10 Jan 2012

Governor Quinn Signs Legislation to Boost Tax Relief for Working Families

By Andrew Mason

Increase to Earned Income Credit and Personal Exemption
to Help Working Families and Stimulate Local Economies

CHICAGO - January 10, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today signed major legislation to increase tax relief for working families across Illinois. Senate Bill 400 doubles the state's Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) over two years, saving low-income workers an extra $105 million per year. The new law also benefits all Illinois taxpayers by improving the value of the personal exemption and indexing it to inflation. Throughout the fall veto session, Governor Quinn insisted that tax relief for working families be part of the package.

"One of the best ways to stimulate the local economy is to put more money in the pockets of working families," Governor Quinn said. "This law is a win for workers, a win for families and a win for employers that will support job growth across Illinois for years to come."

Senate Bill 400 provides the largest increase in Illinois' EITC since its inception in 2000, by phasing in a 5 percent increase over two years. The bill boosts the state's EITC from its current level at 5 percent of federal EITC, to 7.5 percent in tax year 2012 and 10 percent of federal EITC in tax year 2013. More than 2.5 million state residents benefited from the Illinois EITC in 2010.

Under the new law, a single mother with one child, earning minimum wage ($12,800 a year), will save $154 on her taxes. A married couple with three children earning $30,000 a year will save $199 on their taxes this year.

Uniquely pro-growth and pro-family, EITC is available only to those with earned income and provides incentive to work as well as much-needed tax relief to the lowest-income families. EITC also boosts local economies through increased consumer demand. A 2006 Brookings Institution study found that every dollar a family saves through this tax credit translates into $1.58 of activity in local economies.

SB 400 was sponsored by Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields) and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago.)

"The tax relief contained in Senate Bill 400 will benefit every person who files a tax return in Illinois," Sen. Hutchinson said. "Working families for too long have had to deal with increasing expenses and stagnant wages. This legislation is an opportunity to provide meaningful tax relief."

"A fair tax policy should help low-income working families, and our expansion of the state's EITC will do just that," Rep. Currie said. "This credit rewards work, and will help families keep a roof over their head and food on the table."

Senate Bill 400 also improves the value of the standard personal exemption for all taxpayers in Illinois and ties its continued growth to the rate of inflation. The personal exemption will increase by $50 (to $2,050) in tax year 2012, and the value of the exemption will be indexed to the cost of living adjustment each tax year thereafter. The personal exemption change benefits all taxpayers, regardless of income.

Senate Bill 400 goes into effect June 1.

How to Benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

To benefit from Illinois' EITC, also known as the Earned Income Credit (EIC), taxpayers must include it on their tax returns. The not-for-profit Center for Economic Progress (CEP) estimates that between 10 and 20 percent of eligible taxpayers did not file for EITC last year.

To help working families achieve the maximum savings on their taxes, the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) partners with the CEP Tax Counseling Project to provide free tax preparation assistance at tax assistance centers across the state. The services are provided free of charge to families making less than $50,000 annually and to individuals with yearly incomes under $25,000. More than 28,000 Illinois taxpayers filed returns through the program in the 2010 tax season, with more than $50 million in state and federal tax refunds returned to clients.

DHS also funds the Tax Assistance Program (TAP) which has 23 locations in Chicago and the suburbs. TAP recruits tax professionals to volunteer to assist low-income families. DHS also works with its clients and those who found jobs and have left DHS programs to educate them about tax preparation programs and ways to ensure they receive the maximum refund on their tax returns.

For more information on the Tax Counseling Project, contact the Center for Economic Progress in Chicago at 312-630-0273, or call the toll-free statewide number at 888-827-8511. For information on the Tax Assistance Program call 312-409-1555 or 312-409-4318 (Spanish).  Details are also available on the IDHS website at www.dhs.state.il.us and the Department of Revenue website at www.revenue.state.il.us.

 

Information about filing federal taxes on-line can be found at www.irs.gov.

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10 Jan 2012

Treasurer Fitzgerald Reminds Teachers to Register for Free Pencils

By Rick Martin

Teachers must submit their requests for pencils before the April 1st deadline

DES MOINES, IA (01/10/2012)(readMedia)-- Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald wants every second and third grade teacher in the state to take advantage of the free pencils being offered through Prepare for the Basics program. This no-cost program, which provides pencils for students to use during the Iowa Assessment Test, supplied over 12,800 students with pencils during the 2010-11 school year. "Any teacher interested in participating in the program has until April 1st to submit their requests," stated Fitzgerald. "I really hope all teachers take advantage of this program. It is a small gesture of appreciation for all they do."

The Prepare for the Basics program also provides information to families about College Savings Iowa, the state's 529 plan that is designed to give them an affordable way to save money for college. "Families who begin saving early are better prepared to meet the educational needs of their children. Any little bit that can be saved now will offset what has to be borrowed in the future," Fitzgerald said.

College Savings Iowa lets anyone - parents, grandparents, friends and relatives - invest for college on behalf of a child. Iowa taxpayers can deduct up to $2,975 in contributions per beneficiary account from their adjusted gross income in 2012* Investors do not need to be a state resident and can withdraw their investment tax-free to pay for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, books, supplies and room and board at any eligible college, university, community college or accredited technical training school in the United States or abroad.** For more information about College Savings Iowa, go to www.collegesavingsiowa.com or call 1-888-672-9116.

Teachers who would like to take part in the Prepare for the Basics program can register online by visiting www.treasurer.state.ia.us and clicking on the financial literacy tab. Materials should be requested at least two weeks prior to testing to ensure timely arrival and will be delivered directly to the participating schools. Supplies are limited, so early registration is advised.

* Adjusted annually for inflation. If withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income.

** Earnings on non-qualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax on the earnings, as well as state and local income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.

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Investment returns are not guaranteed and you could lose money by investing in the plan. Participants assume all investment risks as well as responsibility for any federal and state tax consequences. If you are not an Iowa taxpayer, consider before investing whether your or the designated beneficiary's home state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available for investments in such state's qualified tuition program.

For more information about the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan, call 888-672-9116 or visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com to obtain a Program Description. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are included in the Program Description; read and consider it carefully before investing.

10 Jan 2012

Old Creamery Theatre Company 2012 Auditions

By Shelley Klimes
WHEN: Saturday February 25, 2012, from 1pm - 5pm

Sunday February 26, 2012, from 2pm - 5pm

 

WHERE: The Old Creamery Theatre

39 38th Ave. Amana, IA 52203

 

WHAT: Actors should prepare two short contrasting monologues (max. 1 minute each)

At least one of which should be a comic piece (preferably contemporary)

Singers (in addition to the short monologues) should prepare 16 to 32 bars of one (or two contrasting) song(s) sung a cappella or with recorded accompaniment.

(A CD player will be available - NO accompanist will be provided)

Please bring a current picture and resume.

 

Seeking Equity and non-Equity performers of various ages (1 male age range 12 - 14, and men and women age 20 and up) to fill paid positions in The Old Creamery's 2012 Main Stage, Studio, and Old Creamery Theatre for Young Audiences seasons. (Casting is already complete for some key roles within 2012 but many remain available).

 

Particularly seeking a young man (or two for double casting purposes) age range 12 - 14 to play "Billy" in On Golden Pond. Rehearsal dates start mid-April with performances from May 3 to May 27. Rebellious exterior but able to connect and open up as the play progresses. Prepared monologues for these young performers are acceptable but not required as a copy of the play will be available the day of the audition for reading from the script.

 

Intern opportunities for college students/recent graduates may or may not include performance opportunities providing EMC weeks. Internships typically involve Theatre for Young Audiences and/or Summer Theatre Camps and often require availability throughout the year (though some positions may be available with summer-only commitments). Internships include housing and a $225 per week living stipend. Intern duties involve all aspects of theatre and may include but are not limited to: performing, costuming, set work, assistant stage management, house management, prop design, lighting, promotions, assistant teaching, box office, and concessions assignments.

 

Membership and applicable weeks in Equity's EMC program are available for regular main stage productions only (not Old Creamery Theatre for Young Audiences).

 

Please call our business offices at (319) 622-6034 on or after January 16, 2012 to make an appointment.

 

If you are unable to attend these auditions, please send a headshot and resume to:

Sean McCall - Artistic Director

The Old Creamery Theatre Company

39 38th Ave.

Amana, IA. 52203

Or electronically to smccall@oldcreamery.com

10 Jan 2012

Obama administration backtracks on student loan announcement

By Sen Chuck Grassley

Last year, Senator Grassley asked President Obama for clarification on the legal authority to implement the components of the President's announcement that he was taking unilateral action to reduce select borrower's student loan obligations.  Click here for Senator Grassley's letter.  The inquiry was based on the implication in the President's comments that he intended to go beyond the laws passed by Congress.

The subsequent response from the Secretary of Education indicated that, while the White House announcement had referred to changes to the Income Based Repayment (IBR) plan that go beyond a law passed by Congress in 2010, the Department of Education was actually beginning the process to change the regulations governing the Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan, an older program with a more flexible authorizing statute that gives greater discretion to the Secretary of Education.  Moreover, while the White House's October announcement stated that this was part of a "series of executive actions" he was implementing and provided specific details about how the initiative would work, the Secretary of Education's response to Senator Grassley explained that the Department of Education was actually initiating a negotiated rulemaking process by which various stakeholders will meet to negotiate the final details of the new regulations.  Click here to read Secretary Duncan's letter.  In other words, the President's announcement is just an initial proposal and the actual details have yet to be determined.

Here's a comment from Senator Grassley about this revelation:

"I am glad to know that the Department of Education may not be flagrantly ignoring the law after all as President Obama's announcement initially implied.  However, the misinformation in the White House announcement that erroneously steers interested students to the IBR plan is still a potential source of confusion for students and financial aid advisors.  I hope the White House will issue a correction.  I also continue to have concerns about the potential costs of this initiative given the Secretary's refusal to answer my detailed questions about how the Administration's cost estimate was calculated."

For additional background, the October 25, 2011, press release issued by the White House cited the fact that, "Current law allows borrowers to limit their loan payments to 15 percent of their discretionary income and forgives all remaining debt after 25 years" and gives a website for more information about the Income Based Repayment (IBR) plan before going on to point out that, "...Congress enacted, a plan to further ease student loan debt payment by lowering the IBR loan payment to 10 percent of income, and the forgiveness timeline to 20 years. This change is set to go into effect for all new borrowers after 2014?mostly impacting future college students."  The White House announcement then states, "Today, the Administration is proposing to offer even more immediate relief to many current college students by giving them the chance to limit loan payments to 10 percent of their discretionary income starting in 2012."  Or, as the President said in his remarks at the University of Colorado the following day, "So today, I'm here to announce that we're going to speed things up.  We're going to make these changes work for students who are in college right now."

10 Jan 2012

ASCENTRA CREDIT UNION IS AWARDED TWO GRANTS TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR AREA SCHOOLS

By Alvaro Macias

BETTENDORF, Iowa -Ascentra Credit Union was recently awarded $10,000 through two grants to help the organization's financial education efforts in our community in 2012.  The funds will be used for real-world financial literacy programs like "Banzai!"  The grants were provided by the National Credit Union Foundation and the Iowa Credit Union Foundation.

"When 18 to 24 year olds are the fastest growing demographic declaring bankruptcy, it's clear that there is a need for young people to be more financially savvy," Ascentra Credit Union's Community Development Coordinator Alvaro Macias said.  "For that reason financial education for young people is now more important than ever."

Ascentra realizes teachers need resources for an often mandated, but also often underfunded curriculum of financial literacy.  As a not-for-profit financial institution that promotes financial education to its members, teachers can count on an organization that shares the same values to provide a free, comprehensive, quality financial education program.

Banzai has been requested by 19 in 2011 area teachers and Ascentra plans to at least double that to 35-42 teachers.  If you are a teacher, and interested in Banazai please visit http://ascentra.teachbanzai.com to learn more and sign up to receive free materials for your classes.  You can even see how your state's financial literacy standards align with Banzai.

Some of the schools that have used Banzai include Davenport North High School, Assumption High School, Williams Intermediate School, Rock Island High School, Moline High School, Prince of Peace High School and many more.

"By preparing students with a solid understanding of how to manage their money, they will be better prepared when starting out in life and stepping out into the real world," Macias added.

For more information about Ascentra Credit Union please visit www.ascentra.org.  To learn more about the National Credit Union Foundation visit www.ncuf.coop.  To learn more about the Iowa Credit Union Foundation visit www.iowacreditunions.com.
10 Jan 2012

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to Host Conference Call on USDA's New Blueprint for Stronger Service to Increase Efficiency in Operations

By Rick Martin

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2012 - TODAY, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will hold a media conference call to discuss USDA's Blueprint for Stronger Service (Hyperlink release), which was announced by Secretary Vilsack yesterday at the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual meeting. USDA's Blueprint for Stronger Service is a plan to help producers continue to drive America's economy by streamlining operations and cutting costs.

The Blueprint for Stronger Service is based on a Department-wide review of operations conducted as part of the Administration's Campaign to Cut Waste, launched by President Obama and Vice President Biden to make government work better and more efficiently for the American people. The agency took a hard look at all USDA operations, from headquarters to field offices. The end result is a plan that will create optimal use of USDA people, better results for USDA customers and greater efficiencies for American taxpayers.
10 Jan 2012

RIVERSIDE THEATRE ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS/INTERVIEWS FOR 2012 SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL APPRENTICE COMPANY

By Sarah Burnett

Iowa City, IA - January 10, 2012 -

Riverside Theatre announces auditions and interviews for its 2012 Shakespeare Festival Apprentice Company on Saturday, February 4.  Full-time apprenticeships are open to undergraduate, graduate students or others seeking a professional experience in the areas of acting, directing and stage management.  Interested applicants should schedule an audition (actors) or interview (directing and stage management positions) at Riverside Theatre on Saturday, February 4, 2012 by calling 319-338-7672.  Complete information on the Apprentice program and application requirements is available at www.riversidetheatre.org.

The Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival hires a company of 14 professional actors as well as a 10-member Apprentice Company to produce two classical plays which run in repertory.  2012 will mark the Festival's 13th season in Lower City Park, and will feature productions of Shakespeare's As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice.  The 8-week apprentice contract period is May 15- July 9.  All apprentices receive $75/week as well as housing for non-local interns.  Training includes weekly master classes with company members and guest artists.

For more information, please refer to www.riversidetheatre.org or e-mail Jody Hovland, artistic director, at artistic@riversidetheatre.org.

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10 Jan 2012

Understanding Internet Speeds

By John Ogren

By John Ogren, President, SpeedConnect, www.speedconnect.com

--- On the Internet, speed means everything. It is the time it takes to receive and send data. Speed on the Internet is measured in terms of bits. Bits is the electronic time it takes to go from zeros to ones in the computer world we live in.

When a connection is advertised as being a 10 megabit or a five megabit or a three megabit service, that turns into the millions of bits--or the millions of times that the switch rate from on to off on a data transmission is changed. Bits are captured or consolidated into bites. There are eight bits in a bite, and actual data throughput is measured in bites. For example, a simple e-mail that someone might send might be as little as 20 bites, whereas a full feature-length movie might be as much as three gigabytes. When you are looking at the speed of your Internet connection, what speed gives you is a lot of bits transmitted very fast, and those bits are assembled into bites, and the bites are the amount of information that you are downloading from your connection.

Generally speaking, speed is better because, of course, you want a very fast connection to be able to watch a movie live without buffering, or to put a Web page up very quickly. But at the same time, it is very important that the connection that you have be able to maintain or sustain your speed. A flash or a quick splash of data is relatively easy for an Internet provider, but to keep that speed up over a long time, like what it takes to watch a movie on-line, is much more difficult. You need to look for the rate that the information comes up and then the sustained rate, the steady rate, that your Internet service provider provides.

Upload and download.

That's the time it takes for the data to leave your computer and get to someone else's server. Most of the time, we are concerned about download speeds because these days you are either downloading a movie or downloading a file that someone has sent you, so downloads are typically advertised. You will hear Internet service providers advertise three or four or five, or maybe as many as 20 megabit speeds. They are usually talking about download speeds.

Few of us talk about uploads, which are typically, in residential services, quite a bit slower. Very often, you might have speeds that are as much as 10 megabits download, and only maybe one or two megabits upload. In slower connections, you may see one megabit as a download and as little as 128 kilobits as your upload speed.

The reason is that the networks are typically built to provide a high download, and that is at the sacrifice or compromise of upload. Upload speeds become important when you have a bunch of pictures that you have taken and they are now on your computer, and you want to send them to a relative. That's where upload would become important. You might notice that it would take a lot longer for your pictures to upload than the pictures that had been sent to you to download.

More bandwidth, please.

With more of us grabbing increasing amounts of data from the Internet, Internet service provider (ISP) speeds will determine whether your browser responds quickly or sluggishly. Again, speed is important. The ability of your ISP to sustain speeds, or provide steady speeds, is even more important. But, the fact of the matter is, as more and more people are using a connection simultaneously for more and more of the same high-demand multimedia--applications like video, music, gaming and others--the pressure on us as ISPs to increase our capacity is great. And that, of course, means money.

The more robust--the more capacity that the network has--the greater ability it has to support multiple uses at the same time. That's the challenge: To provide our customers with a very fast experience, but also an experience that has enough capacity to meet all their needs at the same time.

I think that anyone that has been a consumer in the modern information world that we live in knows that, where once upon a time a dial connection seemed like more than enough, that isn't even broadband today. In order to raise a family and put kids through school and do a little work at home, you need a very high-speed connection. Even what you might have needed a couple years ago, maybe a 1.5 megabit service, would have seemed fine because most of what you did was e-mail and some Web surfing. Today that doesn't begin to be enough. You're looking for three, five or seven megabits of information so that you can do the multimedia stuff that we all want the Internet for.

Of course, that isn't going to stop. Everyday there are more and more new high tech multimedia applications that become available to us. Just the download of applications to our multiple devices takes a lot of bandwidth. Those applications, once they are downloaded, take bandwidth. Our software is constantly being upgraded by the manufactures that sold it to us and, of course, there is the endless multimedia that we are shooting from videos to still pictures. All of that means more and more bandwidth.

I don't know what the future holds, but I would not be surprised if someday we all wake up and think that 50 megabit service is just enough to get by.

10 Jan 2012

Make a Muscle for Madi

By Megan Ramirez

I'm participating in the MDA Muscle Walk and I need your help!

I'm walking in the MDA Muscle Walk this year because I want to do something meaningful this year and I hope to have your support. I chose MDA because of all the incredible things they do for my family and those they serve in our community. If you didn't hear, Madison was chosen as our local Goodwill Ambassador for MDA. The people in this organization go above and beyond any job calls for. We have developed such close relationships.

I am super excited to tell all of you that Madi may be attending the MDA camp this summer for the first time. It looks and sounds amazing. Kids get to do courageous and astounding adventures that "normal" kids do every summer. She will get to swim, climb trees, ride horses, and so much more. I am anticipating this event incredibly. I know Madison will only grow from this experience. Wanna know the best part? It is of no cost to every participant. That is only possible through so many contributors and donors like you. Please help me reach my goal of $1000 to help send Madi and other kids to camp.

I truly believe that some of the reasons Madi is as strong as she is today are because she has so many things to look forward to, odds to beat, the support around her, and the boosts of confidence that family, friends, and our MDA provide for her. She is walking a lot. A dream I didn't think that would ever come true! She does a forward roll on her own, she lowers herself onto the potty, has many self help skills, and LOVES to perform. The smile on her face as she accomplishes new things everyday is priceless! The fear still lives within me that she will soon lose some of these new found independent skills. I can only dream of a world with no SMA right now. But with your help and contributions, that dream is one step closer. A portion of proceeds goes directly to research her disease.

Make your muscles work for something good. Please sponsor my effort with a donation.

Make a Muscle. Make a Difference.

Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://www2.mda.org/site/TR?px=1062917&pg=personal&fr_id=1381&et=YNoklakugjzGVEEPR64l2A&s_tafId=2965

Click here to view the team page for Madi's Miracle Mob
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://www2.mda.org/site/TR?team_id=7105&pg=team&fr_id=1381&et=c9NL2jhBoK8KDgKMgFHOWw&s_tafId=2965

10 Jan 2012

Immigration Services has Work to do in Changing "Get to Yes" Culture

By Grassley Press

Monday, January 9, 2012

Senator Chuck Grassley today said that a report he requested from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's office confirmed the accounts he heard from whistleblowers about the undue pressure placed on Immigration Service Officers to approve immigration benefits.  The report was released today, and a copy of the report can be found here.

Today's statement below is followed by a comment Grassley released on Friday in response to a draft copy of the report.  Grassley's request to the Inspector General, as well as letters to Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano can be found here.

"The report clearly shows that the immigration service has a lot of work to do to get rid of the 'Get to yes' culture that has pervaded the agency in recent years. The fact that a quarter of the immigration service officers felt pressure to approve questionable applications, and 90 percent of respondents felt they didn't have sufficient time to complete interviews of those who seek benefits, certainly warrants significant changes be made immediately.

"What's most disappointing in this final report is the agency's decision to turn a blind eye to several very good recommendations from the Inspector General.  For example, it only makes sense that policies be established to make sure there is a legitimate and fair process when a manager intervenes in a benefits case.  Director Mayorkas should reconsider the department's initial response to some of the recommendations and create an environment that ensures a thorough and complete analysis of all applications."

Here's Grassley's statement from Friday.

"Whistleblowers have been complaining for several years that leadership in Washington, D.C. and immediate supervisors were placing inappropriate pressure on immigration adjudicators to simply find a way to approve benefits.  This 'Get to yes' attitude doesn't serve the American people who expect a thorough and complete analysis.  When a quarter of the immigration service officers felt pressure to approve questionable applications, and 90 percent of respondents felt they didn't have sufficient time to complete interviews of those who seek benefits, there are serious and widespread problems that need to be addressed by the department.  This comes down to the safety and security of the American people, which should not be compromised by any means.

"The Inspector General took to heart the concerns he heard from Immigration Service Officers, and he made some serious and thoughtful recommendations.  I'm particularly interested in the implementation of recommendations by the Inspector General to develop standards to permit more time for an adjudicator's review of case files, develop a policy to establish limitations for managers and attorneys when they intervene in the adjudication of specific cases, and issue policy that ends any informal appeals process and the special review of denied cases.  These get at the heart of the whistleblowers' allegations, and would go a long way to changing the 'Get to yes' culture that prevails at the agency."

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