Mercury Poses Significant Environmental, Public Health Risks

CHICAGO - July 26, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed into law three bills that will further reduce the amounts of mercury in the environment that can be harmful to residents, especially young children. Illinois already leads the nation in reducing the public's exposure to mercury.

"Mercury exposure poses a threat to our waterways and environment, and to the public's health," said Governor Quinn. "These bills expand our efforts to significantly reduce the amounts of mercury in our environment by eliminating non-essential uses."

Senate Bill 3346, sponsored by Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and Rep. Karen May (D-Highwood), requires thermostat manufacturers to maintain a statewide program to collect, transport and manage mercury-switch thermostats for recycling when they are taken out of service. Senate Bill 3347, also sponsored by Sen. Steans and Rep. May, phases out the sale and use of lead and mercury wheel balancing weights in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2012.

House Bill 6201, sponsored by Rep. May and Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), extends the sunset date to for the automakers' current state program that collects and recycles mercury light switches from end-of-life vehicles before they are processed as scrap metal to Jan. 1, 2017.

Mercury can escape into the environment when improperly disposed or burned. If a mercury-containing device breaks and the spill is not cleaned up properly, the mercury forms into an odorless vapor, potentially reaching dangerous levels in indoor air. Methylmercury, an organic form of mercury, can accumulate up the food chain in lakes, streams and rivers, which results in high concentrations in the tissues of older and larger fish.

People are most frequently exposed to mercury through the consumption of contaminated fish or by inhaling vapors from spilled mercury or leaking equipment. Mercury poses a significant health risk, especially to young children and fetuses. Prolonged, low-level exposure may cause learning disabilities by impairing children's ability to think and read. Adults who have been exposed to high levels of mercury may experience trembling hands and numbness or tingling in their lips, tongues, fingers and toes.

Acute mercury poisoning, especially through ingestion, can damage the brain, liver, kidneys and even cause death. Mercury can harm wildlife that eats contaminated fish, particularly bald eagles, loons and other fish-eating birds and mammals.

All three laws go into effect immediately.

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New Law Increases Penalty for Making Fake 9-1-1 Calls

CHICAGO - July 26, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed a bill into law to deter individuals from placing false 9-1-1 calls by increasing penalties for fake 9-1-1 offenses. The new law will help protect law enforcement officers and emergency responders from dangers they may face when responding to false 9-1-1 calls.

"Making false calls to 9-1-1 can put our law enforcement officers and emergency responders in serious jeopardy and endangers public safety by straining resources. We must do everything we can to support the brave men and women who protect the public," said Governor Quinn. "By making the penalty harsher, this new law will help deter people from placing false 9-1-1 calls."

House Bill 6101, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Dugan (D-Kankakee) and Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D-Chicago Heights), amends the law to impose greater penalties on individuals found guilty of making a false 9-1-1 call.

Under the new law, a person found guilty of making a false 9-1-1 call will face a Class 4 felony for the first violation as well as subsequent violations. A Class 4 felony is punishable by one to three years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. Under current law a false 9-1-1 call can result in a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and one year in jail.

The new law passed the Illinois General Assembly unanimously and takes effect Jan. 1, 2011.

This legislation comes after Kankakee County Sheriff's Deputy Dave Stukenborg was seriously injured in a car accident when responding to a prank call made to 9-1-1.

"Hopefully, this new law will deter people from making fake calls to 9-1-1, so no other family has to go through what my family has endured from such a senseless prank," said Stukenborg.

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Senators again ask administration if plans are underway for large-scale de facto amnesty

WASHINGTON -- In response to the administration's silence and lack of a denial, Senator Chuck Grassley and 11 other senators again have asked top government officials if the Obama administration has plans, as has been rumored, to unilaterally extend either "deferred action" or "parole" to millions of illegal immigrants in the United States.  The senators are asking the Secretary of Homeland Security to reveal how many times the department has used its discretionary authority to let people who are illegally in the country to stay.  This authority is meant to be used only in unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances.

"The administration has yet to answer our letter about reports that it may be planning a large-scale, de facto amnesty program through deferred action and parole.  By shedding a little light on the numbers, we're working to get to the bottom of the administration's plans," Grassley said.  "If it wants to claim that discretionary authority is being used on a case-by-case basis, then let's determine if these cases are truly meritorious."

The letter was signed by Grassley, Thad Cochran, Johnny Isakson, Jim DeMint, Saxby Chambliss, Jim Inhofe, Tom Coburn, David Vitter, Orrin Hatch, Jim Bunning, Pat Roberts and Jeff Sessions.

Here is a copy of the text of today's letter, followed by the unanswered June 21 letter.

July 26, 2010

The Honorable Janet Napolitano

Secretary

Department of Homeland Security

Nebraska Avenue Complex

245 Murray Lane, Mailstop 0150

Washington, DC 20528-0150

Dear Secretary Napolitano:

We remained concerned about potential plans for a large-scale effort to offer parole or to defer action on undocumented aliens in the United States.  We realize that deferred action and parole are discretionary actions reserved for individual cases that present unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances.  However, we do not believe that such actions should be used for a large population of illegal aliens or used to bypass Congress and the legislative process.

News articles report that your department has denied the charge, stating that grants of parole or deferred removal are based on the merits of individual cases.  While we have not personally been assured that plans have not been drawn up, we are interested in data that will guarantee the American people that the Administration is not using these discretionary actions in cases that are not urgent or based on humanitarian reasons.

Therefore, we seek the following information about how the department is using its authorities. Specifically, we would like answers to the following questions no later than August 16:

· How many removal actions have been deferred each year over the past 5 years, including calendar year 2010, to date?

· How many times has parole been granted each year over the past 5 years, including calendar year 2010, to date?

· Of those granted deferred action or parole in the past five years, including 2010, how many have been provided work authorizations?  In what circumstances are work authorizations not granted?

· What guidelines and procedures are in place when the department considers using its discretionary power to defer action or grant parole?  Please describe the process from the initial request to the final approval, and please provide a copy of the written policies that employees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Customs and Border Protection must follow.

Finally, in order to ensure that deferred action and parole are being used in a manner consistent with the law, we request to be notified in writing when the Administration defers removal action or grants parole to undocumented, deportable or inadmissible aliens.  We would further request a summary of the case and the rationale for using the discretionary action.  In that vein, we would like a summary (including demographic background) of the cases that so far have been approved in calendar year 2010.

We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

June 21, 2010

President Barack H. Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C.  20500

Dear President Obama:

We understand that there's a push for your Administration to develop a plan to unilaterally extend either deferred action or parole to millions of illegal aliens in the United States.  We understand that the Administration may include aliens who have willfully overstayed their visas or filed for benefits knowing that they will not be eligible for a status for years to come.  We understand that deferred action and parole are discretionary actions reserved for individual cases that present unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances.  Deferred action and parole were not intended to be used to confer a status or offer protection to large groups of illegal aliens, even if the agency claims that they look at each case on a "case-by-case" basis.

While we agree our immigration laws need to be fixed, we are deeply concerned about the potential expansion of deferred action or parole for a large illegal alien population.   While deferred action and parole are Executive Branch authorities, they should not be used to circumvent Congress' constitutional authority to legislate immigration policy, particularly as it relates to the illegal population in the United States.

The Administration would be wise to abandon any plans for deferred action or parole for the illegal population.  Such a move would further erode the American public's confidence in the federal government and its commitment to securing the borders and enforcing the laws already on the books.

We would appreciate receiving a commitment that the Administration has no plans to use either authority to change the current position of a large group of illegal aliens already in the United States, and ask that you respond to us about this matter as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Chuck Grassley

Orrin Hatch

Jim Bunning

Saxby Chambliss

Jim Inhofe

Johnny Isakson

Thad Cochran

David Vitter

One Hero Grasps For Hope

Lifelong Educator Wants to Help Kids Find Homes, Get Diplomas

Two things that are getting tougher for kids to get in America: A place to live and an education.

According to a study by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, an average of 3 in 10 high school students don't reach graduation, with that rate reaching half in some areas of the country. Combine that with the report by the National Center on Family Homelessness that found more than 1.5 million children were without a home, and it's not difficult to see a stark trend.

But Leon McKinney, a lifelong educator from a rural area of Washington, wants to do something about that. He has taken stories from his three decades of teaching kids and turned them into a book -- Heroes and Hope (www.heroesandhopebook.com) -- that he is now selling, with 90 percent of the proceeds going toward education funding for kids, and the other 10 percent going to Habitat for Humanity.

"I want to help people live better lives in the midst of difficult times," he said. "Throughout my more than two decades as a teacher, I have tried to make a difference for kids and families through some principles that have stood the test of time.  Over the years, I've amassed a wealth of stories that seem to resonate with people, and so I wanted to share these stories with others to help them find vision and inspiration, but I didn't want it to be some kind of vanity exercise. I wanted it to mean something. So, I'm passing down these values and lessons from my experience as an educator, parent, and counselor to people over the last forty years in a way that not only tells them what I've seen, but shows them what I've learned."

McKinney has already raised more than $100,000 for his cause, just through $5 gifts from other teachers he has come into contact with over time. He's not sure how much his book will raise, but he's hoping the value of awareness will mean more than the dollar signs involved.

"It's tough to admit that we're struggling, as a country," he said. "In 1996, the high school graduation rate was 66.4 percent, and nearly 14 years later, we've edged it up to 69.2 percent. That's 14 years, and not even three full percentage points. We can do better. I know we can, because I've seen kids with some of the toughest challenges you can imagine overcome them to get that diploma. The missing ingredient is hope. It's my intention to tell the stories of the heroes I've encountered as an educator, and of the hope they've inspired in me and in others. By raising our hopes, and the means to make good on those dreams, I think we can beat the expectations of the experts. When I have looked into the hearts of the students and teachers I have known, I have seen that the power of the human spirit is endless. This project is about tapping into that spirit on a grander scale, and setting our sights on nothing less than making dreams come true for those who have no hope left."

About Leon McKinney

Leon McKinney earned a BA in Education and a Masters in Music Education from Central Washington State University. After teaching music for four years at Pateros schools, he taught for 21 Years at Eastmont High School and served as the Director of Music for the Eastmont Schools. Leon was honored in 2006 as the Friend of the Year of Wenatchee Valley College. Leon is married to Bonnie McKinney and they have four children:  Jeff, Brent, Christy and Brian.