educate and activate" Illinois citizens about $96 billion problem

CHICAGO - November 18, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today launched an Internet grassroots campaign to increase public awareness about the need for pension reform in Illinois. Relaying a message from the next generation to today's leaders, the "Thanks in Advance" public awareness campaign is designed to educate citizens about the "squeeze" caused by skyrocketing pension costs, and activate them to advocate for pension reform using tech tools like Facebook, Twitter and email.

Flanked by children yelling "Thanks in Advance" through red megaphones, Governor Quinn called the pension crisis the "most urgent challenge of the decade," which is squeezing Illinois schools, public safety, job creation, decent health care and vital services. Illinois' unfunded liability recently grew to $96 billion, the worst in the nation.

"Kids count on adults to look out for them and act responsibly," Governor Quinn said. "Children have a critical stake in pension reform and that's why we are here today calling Illinois citizens to action. If the General Assembly passes comprehensive reform, we will ease the squeeze on essential services, restore fiscal stability to our state and protect the future of the next generation. Illinois' children have a message for us: Thanks in advance for rising above politics and getting the job done."    

Illinoisans can visit www.thisismyillinois.com to learn about Illinois' seven-decade old pension crisis, as well as to make their voices heard through social media in support of pension reform. The new website details the history of public pensions dating back to Ancient Rome, through the issuance of the first pension in Illinois in 1915 all the way to the present. There are now 760,000 members of the state's five public pension systems. The site shows how public pensions are partnerships which help retain a quality workforce while offering a safety net to those who serve the public. Public pensions are funded by member contributions, employer contributions and earnings from investments.

The site also chronicles the roots of the Illinois pension crisis which began in the 1940s and grew out of Springfield neglect, two economic recessions and changing demographics. Featuring videos and a mock Facebook timetable to explain the pension crisis, the site provides "daily factoids" for people to share with their social networks.

The Pew Center on the States, a national nonpartisan think-tank, rated Illinois 50th in unfunded pension liability. Moody's Investors Service lists Illinois as the lowest-rated state due primarily to "a severe pension funding shortfall." According to the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, each day that pension reform is not enacted boosts the long-term shortfall by $17.1 million. By 2016, the state of Illinois will be paying more on public pensions than on schools without comprehensive pension reform.

In April, Governor Quinn proposed a plan that would rescue the pension systems, ensure employees have access to benefits and prevent skyrocketing pension costs from eating up core services like education and healthcare. The governor's plan would fully fund the pension system by 2042.

"Thanks in Advance" aims to build public awareness about the need for legislative action on pension reform in Springfield and empower citizens to make their voices heard. Veto session begins November 27 and the legislature is scheduled to work January 3 - 8.

Quinn has been employing grassroots organizing techniques for 35 years. His successful 1976 "Political Honesty Initiative" to ban advance pay for legislators garnered 635,158 signatures. He used "petition power" to trim the size of the Illinois House, create the Citizens Utility Board (Illinois' largest consumer group) and enact local Whistleblower ordinances.

For more information about this initiative, visit www.thisismyillinois.com.

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds applaud the Federal government's decision to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and deny pending waiver requests.  Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production, accounting for 25% of total U.S. ethanol production.  In addition, Iowa's biofuels industry has added $13.1 billion to our economy, generated $2.4 billion in household income and supported 49,000 jobs.

Gov. Branstad sent a letter earlier this year encouraging the EPA to maintain the RFS and avoid the scenario of adding more uncertainty into the agriculture sector by granting the waiver requests.

Governor Branstad said the following:

"There is no question that this year's drought caused hardships in the agriculture sector, particularly for the livestock producers.  The EPA rightfully decided that the waivers were not an effective remedy to those hardships and would have instead injected unnecessary additional uncertainty into another component of the agriculture sector."

Lt. Governor Reynolds stated the following:

"Governor Branstad and I continue to  believe that biofuels can play a significant role in diversifying our nation's energy portfolio and making our nation more energy independent."

More information on the EPA decision can be found at:  http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/notices.htm

Total Iowa Investment by Google to top $1.1 Billion

(DES MOINES) - Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds were joined by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan, Council Bluffs officials, and representatives from Google today at a news conference at the State Capitol in Des Moines.

During the news conference, the leaders detailed Google's plan to continue expansion of its data center operations in Iowa. With this additional investment, Google surpasses a major milestone of investing over $1 billion in Iowa.

"Google's decision to continue its investment in Iowa is a tribute to the company, and to Iowa," said Governor Terry Branstad. "We have worked hard to make Iowa an attractive and safe place to do business, and this is another example of that work bringing great results. Google has found a unique recipe in Iowa: an educated workforce, reliable tax structure, and reasonable energy costs. Google's substantial investment, now totaling more than $1.1 billion, represents a major step towards Iowa building a diversified and forward looking economy."

"We are proud of all that Google has accomplished in Iowa, and we are also grateful for the significant investments they have put back into the state and community. Google has truly gone above and beyond in making the lives of Iowans better," said Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) stated, "Google's decision to build in Iowa, and its continued investment are a clear example of a successful local, state and private partnership. Working together, we've built a framework for success that benefits private industry and the State of Iowa."

Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan noted "Google is a good neighbor, as we'd say here in Iowa, helping our local schools, non-profits and the community. The decision to continue its substantial investment in Council Bluffs is a tribute to the strong partnership our city and county governments have built with Google."

Coming within four years of first opening the Council Bluffs Data Center, surpassing the $1 billion investment amount puts Google in the top tier of new companies that have chosen Iowa as an operations center.

The Google data center in Council Bluffs currently employs more than 130 workers and houses computer systems and associated components that support services such as Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps, and new products including Google+.

"Since opening our data center operations here in 2009, we have been committed to Council Bluffs and to Iowa," Google Data Center Operations Manager Chris Russell said. "We have an outstanding workforce in the Council Bluffs area, and we are so appreciative of the exceptional welcome we have received from the local community and the state of Iowa.  We are glad to be in Iowa, and Google's future here is very bright."

About Google

Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. The Google data center located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, houses computer systems and associated components that support services such as Google Search, Gmail and Google Maps and Google + and employs more than 30,000 people. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. For more information, visit www.google.com/micrositeforcouncilbluffs .

Google was recently recognized at the top of Fortune Magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2012. In addition, the data center also received ISO 14001 and 18001 certification, which is the standard for environmental management and workforce safety. Google is the first major Internet services company to gain external certification for their high environmental and workforce safety standards for all of their U.S. data centers.