Asks LaSalle County Board to initiate hearing, promote public input

SPRINGFIELD - March 12, 2012. Lt. Governor Sheila Simon is advocating for more transparency and public input as a proposal to open a sand mine on 300 acres of farm land adjacent to Starved Rock State Park moves ahead.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is only required under state law to hold a public hearing on the proposed Mississippi Sand, LLC mine if a hearing is requested by the LaSalle County Board, Simon said. IDNR is not expressly required by law to hold a public hearing at any other party's request.

Simon sent a letter today to the LaSalle County Board urging it to request IDNR hold a hearing on the project's reclamation plan. The plan explains how the mine would be used in 40 years, after the sand is exhausted. Mississippi Sand, LLC proposes to fill the mine with water and turn it into a recreational lake.

"Your action in demanding the hearing will show your commitment to an open, public process that serves all citizens of your county," Simon said in the letter addressed to LaSalle County Chairman Jerry Hicks. "Democracy is not speedy, and it works best when as many people as possible, representing all sides of an issue, can provide input."

Simon serves as chair of the Illinois River, Mississippi River and Ohio and Wabash Rivers Coordinating Councils, advisory bodies comprised of citizens and government agency officials that work with local communities to raise awareness of watershed issues. The Illinois River Coordinating Council adopted a resolution in February to promote public input into the mine proposal and ensure local, state, and federal agencies consider fully all impacts of the proposed mine.

Starved Rock State Park is located along the south side of the Illinois River, one mile south of Utica. Known for its hiking trails and eagle watching, the park celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2010 and set an attendance record in 2011, attracting nearly 2.2 million visitors.

Mississippi Sand, LLC is seeking a permit for phase one of the project, which would mine sand from 80 acres near the east entrance of the park. The proposed sand mine would create 39 jobs.

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Nashville, TN, USA - March 12, 2012 - Due to overwhelming demand, the inaugural Unsigned Only Music Competition has extended its deadline to enter until April 11, 2012. Designed for solo artists, bands, and singers who are not signed to a major record label, Unsigned Only's goal is to find an outstanding, talented performing artist: a band, singer, or solo artist...a newcomer or veteran...raw or polished - the "gem" that needs to be discovered. Unsigned Only is looking for the total package. Judging criteria includes vocals, performance, songwriting, and originality.

Created by the same team who founded the International Songwriting Competition (ISC), Unsigned Only offers great prizes, recognition, exposure, and the chance to be heard by a group of judges consisting of high-profile recording artists and industry professionals. It also takes it a step further, however, and offers the Grand Prize winner the unprecedented opportunity to be mentored by a group of record company presidents, A&R reps, and more. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an artist to directly network with the top echelon of record company professionals and get guidance, advice, feedback, and networking opportunities.

The founders of Unsigned Only, Jim Morgan and Candace Avery, talk about the new venture: "We are pleased to introduce a new music competition of this caliber to artists throughout the world. Having worked with a wide variety of artists over many years, we know that what artists want most is access to record label professionals. However, it is virtually impossible for most up-and-coming artists to have direct access to this elite and elusive group of decision makers. So, Unsigned Only is offering the unprecedented opportunity for the Grand Prize winner to network with and be mentored by a prestigious group of record label executives. This has never been done before, and we are excited about the possibilities it affords the Unsigned Only winner."

The judging panel is comprised of an impressive group of recording artists, producers, and top-level music journalists. They include : Cyndi Lauper; Kenny Rogers; Angie Stone; 3 Doors Down; Charlie Daniels; Jeremy Camp; Manchester Orchestra; Craig Morgan; Robert Smith (The Cure); Kelly Clarkson; Musiq Soulchild; Aaron Shust; Steve Lillywhite (Producer); G. Love; Matt and Kim; St. Vincent; The Mountain Goats; Josh Jackson (Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Paste Magazine); Scott Lapatine (Founder/Editor-In-Chief, Stereogum) and Lorraine Ali (Pop Music Editor, Los Angeles Times).

The panel of mentors who have signed on to participate is equally impressive. Included are: Monte Lipman (President of Universal Republic); Pete Ganbarg (Executive Vice President/Head of A&R, Atlantic Records); David Wolter (Senior VP of A&R, RCA Records); Kim Stephens (President, Forward Entertainment and A&R/Capitol Music Group); Trevor Jerideau (VP of A&R, RCA Records); David Wilkes (VP of A&R, eOne Music); Pete Giberga (Head of A&R, Razor & Tie Records); Jason Geter (President, Grand Hustle Records); Jason McArthur (VP of A&R, Provident Label Group); and Josh Bailey, SVP A&R, Word Label Group.

The Grand Prize Winner will be awarded $5,000 in cash (plus additional prizes) and one-on-one mentoring by an elite group of record company executives. First Place and Second Place winners will also be selected in each category. Entries are being accepted now until April 11, 2012.  Winners will be announced in July, 2012. Categories include : AAA (Adult Album Alternative), AC (Adult Contemporary), Christian Music, Country, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Pop/Top 40, and Vocal Performance.

All entries must be original music except for the Vocal Performance category which accepts original or cover songs. Judging criteria in the Vocal Performance category will be based solely on the quality of the vocals, thereby allowing singers who do not write their own songs the opportunity to enter.

For more information, please contact Candace Avery at 615.251.4441 or cavery@unsignedonly.com.
For entry and general information, please go to http://www.unsignedonly.com

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley made the following statement after the Office of Management and Budget cleared the comprehensive BSE rule and the Department of Agriculture released the rule for public comment.

Grassley, along with Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, led a bipartisan group of senators pressing the administration to issue the comprehensive BSE rule.  The rule had been in the works for several years, but was stalled within the Office of Management and Budget.  The letter to the Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Jeffrey Zients and Animal Plant Health and Inspection Services Administrator, Dr. Gregory Parham, can be found here.

"Beef producers have been waiting years for the Department of Agriculture to issue the BSE comprehensive rule.  Without the rule, our trade negotiators face real challenges when they are pushing other countries to adopt science-based approaches to beef imports.  Just as we got close to having this rule issued, OMB held it up for reasons that still aren't clear.  It looks like we finally shook the rule loose after our bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to Acting Director Zients pressing him to quickly act.  I will continue to follow the progress of this rule as it moves through the public comment process, and I look forward to seeing new openings for our beef markets."

The week started out in an exciting way! We had four advocates speak in favor of a statewide ban on using nicotine or tobacco products on all K-12 school property at a public hearing in the House of Representatives on Monday night. Three of us were the final three speakers of the night and we definitely had an impact on legislators who were present. We anticipate an amendment will be filed to the House Education Reform bill on this next week. Watch for an Action Alert!

The House was supposed to debate the Health & Human Services spending bill yesterday, but didn't. That bill zeroes out spending for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. For more on this issue, check out my opinion piece that was published in last Saturday's Des Moines Register here.

More ammunition for our position came this week in the form of a new report from the US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin. Dr. Benjamin said youth tobacco use is a "pediatric epidemic" and a grave threat to public health. Why then is the Iowa House Appropriations Committee proposing eliminating all funding for tobacco prevention and cessation?  To see the press release sent out by the Iowa Tobacco Prevention Alliance yesterday tying the Surgeon General's report to the situation in Iowa, click here.