CHICAGO - November 24, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today released a statement regarding the passing of former Chicago First Lady Maggie Daley.

"Tonight, the State of Illinois lost a great treasure. Maggie Daley was a woman for all seasons who treated Chicago residents like family and served up hope and inspiration wherever she went.

"The ever-gracious Maggie was devoted to her family and her faith. Maggie had a servant's heart, especially for children. Through her founding and leadership of After School Matters, she lifted up thousands of Chicago teenagers with opportunities to discover their potential and find their path to a meaningful life.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Daley family. The people of Chicago and Illinois now mourn a great loss, but we remember the legacy of grace and compassion that Maggie left."

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Coal Valley, IL - November 23, 2011 - Join Niabi Zoo as it is transformed into an illuminated winter wonderland for an all-new experience, Zoo Lights. December 12th-17th, Niabi Zoo will be open for guests to enjoy the zoo as they never have before.

Families will be able to enjoy Niabi Zoo during the evening hours from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The zoo grounds will be decked out in holiday-themed lights and decorations to ring in the holiday season like only Niabi Zoo can do.

Niabi Zoo Director Mark Ryan says the event will be a great time for the Quad Cities to celebrate the season. "We've wrapped up another great season at Niabi Zoo," says Ryan, "but before we leave 2011 behind, we're inviting everyone back out to the zoo one for one last week." Ryan says that even though Niabi Zoo has never attempted an event like this before, he hopes it will provide families with a break from their hectic holiday schedules. "This time of year can get so busy for everyone, so hopefully they will be able to take a couple hours to enjoy a stroll around Niabi Zoo and take in the sights of the zoo grounds decorated with all sorts of lights and decorations."

Admission will be $4 per person. Free parking is available at the zoo.

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The new RiverShare catalog is now available to library patrons, and to help introduce the host of new features, the Rock Island Public Library will offer a series of free classes at the following times and locations:

 

6:00 pm, Monday, November 28, Rock Island Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road

 

2:30 pm, Wednesday, November 30, Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street

 

1:00 pm, Wednesday, December 7, Rock Island Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road

 

3:00 pm, Tuesday, December 13, Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street

 

Classes will be offered in the Community Rooms of both library locations. Registration is not required.

 

For questions, call the Rock Island Library Reference Desk at 309-732-7341.

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley said he is waiting for an answer from the White House about what authority is being used to provide better repayment terms for a select group of student loan borrowers, as the President announced in his We Can't Wait for Congress media campaign.

Grassley said his questions are based on the fact that the campaign implies the actions are being taken independently from Congress, but that it's unclear what statute allows the President to unilaterally alter income requirements for payment adjustments, expand loan forgiveness and make it easier to get out of existing loans.

"I wrote a letter to the President earlier this month asking him to explain to Congress and the public the legal authority he is claiming to implement the student loan changes," Grassley said.  "Our system of government is based on the principle of representative government, so the President can't unilaterally enact laws.  Congress, where elected representatives reflect the will of the people, makes the laws and the President signs or rejects them.  Serious constitutional issues are raised when the President disregards the people's voice as expressed through Congress to change the law himself.  Frustration with the legislative process is understandable, but the process is based on constitutional principles and, in fact, where there is bipartisan support for initiatives the President has offered, proposals have been passed this year."

Here is the text of Grassley's letter to President Barack Obama.

 

November 9, 2011

President Barack Obama

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

 

Dear President Obama,

On October 25, 2011, you announced changes that would provide better repayment terms for a select group of student loan borrowers.  Specifically, the proposal would accelerate the application of changes Congress made to the law effective July 1, 2014 reducing the percentage of a borrower's income from 15% to 10% to calculate payments under the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan and reducing the length of time during which a student borrower must make qualifying payments under the IBR plan from 25 years to 20 years in order to be eligible for loan forgiveness.  The proposal also includes a new 0.5% interest rate subsidy for borrowers who agree to consolidate their privately held Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans into the government-run Direct Loan Program.  This was part of your "We Can't Wait for Congress" campaign.  However, the announcement was missing some key details and raised some questions that Congress and taxpaying Americans deserve answers to.

The slogan "We Can't Wait for Congress" implies that these are actions you are taking independently of Congress.  However, under our constitutional system, the President can only take actions that are authorized by Act of Congress or that fall under the authority granted to the President in the Constitution.  That raises the question of what specific statutory authority you are using to implement these policy changes.

Please cite the specific statutory language and accompanying legal analysis by which you determined you have the authority to reduce the percentage of a borrower's income from 15% to 10% to calculate payments under the IBR plan in advance of the effective date of July 1, 2014 as provided for in the SAFRA Act as part of P.L. 111-152.

Please cite the specific statutory language and accompanying legal analysis by which you determined you have the authority to reduce the length of time during which a student borrower must make qualifying payments under the IBR from 25 years to 20 years in order to be eligible for loan forgiveness in advance of the effective date of July 1, 2014 as provided for in the SAFRA Act as part of P.L. 111-152.

Please cite the specific statutory language and accompanying legal analysis by which you determined you have the authority to offer a special 0.5% interest rate subsidy for borrowers who agree to consolidate their privately held Federal Family Education Loan Program loans into the Direct Loan Program.

In addition, the initial announcement was vague about the means of implementation for these changes.  While media reports have referred to an "executive order," no such executive order has been issued to date and the announcement only refers to this as part of "a series of executive actions."  In fact, I understand that your Administration plans to implement parts of this proposal through rulemaking procedures used for implementing laws passed by Congress.  Please describe the timeline for this process and why the implementation process is only now beginning.

Also, your announcement claims that, "These changes carry no additional cost to taxpayers."  Obviously, there is some cost to providing improved benefits sooner than the effective date in law.  Presumably this claim is based on estimated cost savings that offset the additional costs.

Please describe in detail the estimated costs of these new benefits and any estimated savings as well as the detailed calculations and assumptions by which those estimated savings were derived.

If the estimated savings are based on an assumption of lower costs due to shifting more existing FFELP loans into the Direct Loan program, then that raises the question of whether the estimate took into account factors that often lead to a significant overestimate of savings, and even revenue generated, through the Direct Loan program as described in the March 2010 Congressional Budget Office Study "Costs and Budget Options of Federal Student Loan Programs."

If in fact moving loans into Direct Lending is the source of any estimated savings, please explain whether your estimate fully took into account administrative costs and default risk as well as the risk to the Treasury of assuming greater debt at a time when our country's ability to borrow money at low interest rates is already threatened by excessive federal debt.

Finally, any discussion of new spending or potential cost savings inevitably involves tradeoffs.  To the extent that this proposal involves spending of limited resources or involves legitimate savings to the federal Treasury, in a time of severely constrained resources, Congress may wish to consider whether there are better uses for these resources, such as reducing the deficit or addressing the funding shortfall for Pell Grants.  Despite a significant infusion of funds provided to the Pell Grant program in the Budget Control Act, there is still an estimated shortfall of $1.3 billion for fiscal year 2012 in order to maintain the current maximum Pell Grant award.  The Pell Grant program is designed to provide access to college for very low-income individuals who otherwise would not have access to a higher education.  To the extent that resources are available, Congress might wish to consider whether this is a higher priority than providing a select number of borrowers who are already on a special repayment plan, and who have already had the benefit of a higher education, the opportunity to have even more of their student loans paid off even earlier.

Such tradeoffs should be made in the light of day with full accountability to the taxpayers, including the majority of student loan borrowers who are paying off their student loans without help and the many hard working Americans who have not attended college.  As such, I request an answer to the above questions no later than November 23, 2011.  Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact James Rice of my staff at (202) 224-3744.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

United States Senator

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Senator Chuck Grassley made the comment below about the release of documents today by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about its dealings with the firm, LightSquared.

Senator Grassley has been seeking information from the agency as part of his effort to understand why the agency has allowed the company to move forward with its plans for a terrestrial 4G network, despite serious concerns of interference with the GPS systems used widely in military, aviation and emergency response venues.  The agency has refused to provide the public with insight into its approval process.

Months ago and subsequently, Senator Grassley asked the FCC to provide documents regarding its interactions with LightSquared and LightSquared's parent company, Harbinger Capital Partners.  The FCC has refused to comply with Senator Grassley's request.

Earlier this month, Grassley announced that he would place a hold on Senate action on two FCC nominees when the nominations are placed on the calendar for floor consideration until the FCC provides information, saying the public's business ought to be public.

In October, Senator Grassley wrote separate letters to the top investor in and the chief executive of the company, seeking related information.

Grassley comment:

"This holiday week document dump and the fact that these documents are already publicly available is a continuation of the FCC's pattern of hiding any actual information regarding the LightSquared waiver.  Whether it's posting a bunch of old-news documents the day before Thanksgiving, or telling 99.6 percent of elected members Congress that the agency doesn't have to be responsive to oversight, this is an agency with a very serious transparency problem.  The FCC needs to stop playing games and make itself accountable to Congress, the media, and the American people."

Labor expert offers insight into regulations that can affect Iowa farms

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - Nov 23, 2011 - Farmers are not only focused on what they raise on their farms, but who they hire to work for them, says the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF).  As new laws and proposed regulations addressing labor continue to surface, IFBF is offering a webinar on Tuesday, Dec. 12, to help farmers navigate the latest labor regulations.

The labor regulations webinar will be held from 1-2 p.m. and can be accessed, for free, at www.iowafarmbureau.com.  The webinar features Craig Anderson, manager of the Ag Labor and Safety Services division of the Michigan Farm Bureau.

"Labor is an important resource for agriculture and this webinar is designed to keep Iowa farmers up-to-date on existing, new and proposed regulations and discuss their implications," said Ed Kordick, IFBF commodity services manager.  "Farmers need to establish labor management practices that are socially responsible, comply with regulations and promote safety on the job. This seminar can help them identify areas for improvement and be successful employers."

If you have questions on the webinar, contact Kordick at ekordick@ifbf.org or 515-225-5433. The seminar will be recorded and available on the IFBF website, www.iowafarmbureau.com, starting the following day, for members to view the information on their farm/home computer. In addition, members can also access the recording of the 2011 Iowa Farm Tax Seminar at the website.

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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Senator Chuck Grassley issued the following comment about the President's nomination today of Marilyn Tavenner to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

"Mr. Berwick's nomination was derailed by the administration's unwillingness to let the nominee provide the committee with legitimate information necessary for us to serve our role in reviewing the nomination.   Rather than provide us with information, the administration recess appointed Berwick.  Hopefully, the administration has learned from its mistake and will follow the regular process with this nomination, as part of our system of checks and balances."

QUAD CITIES, USA: Here in the Quad Cities, and all across the country, an electronic alternative is
available for people who do most of their shopping on-line.

§  Jcpenney and The Salvation Army have joined forces again this Christmas season to spread cheer to
even more children, teens and seniors in need through the Angel Giving Tree online program.

§  From now through Dec. 13, customers will be able to visit jcp.com/angel and participate in an online
version of The Salvation Army Angel Giving Tree program, enabling customers to provide gifts to children,
teens and seniors who, due to financial hardship, may not otherwise receive a Christmas gift.

§  The online Angel Giving Tree program builds on the legacy of The Salvation Army's Angel Giving Tree
program that has been an annual Christmas tradition for more than 40 years.

§  Customers can choose to adopt an Angel in any community by searching by zip code, city and state, age
and gender. The angel adoption process takes less than 10 minutes, which is followed by a confirmation
email that includes the Angel's wish list and information on where to ship your gifts.

§  This year, supporters have the option of adopting 10 or more angels as part of a new group adoption
feature. Adopting angels as a group enables companies, churches, civic organizations or online
communities to manage the group adoption process online by using the "create a group" function on
jcp.com/angel.

§  In order to ensure delivery by Christmas, all adoptions and gift purchases made on jcp.com must be
completed before Dec. 9, otherwise you have until Dec. 13 to purchase a jcpenney gift card.

§  Angel Giving Tree gifts purchased through jcp.com can be shipped free of charge to one of 1,200
Salvation Army collection centers nationwide - putting the entire selection, shopping and delivery process
at the customer's fingertips.

§  Jcpenney is the only retailer to offer Salvation Army Angel adoptions online. In 2010, nearly 70,000 angels
were adopted online and together, jcpenney and the Army hope to far exceed that number in 2011.

§  Each year, The Salvation Army helps more than 4 million people through social service programs during
Christmas. The Angel Giving Tree program is one way a small gift can bring joy to a Salvation Army
Angel this Christmas season.

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Richard Calica Brings Years of Leadership, Social Work Experience to DCFS

CHICAGO - November 23, 2011. Governor Quinn today announced the appointment of Richard Calica as director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) beginning Dec. 15. Calica is a lifelong social worker with extensive leadership experience in serving children and families throughout the state. A national authority in child welfare and licensed clinical social worker, Calica offers broad expertise in family preservation and support.

"We are committed to ensuring that the children of Illinois have the support and protection they need to become healthy, productive and responsible adults," Governor Quinn said. "Richard Calica's decades of experience in caring for neglected and abused children bolster our efforts towards building a better future for all Illinois children."

"All children deserve the opportunity to grow up in a healthy environment with strong support systems," Richard Calica said. "It is my highest priority to ensure the safety of our children and I am honored to accept this new mission to help and protect children who are abused and neglected."

Richard Calica currently leads the Chicago-based Juvenile Protective Association as executive director, a position he has held for 33 years. In addition to having maintained a private Clinical Social Work practice, Calica has served on the faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social Work and at the Loyola University of Chicago School of Social Work.

Calica served as chairman of the Governor's Task Force on Family Preservation from 1993-1994 under Governor Jim Edgar and currently serves as chair of the DCFS Risk Assessment Advisory Committee. He previously worked at mental health centers and as an instructor at the University of Chicago School Of Social Administration. Calica currently serves on numerous committees related to social work and child welfare.

Calica holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Chicago and completed a post graduate fellowship in clinical social work at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center Division of Psychiatry. He acquired his bachelor's degree in psychology from Brooklyn College. He is a past president of the Child Care Association of Illinois and has served as a consultant for numerous leading child welfare organizations.

DCFS and its private sector partners have safely reduced the number of children in foster care from more than 52,000 in 1997 to less than 15,500 today. The department focus on strengthening families is central to maintaining the safety of youth in state care and the health of the communities they come from. For more information about DCFS, please visit www.state.il.us/dcfs/index.shtml.

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Supporters from Warren, Pocahontas and Jackson counties produce diverse crops, livestock
LAKE JACKSON, Texas - The Iowa component of the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign announced new members of its "Farmers for Ron Paul" nationwide coalition formed to energize voters in America's unrivaled agricultural sector.

The new "Farmers for Ron Paul" members hail from Warren, Pocahontas and Jackson Counties.

"I support Ron Paul for many reasons, but as a small Iowa farmer, I support his stance that less government is what is needed and we need Washington out of our lives and business.  He strongly opposes the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which is just big government trying to put yet another burden on the small farmer and perhaps putting us out of business.  In addition Ron Paul wants to eliminate the EPA and restructure the FDA, both of which limit what we can sell and how we go about selling it.  Farmers need Ron Paul as he is the real deal, and he will stand up for our rights," said David Swaim of Milo.

Mr. Swaim and his wife have their farm for a year and a half.  It consists of 11 acres on which they produce poultry and hay.  Mr. Swaim is also a veteran from Iraq.

"Ron Paul is the only consistent candidate for president.  He's is steadfast in his adherence to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  His Congressional record of never voting to increase taxes and opposition to undeclared wars makes him the only appealing candidate to both the mainstream GOP and the middle of the road independents opposed to prolonged, undeclared wars.  Dr. Paul would push to end agricultural subsidies and government involvement in the free market of agricultural products," said Dale Roewe of Laurens.

Mr. Owens owns a 1,100-acre farm that has been in his family since 1882.  The farm employs one person aside from Mr. Owens's family, and produces corn and soybeans. 

"Going back many, many administrations, government farm policies have done nothing more than de-populate rural America.  Recent food scares created by corporate sized processing facilities led to the signing of The Food Modernization and Safety Act, which came close to regulating all food grown for human consumption.  On June 9, 2011, Executive Order No. 13575 established The White House Rural Council, with a mission to '... coordinate and increase the effectiveness of Federal engagement with rural stakeholders, including agriculture organizations, small businesses, education and training institutions health-care providers, research and land grant institutions, law enforcement, State, local and tribal governments, and non-governmental organizations regarding the needs of rural America,'" said Jim Blitgen of Bellevue. 

"This is way too much government where it does not belong.  I stand behind Ron Paul, as he is for less federal involvement that takes away states' rights and more importantly my personal liberties. I do not want to be told what to do on my land," said Mr. Blitgen, who has owned his farm since 1962. 

Mr. Blitgen owns 90 acres and mostly produces alfalfa hay, but has an acre dedicated to growing vegetables including tomatoes, squash, onions, carrots, peppers, potatoes, whole oats and wheat.  He also has 4 horses.  Mr. Blitgen is also something of a local hero as last year he helped ameliorate the damage caused by frightened horses running amok at the 2010 annual Bellevue Parade.

Messrs. Swaim, Roewe and Blitgen now serve on the "Farmers for Ron Paul" national advisory board.  As a first basic step, those wanting to join the "Farmers for Ron Paul"coalition should visit www.RonPaul2012.com/Farmers.

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