EXHIBITION DATES: October 21-November 23, 2011 

RECEPTION: Friday, October 21, 7-9 pm

FREE

From October 21st through November 23rd, Lisa Marie Barber, of Kenosha, WI and Gabriella Boros from Skokie, IL will fill the gallery with their imaginative narrative works.  Multi-media artist, Lisa Marie Barber will create a small city of ceramic installations complemented by painting on the gallery walls. Influenced by Mexican folk art and altars rooted in her Mexican-American heritage, her work is intended to be both celebratory and sober; projecting positive interpretations of the human condition. Barber will also exhibit some of her mixed media works on fabric.

Painter Gabriella Boros produces paintings based on stories that come from her experiences as a female, Israeli born daughter of Shoah (Holocaust) survivors and of being Jewish. She makes religious, cultural and geographical references to these themes in her art. Her exhibit, titled "Stories of Today: Tomorrow's Reflections" promises to take viewers on a storytelling voyage. This trip spans cultures which overlap and inform one another, resulting in images which are vivid and universal.

Join us for the opening reception on October 21st from 7-9 pm, in the gallery. Refreshments will be served and artists will be on hand to answer questions about their work.

The Quad City Arts Center Gallery is located at 1715 Second Avenue in the Arts and Entertainment District of Rock Island.  Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. All Quad City Arts programs are funded in part by Festival of Trees; Quad City Arts Partners; and operating grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Quad City Arts is a nonprofit local arts agency dedicated to the growth and vitality of the Quad City region through the presentation, development and celebration of the arts and humanities. For more information, contact Dawn Wohlford-Metallo 309-793-1213 X108.

SKYNNY SKYNYRD is the best, most authentic Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band playing today. But don't take our word for it; Ronnie Van Zant's best friend, Gene Odom of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd band, shares this opinion.  Gene Odom says, "Skynny Skynyrd Is THE BEST SKYNYRD SHOW he's seen and heard!"   Wow!   That statement blew us away, too.   Gene went down with the Freebird Plane in 1977 & has written three books about the band.  So, that was one heck of a compliment!

SKYNNY SKYNYRD performs all of Lynyrd Skynyrd's hits: Sweet Home Alabama, Gimme Three Steps, What's Your Name, Call Me The Breeze and Ronnie Van Zant's timeless classic that changed a generation and a nation forever, Freebird. The list goes on and on...Lynyrd Skynyrd's music has never been more popular and will never go out of style; SKYNNY SKYNYRD is a stunning re- creation of Lynyrd Skynyrd in both music and showmanship.

Thanks Outgoing IDPH Director Dr. Arnold for His Years of Service

CHICAGO - September 30, 2011. Governor Quinn today appointed Dr. Craig Conover as acting director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Jean Ortega-Piron as acting director of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Dr. Conover replaces Dr. Damon Arnold, who is leaving IDPH to create a Master's of Public Health degree program at Chicago State University.

"As he departs to pursue a new opportunity, I want to thank Dr. Arnold for his years of dedicated service to the people of Illinois," Governor Quinn said. "Dr. Conover's experience in a variety of medical fields will ensure that Illinois' public health system continues to protect and improve the health of the people of our great state."

Dr. Arnold's tenure at IDPH has seen the department winning a number of awards and grants, including a $24 million federal grant to implement its "We Choose Health" initiative, announced yesterday. Under his leadership, the department has consistently received top scores from the Centers for Disease Control for public health preparedness, and has transformed its grant tracking and monitoring system to increase accountability. Dr. Arnold also worked to secure public-private partnerships for the state's State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) to improve the health of Illinois residents.

Dr. Craig Conover has held several positions at IDPH since 2002, currently serving as Illinois' chief epidemiologist and medical director of the office of health protection, where he is charged with responding to and preventing disease outbreaks. Before joining IDPH, he served as attending physician at the Emergency Department at the University of Vermont and Chairman of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Provident Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Conover holds a master's degree in public health from the John Hopkins School of Medicine and an M.D. from the University of Rochester.

The Governor also appointed Jean Ortega-Piron to serve as acting director at DCFS. Since 1996, Ortega-Piron has served as Deputy Director, Guardian and Advocacy, acting as guardian for all children committed to DCFS by Illinois' juvenile courts. In that role, she was instrumental in establishing the first-in-the-nation Memorandum of Understanding between a state child welfare agency and Mexico, and also established a system for monitoring psychotropic medications for state wards, described by the Chicago Tribune as the "gold standard" in the country. She has also served as the DCFS chief administrative law judge and administrator of the Appeals and Hearings Unit. Prior to that, she worked as chief legal counsel for the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. Ms. Ortega-Piron is a graduate of Rosary College and the Chicago-Kent School of Law.

Q:        What's the effect on Americans when China undervalues its currency?

A:        China's policy of intervening in its currency markets to limit or halt the appreciation of its currency, the yuan, against the U.S. dollar or other currencies has the effect of keeping Chinese exports cheap and imports expensive, putting some U.S. businesses at a disadvantage.  That has a negative effect on U.S. jobs.  It's also an unfair and unlawful trade advantage for China to subsidize its exports.  New market opportunities are needed for job creation here at home, and market-based currency policy is an important factor in free and fair trade relationships.  Iowa has long been an exporting state, with good-paying jobs related to exports in manufacturing and agriculture.  One in every three tractors made in John Deere's plant in Waterloo is sold to customers overseas.  One in every three acres planted on Iowa farmland heads to the international marketplace.  Ag exports account for one-quarter of farm cash receipts in Iowa.  U.S. exporters deserve a level playing field with China's exporters.

Q:        What can be done?

A:        By law, the Treasury Department is required to name any country it suspects of manipulating the value of its currency to gain an unfair advantage in international trade.  Unfortunately, for too long, presidential administrations of both parties haven't done what the law allows.  The current debate in Congress over China's currency policy draws from more than five years of legislative proposals that would induce China, and other countries manipulating their currencies, to reform its currency policy or to address the effects of that policy on the U.S. economy.  I've introduced bipartisan legislation in the past, and this fall there is a proposal with bipartisan support to increase U.S. oversight of currency manipulation.  The measure would trigger meaningful consequences for countries that fail to adopt appropriate policies to eliminate currency misalignment and make sure U.S. trade laws may be used to counter the economic harm to U.S. manufacturers caused by currency manipulation, in accordance with international trade laws.

The executive branch also can and should prepare a case against China's currency manipulation in the World Trade Organization, the 153-member organization (made up mostly of sovereign nations) that governs international trade.  The framework for World Trade Organization policies is based on the principles of non-discrimination, reciprocity, binding and enforceable commitments, transparency, and safety valves.  In joining the World Trade Organization ten years ago, China committed to adhering to the trade rules of the global marketplace.  If China is not willing to live up to its obligations, the behavior should be challenged under the international rule of law.