Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Dave Loebsack was awarded the 2012 Fueling Growth award from Growth Energy, which is the top award given each year to leaders who support ethanol biofuels.  Growth Energy, led by Tom Buis and Jim Nussle, represents the producers and supporters of ethanol.  Loebsack has long been a supporter of green energy initiatives that create good-paying jobs and promote fuel production in Iowa, including ethanol and biodiesel.  He was also honored by Growth Energy in 2011 with this bipartisan award.

"Iowa is a leader in renewable energy production and job creation, and I am proud to receive this honor from Growth Energy," said Loebsack.  "Investments in homegrown biofuels create new jobs in our state, put us on a path towards energy independence, enhance our national security, and bring increased economic development to Iowa's rural areas.  I will continue to work to promote these clean, alternative energy sources and the good jobs they provide Iowans."

A high resolution photo of Loebsack and representatives of Growth energy can be seen here.

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Augustana College is excited to be hosting renowned poet Carl Phillip as part of its River Readings program.

Rock Island, IL/ Sept. 12 2012 -Augustana College will continue its River Readings program on Thursday, Sept. 20 with poet Carl Phillip. Phillips will discuss his work and career and do a free reading followed by a reception and book signing. The event will be held at7 p.m. in Wallenberg Hall inside Denkmann Hall (3520 7th Ave). Every reading is open to the public and the campus community alike.

"The River Readings gives both students and members of the Quad Cities community a chance to meet, face to face, with internationally renowned authors. It's not every day we get the opportunity to talk to someone whose work will appear in literature textbooks for generations to come." - said Dr. Kelly Daniels, River Readings coordinator and assistant professor of English.

Phillips is the author of numerous books of poetry, including Quiver of Arrows: Selected Poems 1986-2006 and Riding Westward. His collection The Rest of Love won the Theodore Roethke Memorial Foundation Poetry Prize and the Thom Gunn Award for Gay Male Poetry.  His book Pastoral won the 2001 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, and in 2002 he received the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for The Tether. In 2006, he was named the recipient of the Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets.  Phillips is currently a Professor of English and of African and Afro-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also teaches in the Creative Writing Program.  A few copies of Phillips's books, Double Shadow and Quiver of Arrows, will be available for purchase after the reading

For years Augustana has brought writers of poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction to campus from all corners of the country to present their work in a free reading on campus.  In the past, Augustana,has invited Marvin Bell, Simon Ortiz, Gerald Stern, and Jill Essbaum to share their work.  Later in this academic year, Augustana will host fiction writers Peter Geye on Thursday, Nov. 29 and Donald Ray Pollock on Thursday, Apr. 18.

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Law Allows Counties More Flexibility to Rehabilitate
Non-Violent, First-Time Offenders

CHICAGO - September 12, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today highlighted a new state law at the Cook County Criminal Court Building that will help local law enforcement more effectively rehabilitate non-violent, first-time offenders. The governor was joined at today's event by legislators and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, whose office launched the successful pilot program on which this new law is based.

"To improve public safety, we need smart crime prevention strategies that put offenders on the right path," Governor Quinn said. "When we use our resources more efficiently, we can reduce crime and increase the effectiveness of our criminal justice system."

Senate Bill 3349, sponsored by Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) and Rep. Kimberly du Buclet (D-Chicago), created the Offender Initiative Program and is based on a successful one-year pilot program launched in Cook County for first-time, non-violent offenders.

"It is clear that there are far too many cases in the criminal justice system and I think that prosecutors can play an important role in implementing new alternative sentencing measures like this that not only bring just results, but also provide non-violent offenders with a second chance," said Alvarez. "We have been extremely pleased with the results of our Deferred Prosecution Program and we are very proud that the governor and the Illinois Legislature have seen fit to use it as a model for prosecutorial-based diversion programming across the state."

With the approval of a judge and the state's attorney, an offender can be placed in a diversion program similar to probation, instead of being incarcerated. The offender would have to meet certain requirements, such as making restitution; performing community service or holding a job; attending educational classes to receive vocational training, a high school diploma or a GED; and if appropriate, receiving substance abuse treatment and passing drug tests.

If the offender successfully completes the intensive program, the state's attorney can request a dismissal and expungement of the original charges and the offender will be spared the enormous burden of having a felony conviction on his or her record. However, if the offender reoffends within five years, those expunged records may be used against them in court.

Since February of 2011 when the pilot program began in Cook County, a total of 645 individuals have been accepted into the program.  Felony charges have been dismissed against 257 of those individuals.

According to county estimates, about $1.1 million of taxpayer resources has been saved through this program, due to lower court and incarceration costs. The rehabilitative services offered in the program also make it less likely a person will re-offend, which reduces future costs to the criminal justice system.

SB 3349 codified this Cook County program into state law and allows state's attorneys across Illinois to create their own offender initiative programs that can be tailored to the needs of their jurisdictions. Governor Quinn signed this legislation on Aug. 27, 2012.