Voters to Demand That Representative Schilling Backs an Economy That Works for the 99% -- And An End to Outsourcing, Healthcare Cuts and Corporate Tax Breaks

(Quad Cities, IL) - On Thursday evening, as Mitt Romney accepts the Republican party's presidential nomination, local citizens who are calling themselves "99% voters" - low wage workers, seniors, community activists, students and more - will roundly reject the Romney Economy.

Cynthia Rivers and Sandra Leathers are best friends and among the laid-off and low-wage workers who have just returned from protesting the Romney Economy at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

"I tried to meet and speak with my Congressman Bobby Schilling about these severe Medicare cuts, but was never granted a face-to-face meeting," says Rivers. "I've been to his office twice. I want him to stand with me and the 99% instead of his wealthy friends and colleagues."

As part of a nationwide movement rejecting "Mr. 1% -- and any members of Congress who also cater to the 1% at the expense of the 99% -- these citizens will speak out against the elements of the Romney Economy that are dangerous to the working and middle class. They will call on Romney and other Republicans - especially Representative Bobby Schilling - to reject outsourcing, tax breaks for the rich coupled with take hikes for the middle class, cuts to education and healthcare funding.

"I marched in the street and rallied at the RNC event in Tampa. Now I want to speak with Congressman Bobby Schilling about how to make the economy work for everyone, not just the richest 1%," explains Leathers.

WHAT: Say No to a Romney Economy

WHERE: Republican GOP Headquarters

1721 5^th Avenue #100 in Moline, Illinois

WHEN: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, August 30, 2012

WHO: The 99%: low- wage workers, community activists, students and more

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Des Moines, August 29, 2012– Today, the Iowa Supreme Court approved amendments to the Iowa Court Rules governing lawyer advertising. The amendments bring the Iowa rules closely in line with the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing lawyer advertising and communications to the public. The Iowa revision is designed to update, clarify, and strengthen advertising rules in the digital age while providing the public with useful information about Iowa lawyers.

The supreme court has the sole responsibility to admit persons to practice as lawyers in the courts of Iowa, to prescribe rules to supervise lawyer conduct, and to discipline lawyers.

"With more lawyers and citizens using the internet and social media it is important to update the advertising rules to clarify how lawyers can use these new technologies," Chief Justice Mark Cady said. "The ABA model code ensures a continuation of the high ethical standards Iowa lawyers follow, brings Iowa's rules in line with the rules in neighboring states, and will ensure that Iowans in need of legal representation receive reliable information about Iowa lawyers."

Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin also follow the current ABA model rules governing lawyer advertising.

Prior to adopting the new rules, the supreme court established a 16-member committee to study the ABA model rules and make recommendations to the court regarding adoptions of these rules in Iowa. The committee, chaired by Justice David Wiggins, included law professors who specialize in ethics, lawyers who reside and practice in communities that border or are near neighboring states, lawyers who have special expertise in information technology and in media, a retired journalism professor, and the head of the court's attorney discipline office. Over the course of a year, the committee held meetings, conducted research, solicited public comment, and held public hearings before providing its recommendations to the court.

The new rules allow Iowa lawyers to participate in all forms of advertising, except direct solicitation, as long as the information they provide the public is not false or misleading. The new rules also provide guidance on how to prevent the inadvertent creation of a client-lawyer relationship to lawyers who communicate in "real time" by telephone or the internet.

An additional rule requires any lawyer or law firm using a trade name or an internet address that does not mimic the name of the firm (in advertising or to communicate to the public) to disclose the name and address of one or more of the lawyers licensed to practice in Iowa.

"This new rule will ensure that Iowans searching the internet or telephone book for a lawyer will know whether the lawyer is an Iowa lawyer or an out of state lawyer with no physical presence in the state," Justice David Wiggins, chair of the committee, said. "Iowa lawyers are ethical and very qualified to represent Iowa citizens in all areas of law. It is important that when an Iowan is making the choice to hire a lawyer he or she knows whether the lawyer they are considering is an Iowa lawyer or merely an out of state lawyer advertising in the state."

The amended rules will take effect January 1, 2013. Information about the process used to update the rules and the public's comments on the rules are on the Judicial Branch website at

http://www.iowacourts.gov/Committee_to_Study_Lawyer_Advertising_Rules/

The updated rules are on the Judicial Branch website at

http://www.iowacourts.gov/Court_Rules_and_Forms/Recent_Amendments__New_Rules/

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$42 Million in Capital Funding to Add New Classroom Building on the Moline Campus and Create Nearly 300 Construction Jobs

MOLINE - August 29, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today was joined by Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas, Moline Mayor Don Welvaert, and several state and community leaders to break ground on Phase Two of the Western Illinois University (WIU) Riverfront Campus expansion. The new $42 million classroom building funded by the Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program will create nearly 300 construction jobs and allow the university's Arts and Sciences, Education and Human Services, and Fine Arts and Communication programs to relocate to the Riverfront Campus. Today's groundbreaking is part of the governor's commitment to put people back to work and strengthen Illinois' infrastructure.

"Today is a milestone in the 100-year history of Western Illinois University's Riverfront Campus," Governor Pat Quinn said. "This investment will create jobs now and in the future by expanding education opportunities that will help our students compete in the 21st century economy."

Construction on the 94,800-square-foot classroom building should be complete by summer 2014 to open in time for the 2014 fall semester. The Riverfront Campus expansion will allow WIU to serve more than 3,000 Quad Cities-area students. The campus currently serves more than 1,370 students at its 60th Street campus in Moline and at the Riverfront Campus.

The project is administered by the Capital Development Board, which oversees state-funded, non-road construction projects. Governor Quinn opened the $18.4 million Building One in January, which concluded the first phase of the state-funded construction work on the Moline campus. With today's groundbreaking, the state has funded more than $60 million worth of work at the Riverfront Campus. Phases One and Two will create between 135 and 166 new permanent jobs, increase annual Riverfront Campus graduates by more than 300, and have an annual economic impact of between $20 and $24 million in the Quad Cities area.

"We are so thankful for our many partners. Because of these relationships and the support Western Illinois University has received from a variety of constituency groups, we have moved the expansion of Western Illinois University's Quad Cities campus forward to provide the region with outstanding public higher education opportunities," said WIU President Jack Thomas.

"The presence of Western Illinois University in the Quad Cities helps define who we are. Knowledge is power. Raising the bar on the education level in the Quad Cities area identifies us as a community with a highly skilled workforce and an appreciation for higher education," said Moline Mayor Don Welvaert.

Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! program includes $1.5 billion for higher education, including $788 million for public universities and $400 million for community colleges. The overall $31 billion program is creating and supporting an estimated 439,000 construction jobs and is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history.

Potential Assistance Depending on Accurate, Timely Data for Expedited Help

WASHINGTON, August 29, 2012 -- USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia today urged livestock producers affected by natural disasters such as Hurricane Isaac to keep thorough records of their livestock and feed losses, including additional expenses for such things as feed purchases because of lost supplies.

"There are extraordinary circumstances caused by a variety of disasters from fires in the west, floods in Florida, Hurricane Isaac in the Gulf region, storms in the Mid-Atlantic and drought and heat affecting the heartland," Garcia said. "Each of these events is causing economic consequences for ranchers and producers including cattle, sheep and dairy operations, bee keepers and farm-raised fish, and poultry producers."

FSA recommends that owners and producers record all pertinent information of natural disaster consequences, including:

-          Documentation of the number and kind of livestock that have died, supplemented if possible by photographs or video records of ownership and losses;

-          Dates of death supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts;

-          Costs of transporting livestock to safer grounds or to move animals to new pastures; and

-          Feed purchases if supplies or grazing pastures are destroyed.

Secretary Vilsack also reminds producers that the department's authority to operate the five disaster assistance programs authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill expired on Sept. 30, 2011. This includes SURE; the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP); the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Production losses due to disasters occurring after Sept. 30, 2011, are not eligible for disaster program coverage.