"If the (Justice) Department's ongoing investigation uncovers illegal actions, criminal prosecution should be pursued without hesitation ... we urge federal agents to use every legal resource available," the senators' letter said.

Grassley has participated in oversight hearings of the Senate Committee on Agriculture seeking information and accountability for the loss of up to $1.2 billion in customer funds, including money from Iowa farmers, grain coops and brokers.

"Establishing the specifics of what happened is key to figuring out how the system failed and how to fix it going forward.  That's in addition to the immediate task of helping to minimize the damage for farmers and other investors caught in the MF Global debacle," Grassley said.  "Both the brokerage firm that's now in bankruptcy and top federal officials in charge of enforcing commodity trading and securities law, including the Commodity Futures Trading Corporation, need to be held accountable."

Today's letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was signed by Senators Max Baucus of Montana, John Thune of South Dakota, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Grassley, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, John Barasso of Wyoming, Jon Tester of Montana, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Dan Coats of Indiana, John Hoeven of North Dakota, and Tim Johnson of South Dakota.

Click here to read the letter.

You have probably heard about Doctors Without Borders but did you know that there is an Engineers Without Borders, too?  This national organization does exactly what its name suggests: reaches out to help lift up communities that cannot do it themselves. It is through this national organization that the University of Iowa Chapter of Engineers Without Borders has made a long-lasting, positive impact halfway across the globe.

Over the past few years UI engineering students have been working in Ghana, a country in Western Africa, to provide clean drinking water and sanitation. The students also provide the communities they serve with the knowledge they need to manage and maintain these systems for years to come.

In order to find out more information click here http://www.uiewb.org/.

DID YOU KNOW?

Federal Funding Award to Advance K-12 Reforms, Improve Student Achievement and Boost Science Technology Engineering, Math (STEM) Learning Across Illinois

CHICAGO - December 23, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today announced Illinois earned a $42.8 million federal grant under the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top (RTTT) program to help bolster Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education across the state and other work to close the achievement gap. Half of those funds- about $21 million -will go directly to the state's local districts that agree to accelerate education reform. Illinois is one of seven states in the nation to be awarded a portion of the $200 million in federal funds, which will be distributed through the 2013-14 school year to benefit K-12 students.

"The best long-term economic tool is a good education," Governor Quinn said. "As Illinois continues to pursue a strong education reform agenda, this grant allows us to continue to reach for improved scores, higher graduation rates and a system that produces graduates who are well prepared for the 21st century job market."

"Education in Illinois is undergoing a sea change aimed to ensure new generations of students become better prepared for college and careers," said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch. "These federal funds will help support the many efforts under way so that children across the state will have greater access to a quality education."

Illinois applied for the grant and was declared eligible for funds as one of nine finalists in the second round of RTTT. The grant application reflects the priorities of the previous two RTTT applications and ongoing work under the state's current reform agenda, which includes implementing the new rigorous Common Core Learning Standards in Math and English Language Arts, advancing teacher and principal effectiveness and providing educators with data that can better inform and improve classroom instruction. Among the initiatives is advancing STEM programs of study and developing a system of induction and mentoring for STEM educators.

"These federal funds will help support Illinois' ongoing work to implement new practices in the classroom during the next several years that aim to improve student learning and close the achievement gap," said Illinois State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico. "An investment in education and our long-term reforms is an investment in children's well being and our state's economic future."

Other projects to be funded include the oversight and delivery of professional development to help align district curriculum to the new Common Core Learning Standards in English Language Arts and Math and high quality student assessments that can be used to measure student growth and be incorporated into educator evaluations.

Funds will also be used to bolster ongoing development of a data system that supports personalized learning and access to high quality resources. Specifically, Illinois has been selected to be one of the first states to implement the Shared Learning Infrastructure, a multi-state collaborative to develop a next-generation technology system that will enable teachers to easily find high-quality and highly-customizable curriculum and classroom resources aligned to the Common Core Standards.

The six other states awarded funds under the third Race to the Top Competition are: Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. To learn more about the Race to the Top and Illinois' plan for the $42.8 million, please visit http://www.isbe.net/racetothetop/PDF/phase3_app.pdf .

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving as your State Representative. I have been working to restore confidence in Illinois through fiscal responsibility in our State budget and through promoting sound policy in the Land of Lincoln. I look forward to our continuing partnership on the challenges that face our State and the 71st District. Here is a quick recap on some of our first year accomplishments.

Firearms Legislation

I passed House Bill 3500 in response to a ruling by Attorney General Lisa Madigan that declared the names of FOID cardholders to be public information subject to public release. The Illinois State Police, which oversees the program, opposed the Attorney General's ruling. The National Rifle Association also opposed releasing the names and addresses of FOID Card holders. This legislation that I sponsored protecting the privacy rights of Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) Cardholders received overwhelming, bipartisan support and has been signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn.

I also sponsored or cosponsored several other measures in support of your Second Amendment freedoms. Three passed the House. I promise to continue these efforts, with the priority being passage of concealed carry legislation.

Jobs Package

During the lame duck session in January, when the previous General Assembly increased our income taxes by 67%, they also let the Research and Development Tax Credit expire. We restored that tax credit for five years with an additional five year carry forward. The R&D Tax Credit is an important tool for Illinois manufacturers such as John Deere and Caterpillar.

I am committed to repealing the job-killing 67% income tax increase. I have co-sponsored House Bill 175 to repeal the Democrats' tax hike.

We worked hard to raise the estate tax exemption to $4 million in an effort to protect small business owners and family farmers. Under the current law, when estates pass from generation to generation, they are hit with a huge estate tax if their assets are worth more than $2 million. Family farm and small business assets are generally invested in equipment and fixed assets like land, leaving tight cash flows and little ability to pay penalizing taxes. This provision was strongly supported by the Illinois Farm Bureau.

Dawn's Law

I passed HB 3522 out of the House, increasing penalties associated with fatal accidents for those driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

My legislation was in response to the death of Moline resident Dawn Murrillo, who was seven weeks pregnant when she was killed in a hit and run collision by a serial drunk driver.

"Dawn's Law" increases the penalties for repeat drunk drivers involved in fatal accidents and provides for 85% truth in sentencing. This is a clear message to habitual DUI offenders that their actions endanger others and if the worst happens, the consequences will be severe.

10% pay cut

As my first act in office, I introduced House Bill 110, a 10% pay cut for all state legislators.

Looking Ahead

My wife of 32 years, Betsey, and I entered the political realm in 2007 because we understood the importance of bringing balance to our local political environment. We have helped restore political balance to our area, have taken more balance to Springfield, and have helped create the environment that produced a better Illinois budget process. We have seen successes both locally and in the General Assembly, but this work is far from completed.

We must continue to fight for responsible budgets that don't spend more money than the State takes in. We must improve the jobs climate to get Illinois working again. And we must continue the effort to reform Springfield, and restore the people's trust in their government.

If you have any questions or comments about the items I've discussed here, please call our office at 309/762-3008 or email me at repmorthland@gmail.com.

Best Regards,

Rich Morthland

State Representative

71st District

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Rich Morthland. No tax dollars were used to create or send this email.