More Than 500 Illinois Employers Participated in Month-Long Effort

SPRINGFIELD - November 10, 2011. In honor of Veteran's Day (Nov. 11) Governor Quinn today announced a successful month of job fairs aimed at putting Illinois Veterans back to work. Hosted by the Governor's Office and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), the fairs are a special statewide effort to help Veterans find employment and inform employers about tax credits that encourage business development. More than 500 Illinois employers have participated in this special series of job fairs.

Today's Veterans' job fair in Orland Park is the latest in the series of events that highlight Governor Pat Quinn's effort to grow jobs and connect qualified job seekers with ready-to-hire employers. IDES director Jay Rowell and Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) director Erica J. Borggren will attend today's fair to support the hiring effort.

"Veterans have served their state and their country, and Illinois makes a special effort to ensure that those returning home from service are able to transition into the job market," Governor Quinn said. "November is Hire a Veteran Month, and we want to help our servicemembers to put their valuable skills to use here at home for Illinois employers."

The Orland Park job fair will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Orland Park Civic Center, 14750 Ravinia Avenue. This is the ninth Veterans' job fair so far this year, with other events held across the state in Chicago, Naperville, Bloomington, Belleville, Mt. Vernon, Carterville, Bartonville and Effingham.

"The men and women of our Veteran community are true national heroes," IDVA director Borggren said. "Veterans are proven and committed public servants, and all of Illinois stands to benefit from an empowered Veteran community."

A state income tax credit of up to $1,200 is available to businesses for each qualified Veteran who is hired. Additionally, employers may qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $4,800 through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

Veterans are sought-after employees for their service training, which includes respect for authority, embracing responsibility and success operating in team-based environments. Servicemembers also often have advanced training in technology, manufacturing, construction and logistics.

Success and attendance has grown each year at the statewide Veteran job fairs, which were started in order to recognize the value that Veterans bring to the Illinois workforce. Invited businesses include those whose positions demand the skills military Veterans hone in the service. All Illinois job fairs are open to everyone, and individuals attending should bring resumes and be prepared for brief interviews.

"IDES is Illinois' employment agency, and our job is to put people to work," said IDES Director Jay Rowell said. As we approach Veterans Day, it is wholly appropriate to emphasize the skills of these brave men and women and to show how these skills will help employers succeed."

Illinois has added 37,700 jobs so far this year and 81,000 jobs since January 2010 when job growth returned to Illinois after 23 consecutive months of declines. January 2010 also marked the plateau of the unemployment rate after 33 consecutive month-over-month increases. Since, the monthly unemployment rate has declined 15 times and increased four when compared to the previous month.

Who Is Newt Today?

Government-mandated healthcare OK

According to Newt:

"All of us have a responsibility to help pay for health care."

(Wall Street Journal)

"I agree that all of us have a responsibility to pay ? help pay for health care."

MSNBC's David Gregory: But that is the individual mandate, is it not?

"It's a variation on it."

(National Review)

"In 2008, according to an AP report, Gingrich suggested 'insurance mandates for people who earn more than $75,000 a year.' Two years later, he was telling Sean Hannity at Fox News that health insurance mandates were unconstitutional."

(CS Monitor)

Springfield, IL...The Illinois House of Representatives voted Wednesday to close the pension loophole that allowed two teachers union lobbyists to earn huge state pensions after serving for a single day as substitute teachers.

A Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV investigation found that two lobbyists with no prior teaching experience were allowed to count their years as union employees towards state teacher pensions after subbing for a single day in 2007.

According to the Tribune report, Steven Preckwinkle, the political director of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, and fellow IFT lobbyist David Piccioli were the only people who took advantage of a small pension window opened by state lawmakers just a few months earlier. The law allowed union officials to get into the Teachers' Retirement System and count their previous years as union employees after quickly obtaining teaching certificates and working in a classroom. Preckwinkle and Piccioli could collect nearly $3 million in pension payouts, based on their union salaries and years of union credit.

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How Americans Rate Their Diet Quality

A new TV feature is available on the USDA FTP site. The new feature can also be seen on USDA's YouTube channel and downloaded as a video podcast. See below for details.

FTP Download instructions:

The host: ftp://ocbmtcmedia.download.akamai.com

User name: usdanews

Password:  Newscontent1

Filename: diet perception feature

The new file is in QuickTime Movie (H.264 ), MPEG 4, MPEG2 and HDV.

YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXY9mbpgXHg&feature=channel_video_title

video podcast: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/usda-down-to-earth-video-podcast/id461819504?uo=4

RSS feed: http://downtoearth.usda.libsynpro.com/rss

Please email bob.ellison@usda.gov if you have problems or suggestions.

Also, use this free ftp client if you have problems.

http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type+client

FEATURE - How Americans Rate Their Diet Quality

INTRO: Are people learning the healthy eating information being directed at them? A U-S-D-A study aimed to find out. The U-S-D-A's Bob Ellison has more. (1:30)

A NEW U-S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE STUDY SAYS AMERICANS KNOW THEY SHOULD BE EATING HEALTHIER EVEN IF THEY DON'T THINK THEY ARE. THE U-S-D-A'S ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE COMPARED DIET PERCEPTION SURVEYS FROM NINETEEN NINETY ONE AND FROM TWO THOUSAND SIX AND FOUND THAT PEOPLE IN THE OH-SIX SURVEY WERE MORE FAMILIAR WITH FEDERAL DIETARY ADVICE.

Christian Gregory, USDA ERS: People are really starting to comprehend that education programs and information in the media and from physicians is really starting to kind of click with people.

AND WHILE THOSE SURVEYED DON'T BELIEVE THEIR DIETS HAVE CHANGED, THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT A HEALTHY DIET IS HAS CHANGED.

Gregory: The healthfulness of the diet hasn't changed much. So we really think that there is some suggestive evidence that it's the information environment and people's comprehension of that information that's really changing. But all of this information basically has kind of gotten through and you basically evaluate your diet today and say, "Hmm...that might not be that great".

GREGORY SAYS THE NEXT STEP WILL BE TO STUDY IF HEALTHY EATING INFORMATION IS AFFECTING PEOPLE'S ACTUAL DIETS AND NOT JUST THEIR PERCEPTIONS.

Gregory: We need to know more about how effective nutrition education programs, especially those that are funded by and sponsored by the USDA.

MORE DIET PERCEPTION STUDY INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT E-R-S DOT U-S-D-A DOT GOV AND HEALTY EATING GUIDELINES CAN BE FOUND AT CHOOSE MY PLATE DOT GOV. FOR THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE I'M BOB ELLISON.