[MARCH 29, 2002]  Yes, you read that right. The Logan County Local Emergency Planning Committee, LEPC, is always preparing for the inevitable. As Director Dan Fulscher is quick to point out, there will be natural and man-made disasters that will occur here, and it is better to be prepared for them.

  Logan County Local Emergency Planning Committee, LEPC, had its quarterly meeting at the Logan County Safety Complex on Wednesday, March 20. Many decision- making members from the county, including representatives of all local emergency services, were in attendance. LEPC works directly with county agencies, ESDA and 911 and serves as a collaborative agency between community leaders and rescue agencies preparing for emergencies and disasters through regular communications, planning and training.

The meeting opened with the first in a series of training sessions on handling emergency systems. This class, taught by Fire Chief Robert Washam, was on how to use the Emergency Response Guidebook.

ERG training

The Emergency Response Guidebook is a resource used by emergency personnel for knowing what kind of immediate response must be taken for any chemical spills. Five color-coded sections in the book are cross-referenced for obtaining immediate information.

Take, for example, if a truck overturns on the highway and is leaking some substance. Trucks and train cars have signs telling what kind of load they are carrying. If this sign can be read, it can be found in the white section of the guidebook. There the sign is shown with a number, which references the orange section. If there is no sign, but the chemical ID number or name is known, those can be found in the yellow and blue sections, respectively. In those sections, a guide number is found to cross-reference to the orange section.

For example, suppose the truck has a white sign reading "Poison Gas." In the white section, this corresponds to 123. The orange section gives instructions on how to handle the spill. The entry for 123 indicates that the substance may be fatal if inhaled or absorbed through skin. Also, it may burn, but this is not likely. Self-contained breathing apparatus is necessary when approaching the spill. For evacuation, the guide says to refer to the green section if the substance is highlighted in the yellow or blue sections. The green section has specific evacuation instructions for small and large spills, including an immediate evacuation radius and a secondary evacuation distance for downwind.

For unknown spills, the 111 entry gives general safety instructions, including an initial evacuation of one-half mile.

After the training, members were brought up-to-date on LEPC’s many activities.

Shortly, LEPC will begin a series of community awareness ad campaigns in the news media. Ads will run in Lincoln Daily News, The Courier and the Mount Pulaski weekly papers. These ads will inform the community about LEPC and its activities. It was suggested that LEPC do announcements and informational segments on Log-On, the local cable station, as well.

LEPC will be setting up a household hazardous waste collection center in the spring. More details on this will come.

The Logan County Health Department announced that it has mercury spill kits for small spills such as those from thermometers. Contact the health office if you break a mercury thermometer.

LEPC has begun plans for their booth at this year’s fair. Plans are being made to share the tent with 911 and ESDA. The booth will inform community members about the emergency response agencies.

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Planning has begun for this year’s annual emergency response training. One possible topic is an overturned vehicle.

On April 10 there will be a gas burn, showing the community how emergency officials will handle such a crisis.

ESDA announced that it has a database allowing it to access the dispatch records for all railroad and trucking companies that travel through Logan County. In the event of an accident with one of these vehicles, all information about cargo, origination and destination can be obtained almost immediately.

Hazmat responses are now online. Logan County has 19 recorded in the National Response Center from Oct. 19, 1990, to Feb. 21, 2002.

Local authorities are receiving constant updates from the Homeland Security Advisory System. E-mail updates have reported an "elevated" level of security, which is third out of five security levels.

A report was given on the most recent training in homeland security. Two mock disasters were run in Bloomington-Normal, one which involved the Bone Student Center at ISU being blown up, and one which involved 17 high school students developing symptoms of a biological terrorism attack.

The state poison control center has gone to a national phone number that transfers callers to the Illinois system. The old number still works, but all advertising and announcements will have the new number.

There are national stores of treatments for biological and chemical terrorism. There are currently three local sites in the approval stages of becoming shipping sites for these medications: Lincoln Christian College, the Logan County Health Department and the fairgrounds.

Finally, elections for all offices, voting delegates, committees and their chairs took place at the meeting.

Preparations for potential flooding presented last quarter

At the December meeting, information was shared about disaster preparations that were in place should the Clinton nuclear power plant be attacked by terrorists. It was not the nuclear plants that were of concern, but it was anticipated that terrorists would seek to destroy the dams. The lake has just recently been reopened to the public now that the threat is considered sufficiently reduced.

The floodwaters released in the destruction of a dam would spread a long way before losing their potential destructive force. Dan Fulscher explained the pathway, timing and various degrees of magnitude projected by experts should the Clinton dam be destroyed. Floodwaters are always moving to lower ground, he explained. The waters of Clinton Lake would head through Chestnut and then turn toward Mount Pulaski and begin heading back northwest, following Salt Creek into Logan County. Passing through the southern edge of Lincoln the waters would have diminished damaging capacity as they neared Middletown. The first course of action would be to save Chestnut. All first rescue efforts would be concentrated there.

Next quarter’s training will be a tabletop training exercise presented by Pat Keane, Region 7 coordinator for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

For anyone interested in LEPC and its background, there is a videotape available for borrowing.

[Gina Sennett]

[MARCH 29, 2002]  In its second meeting the Lincoln/Logan Regional Planning Commission Ordinance Committee began considering a list of terms needing definition in the county zoning ordinance. It also continued to question the scope of its inquiry.

The 17-member committee was called together by regional planning director Phil Mahler to re-examine the county zoning ordinance and make recommendations to the county board. The ordinance went into effect Jan. 1, 1971, and has had only two or three minor revisions.

In the Feb. 28 committee meeting Mark Smith, director of economic development, suggested that the county comprehensive land use plan, dated December 1980, should be updated before considering zoning changes. He said this order is logical since zoning should reflect the comprehensive plan. In the March 28 meeting county engineer Tom Hickman revived the issue.

Mahler said the plan is not too outdated because the county has not grown much in the last 21 years, and the committee has no money to conduct a review. Zoning officer Bud Miller said he thinks it is a good idea to review the plan every five years, as was originally projected. The question of whether to review the comprehensive land use plan was not definitively resolved.

One area of agreement, however, is that a number of terms have either come into importance or shifted meaning since the zoning ordinance was written and need to be defined. At the March 28 meeting in the Logan County Highway Department building at 529 S. McLean, Miller listed 11 terms in need of definition: "abutting property," "adult entertainment" and "adult entertainment facility," "animal hospital," "bed and breakfast," "convenience store," "club," "manufactured home," "modular home," "travel trailer" and "roadside market." Lloyd Evans, administrator of the Logan County Health Department, added three more: "boarding house," "nursing home" and "assisted living facility." In addition, Miller said "dwelling" needs to be defined more specifically, including subdivisions such as single-family dwelling.

Miller has collected zoning ordinances from a number of other counties, and committee members plan to review the definition sections within the next month as well as to identify other terms that need to be included.

Henry Spellman, owner of Tremont Park in Lincoln, reviewed terms related to manufactured housing. He said a "trailer" was built before 1976, did not need to meet any building code and is probably taxed as personal property. Manufactured housing falls into one of two categories: A "modular home" is built to a locally adopted code (CABO or BOCA) and when set up is normally taxed as real estate. A "mobile home" is built to Housing and Urban Development code standards set by federal law since 1975 and is usually personal property but can be set up as real estate.

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Whereas a trailer rarely had more than two sections each with a maximum floor size of 12 by 56 feet, a mobile home may have five or even more sections, and they may be up to 16 by 76 feet. Some mobile and modular homes look virtually identical, but modular homes are designed to be set with their outside edge on the foundation and mobile homes require foundation support of the undercarriage.

Spellman said zoning can legally forbid the bringing in of trailers, but the ordinance probably must grandfather in existing trailers. He said mobile homes probably cannot be zoned out of areas that allow single-family residences because of federal law. They can, however, be restricted if the same restrictions apply to site-built homes, for example setting minimum width-to-length ratio or prohibiting metal roofs.

Besides defining terms and setting policy regarding manufactured housing, the Lincoln/Logan Regional Planning Commission Ordinance Committee will consider other issues including the minimum size for a farm and provisions regarding country homes. Currently, a farm must be at least five acres, and a country home must be at least 1,300 square feet and set on at least one acre with 100 feet of frontage.

Mahler said public hearings on proposed changes will be held as required but probably not before Nov. 30, since no money is allotted for hearings in the county budget for this fiscal year. The Logan County Board must enact any changes to the zoning ordinance.

Other members of the committee include county board members Dave Hepler and Terry Werth, Health Department environmental health director Kathy Waldo, Lincoln city safety inspector Les Last, Atlanta Mayor Bill Martin, Logan County Farm Bureau board president Kent Paulus, Farm Bureau manager Jim Drew, East Lincoln Township road commissioner Dale Steffens, 30-year planning commission member Delmar Veech and Atlanta Realtor Gordon Johnson. Bill Dickerson, district conservationist for the Natural Resource Conservation Service, is an ex officio member.

[Lynn Shearer Spellman]

[MARCH 28, 2002]  A ruling handed down late yesterday by Associate Circuit Court Judge Don Behle will stop Gov. George Ryan and the Department of Human Services from moving any more residents from the Lincoln Developmental Center without a permit from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.

Dan Senters, spokesman for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 425, which represents LDC employees, said today that Judge Behle’s ruling supports the contention of AFSCME and other plaintiffs that LDC is a health care facility and must follow the legal requirements for moving residents set up by the Health Facilities Planning Board.

Senters said the ruling will also prevent DHS from moving more than nine LDC residents from one cottage to another.

According to the judge’s ruling, the plaintiffs will prepare a preliminary injunction that orders the defendants to comply with the Health Care Facilities Act and apply for a permit before making any substantial changes in the scope, function or operation of LDC, or changing the bed capacity by distributing beds among various categories of service (such as other state-operated facilities or group homes), or by relocating beds from one site to another by more than 10 beds, Senters said.

Plaintiffs include AFSCME Council 31; Don Todd, president of AFSCME Local 425, representing LDC employees; Norlan and Eleanor Newmister, parents of an LDC resident; and state Sen. Larry Bomke of Springfield. Defendants include Gov. Ryan and Linda Renee Baker, secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Senters said the governor and DHS have two options: to appeal the ruling or to comply with the law and apply for permits before moving any more residents.

If they choose to apply for the permits, by law they will have to hold a public hearing, where parents and employees can testify.

The injunction will be in effect until further orders, Senters said.

State Rep. Jonathan Wright, R-Hartsburg, who is one of two sponsors of House Bill 5976 to restore funding to LDC for 240 residents and 480 employees, said he would assume the ruling also means that employees of LDC scheduled to be laid off will also be kept at the facility.

"If residents are not being moved, I don’t see how you can lay off staff," he said.

"I have not yet communicated with DHS or the governor’s office, but I intend to as soon as possible, to urge them not to appeal this decision," he said. "I think the judge made the right decision.

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"The General Assembly has authorized the Health Facilities Planning Board to issue permits to move residents, and we should not be attempting to bypass that vehicle that has been set up by statute."

He said the decision provides "real hope" for keeping LDC functioning at a greater level than the governor has outlined. Last fall, citing abuse and neglect of residents, Gov. Ryan began moving some of the approximately 375 residents out of LDC. In February, he announced that he would downsize the facility to 100 residents, to be housed in new cottages to be built on the campus, with an employee staff of 210. He also sent out notices of layoffs to 372 LDC employees.

Wright and Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsythe, co-sponsored the bill to seek funding from the legislature to keep LDC at 240 residents. They announced that decision Monday.

Wright said today that holding the hearings required by the Health Facilities Planning Board would certainly make the process of downsizing LDC more complete.

"A lot of issues regarding LDC have not been addressed because there was no opportunity for public hearings," he said.

He also said the ruling will help him and Mitchell as they lobby other representatives to help restore LDC funding.

"Some representatives may have had concerns that the downsizing is a foregone conclusion," he said. "Now we will be able to say that the governor does not have unilateral authority to close LDC."

One argument used by proponents for closing LDC and other state-operated facilities is that residents are being moved to group homes where they can have greater access to the community.

Wright said most LDC residents have not been moved to group homes but to other state-operated facilities, which then must have their funding increased. "Most of those able to benefit from living in Community Integrated Living Arrangements have already been transitioned to group homes.

"I support CILAs and want to be sure they are adequately funded, but building CILAs in Lincoln doesn’t mean they are going to be populated by LDC residents," he said.

[Joan Crabb]

[MARCH 28, 2002]  In a question-and-answer session with the Lincoln City Council Tuesday evening, Economic Development Director Mark Smith and consultant Andrew Hamilton repeated the need for funding commitments from the city and from Logan County to develop the proposed Commercial Park at Interstate 55 and Kruger Road north of Lincoln.

Although some "outside entities" are willing to look at both providing funding and locating in the proposed park, those prospects want to know first that there are financial commitments from the county and the city, Smith said.

The EDC needs to have the commitment "before summer," but first, "We want to make sure everybody is comfortable with our answers," he added.

Smith and Hamilton also reaffirmed the council’s choice of the 63.5-acre site north of town as the best location for the commercial/industrial park.

Alderman George Mitchell said he had received a letter about ground on the west side of town that could be acquired and already had sewers nearby. This 80-acre site, owned by the Burwell family, might be cheaper to develop than the north-side site, he suggested.

Smith replied that nine prospects who visited Lincoln between October 2000 and October 2001 were taken to the various sites that are available and "none preferred the west side," although land costs per acre, about $10,500, were about the same.

The biggest objection, Smith said, was incompatible land use. Development on the west side, along Illinois Route 10, includes housing, churches, restaurants, motels and schools.

Prospects who want to build manufacturing and distribution facilities are concerned about objections to their operations from nearby businesses. At the north-side site, they would not be close to establishments that might object to industrial uses.

"Customers who plan to make a sizable investment want to know what their neighbors will be doing," Smith said.

The EDC is asking for the city of Lincoln to commit about $1.1 million to run a sewer line out to the property. The county’s proposed share is $816,950, which includes $678,000 for acquisition of the land. The proposal also calls for CILCO to provide gas service for $59,100 and American Water Company for improvements totaling $264,000.

Mayor Beth Davis asked about financial options. Hamilton replied that some grants are available from state agencies such as the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs and the Community Development Assistance Program. However, to qualify for these state and federal grants, he said, "You have to have the bird in hand. The key to getting them is to prove they will create jobs in the community."

He said the main thing prospects look for is a location with water and sewer available. Many companies hire consultants to look for sites, and if these amenities are not in place, they will not even consider a site.

City Attorney Bill Bates asked if the EDC has commitments from the utility companies. Smith said the commitment at this time is only verbal. Bates asked about the time frame for the commitments, and Smith said he assumed the utility companies would wait until the local government units have made commitments.

Bates also asked if the industrial park would be annexed by the city, and Smith replied that was the assumption.

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Alderman Steve Fuhrer, one of the city’s representatives on the EDC, asked if the sewer plant loan could be extended to pay for part of the cost of the sewer connection. Sewer plant manager Grant Eaton said such a request would have to be considered a separate project and would require going through the paperwork another time.

"We can’t afford not to do this," Mayor Davis told the council. "Even though we are on a tight budget, we need to keep the city thriving. If we don’t get new revenues, we can’t keep jobs for our people."

The city is in the process of cutting about $1 million from its budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins June 1, 2002. Loss of sales tax revenue and low interest rates, which have cut the amount of interest the city is receiving on its investments, have resulted in a bare-bones budget for the coming year.

City officials are also concerned about the possible loss of as many as 400 jobs because of Gov. George Ryan’s plan to downsize Lincoln Developmental Center. Projections about the commercial/industrial park show a possible income of $561,000 in property tax revenue and $321 million in wages yearly.

Fuhrer, who is also the city’s finance committee chairman, expressed hope that a commercial/industrial park could help alleviate the city’s financial problems.

"I hope people are looking at this. It [development] happened on the west side. Will it happen on the north side? It’s a chance," he said.

He also reported that the budget committee is still $253,000 short of balancing the budget for the next fiscal year.

"We’ve cut, cut, cut and can only cut so far. I hope we don’t get to personnel. Without new revenue coming in, it’s going to get worse every year."

Cuts already made include wage freezes for department heads, vehicles for the police and the building code office, and repair work on Elm Street. The city is also considering passing the local water company’s charges on fire hydrants back to water customers, which would add about $5 to city residents’ bimonthly water bills.

In other business, the council learned that West Lincoln Township wants to give away a small building that sits on the corner of Fifth and Adams streets and in the past was used as a polling place.

Mayor Davis said the building is about 150 years old and has historic value, and she would like to see it moved to the Postville Courthouse site. Several aldermen questioned whether the building would be of any benefit to the city, and Pat Madigan said he would oppose the move if it would cost the city money.

City Attorney Bill Bates reported that the county has asked the city to forgo its liens on a vacant lot at 1305 Tremont St. so the lot can be sold. The city has a demolition lien of $5,900 as well as costs for mowing the lot. The county is owed back taxes of $15,000 on the property.

Bates said the last purchase price for the property was only $2,000. He suggested the city agree to the property sale if the county would give the city one-third of the purchase price, with the county taking the other two-thirds. "That’s all we are going to get," he said.

[Joan Crabb]

[MARCH 27, 2002]  Mayor Beth Davis is urging everyone to support the bill introduced by state Reps. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsythe, and Jonathan Wright, R-Hartsburg, for funding to keep 240 residents at the Lincoln Developmental Center instead of the 100 proposed by Gov. George Ryan. On Tuesday she gave members of the Lincoln City Council a memo noting the most important legislators to contact to help support the bill. The memo follows:

[MARCH 27, 2002]  A call from the attorney representing a firm that builds Community Integrated Living Arrangements, or CILAs, has the city of Lincoln doing a quick re-examination of its R-1 zoning ordinance to avoid facing a federal lawsuit.

City Attorney Bill Bates told the council at its Tuesday work session that he had received a call from David Krchak, attorney for the Charleston Transitional Facilities, telling him that on April 16 the firm will be applying to the city for a building permit for a group home on a lot zoned R-1.

At present the city’s zoning ordinance prohibits group homes in areas zoned R-1. On March 4, Krchak attended the council meeting and said he believed the city’s ordinance was illegal because it violated the federal Fair Housing Act, passed in 1988. He said his firm has plans to build eight group homes in the Lincoln area to house 64 residents who are to be moved out of Lincoln Developmental Center under Gov. George Ryan’s downsizing plan. Each home would house eight residents.

He said the firm wants to have two of the homes built and operating by July 1, the date by which Gov. Ryan hopes to have cut the LDC population to 100 residents. Krchak said then that at least one of the sites his firm was considering is in a developing subdivision and is zoned R-1 and that the firm wanted to begin construction on that site by April 1.

At a meeting March 12, Bates told the council that he had been researching the issue of illegal zoning but was not yet able to tell the council the city’s zoning ordinance is illegal. The city took no steps to change the ordinance, and Bates said then he would continue looking into the issue.

On Tuesday Bates said he believed the zoning ordinance "does have some flaws," and conceded that he had no experience in the area of the law that deals with discrimination in housing. He suggested retaining an attorney who has experience in that field to tell the city how they should draft a new zoning ordinance.

"I can’t do it by April 16, nor do I think anybody locally can," Bates said. He suggested a lawyer in Springfield who has been working with fair housing issues for 10 years. "I would consider him an expert in that area," he added.

"If we deny that permit, are we looking at a lawsuit?" Alderman Pat Madigan asked.

"I would anticipate a federal lawsuit," Bates replied. He quoted the Charleston firm’s attorney as saying he is "100 percent certain he can win a lawsuit against the city."

The Springfield attorney’s fee is $165 per hour, Bates said.

"This is money that needs to be spent," Madigan replied. "Rather than bending to pressure, we need to get this situation right so it doesn’t come back to bite us."

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Bates said he would get a copy of the city’s ordinance to the attorney and find out what it will cost the city to get expert advice. However, he added, "The cold-hearted reality is we can’t have a new ordinance in place by April 16."

Even if the expert attorney responds quickly, the city must still hold a public hearing before making a change in the ordinance, and it cannot hold the hearing until 15 days after a notice of the hearing has been published, he pointed out.

"Would the Charleston group be willing to delay the application for the building permit?" Madigan asked.

Bates replied that he had been told the firm was closing on the property on or before April 16 and expected to request a building permit when they closed.

Zoning officer Les Last is required to issue a building permit in a residential area no more than 10 days after the application, according to the city code. However, Last pointed out, if the code is not changed, he cannot issue a permit for a group home.

Lincoln Daily News spoke with Krchak Wednesday morning. He said he had talked to Bates before the March 26 meeting.

"Mr. Bates and I were both in agreement that the present zoning ordinance is highly suspect. I believe Mr. Bates and I were both certain the present ordinance is in violation [of the Fair Housing Act]."

However, he added, "If the city is moving forward to setting up a public hearing and putting procedures in place to amend its zoning ordinance, we would be willing to work with them."

He said the Charleston company still plans to apply for a building permit for the R-1 lot, which is located in the Stonebridge subdivision, and will move forward to construct that particular group home.

He confirmed that eight group homes were in the company’s long-term plan, and that the short-term plan called for having two up and running by July 1. The second group home in the short-term plan is in an area zoned R-2, he said. Under the city’s present code, group homes are permitted in R-2.

Krchak said some of the group homes might be constructed in Mason County.

[Joan Crabb]

Related articles:

•  "New CILAs proposed to house LDC residents," posted in LDN on March 5

•  "City not ready to change R-1 zoning for CILAs," posted in LDN on March 13

[MARCH 27, 2002]  SPRINGFIELD — Gov. George Ryan announced today that lawyers for the state have asked a Kane County Circuit Court to compel the largest state employee union to fully comply with their collective bargaining agreement because the union has previously disregarded provisions that allow the state to manage its work force.

The governor also announced that the state has charged the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees with unfair labor practices before the Illinois State Labor Relations Board. The union has ignored contract provisions that spell out the procedures AFSCME must follow when it disagrees with state management decisions.

Ryan said both actions are necessary to make sure AFSCME does not prevent the state from taking appropriate steps to balance the state budget, such as permanent layoffs.

"It’s very unfortunate that we have to take these steps, but AFSCME has shown a willingness to ignore our contract in order to prevent us from doing what we need to do to balance the budget," the governor said. "Instead of following the grievance procedures in the contract they signed, twice now they have bypassed their own agreement and gone straight to a judge to block my efforts to balance the state budget."

Ryan said two of his proposals to help balance the state budget have been stymied by AFSCME’s tactics. A one-day unpaid furlough for 65,000 state employees and the privatization of all prison food services were derailed when AFSCME sought a temporary restraining order against the state. Both initiatives would have saved the state around $28 million. As a result of AFSCME’s tactics, the state has realized only about $2 million in savings.

State government is facing a revenue shortfall of more than $1 billion. State tax collections have declined because of a national recession and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

The governor added that the state employee layoffs initiated this week are a "last resort" to the state’s worsening financial picture. Massive layoffs of thousands of employees are necessary because AFSCME will not renegotiate its contract and because the union has blocked cost-cutting measures.

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"AFSCME leaders keep saying that they want us to stick to the contract. Yet they have shown a willingness to ignore that contract if it doesn’t suit their purposes," the governor said.

Under the terms of the AFSCME contract, the state has the "exclusive right to manage its operations," including personnel decisions. If AFSCME does not agree with a management decision, they are required to follow the grievance procedure set forth in Article V of the contract. When dealing with personnel decisions that affect entire agencies, the grievance procedure includes appeals to agency directors and binding arbitration. The contract does not give AFSCME the option of seeking a court order to stop a personnel decision by management.

Last year, state lawyers and AFSCME adjudicated more than 1,100 employee grievances through the procedures set up in the union contract.

On March 25, a special assistant attorney general filed "a motion to compel arbitration" against AFSCME in Kane County Circuit Court. A hearing has been scheduled for April 3 in that matter. If successful, this action would prevent AFSCME from seeking any court order to stop employee layoffs.

Also on March 25, the Department of Central Management Services filed an "unfair labor practice" charge against AFSCME with the Illinois State Labor Relations Board. This charge mirrors the court complaint. If the board finds merit in the charge, it would direct AFSCME to "cease and desist from pursuing court action" with regard to the one-day furlough plan.

[Illinois Government News Network press release]

[MARCH 27, 2002]  Clinton Lake has reopened six months after being closed to the public. Exelon owns the lake and the adjacent nuclear power plant. Exelon closed the lake in September, citing safety and security concerns following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Nuclear power plants were considered possible targets. It was not the power plants themselves that were so much concern as the possible destruction of the dams.

"Clinton Lake is a great place for people and their families, and I am pleased to see it open to the public once again" said state Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth.

"This is a great day for Clinton and DeWitt County," he added. "This will significantly increase tourism in the area and provide a boost to the economy."

[News release]

[Photos provided by Jack Burke]

[MARCH 26, 2002]  SPRINGFIELD — Gov. George Ryan today ordered the permanent layoff of 1,000 state employees in order to help bring the state’s budget into balance, having exhausted other alternatives to reduce spending.

The governor’s actions follow one final personal plea to the leaders of AFSCME, the largest state employee union, to renegotiate its labor contract as a way to prevent the permanent layoff of its members. Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, refused the governor’s request.

"I always have said that layoffs are the final option in balancing the budget. We’ve been stymied in what we’ve tried to do to prevent layoffs. AFSCME has gone to court to stop our furlough program and our efforts to privatize food services at state prisons," the governor said. "I do not have the unilateral authority to raise taxes, as AFSCME has asked. I do not have the authority to spend state bond money on government operations or to transfer money from one government account to another."

Following procedures spelled out in the AFSCME contract, state agencies will begin the process today of laying off employees within the Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Services. The layoffs will take effect in April and May.

The round of layoffs initiated this week is intended to help balance the state’s current budget. Additional layoffs likely will be needed to balance the FY 2003 budget.

Late last year the governor ordered a one-day unpaid furlough for all 65,000 state employees under his control to save $8 million. While the governor, his cabinet, staff, many legislators and non-AFSCME state employees have taken a furlough day, AFSCME went to court for a temporary restraining order to stop the furloughs for its 45,000 members. That action negated any cost savings from the furlough plan.

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In an attempt to save about $20 million, the governor ordered the corrections department to turn over food service operations in all state prisons to private contractors. Private companies have operated food services in some of the state’s maximum-security prisons for about 20 years. AFSCME again went to court to stop this proposal, wiping out any savings.

Over the last year, the Illinois economy has been weakened by a national recession that grew worse following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. State tax revenues declined sharply as a result. The governor and General Assembly must deal with a revenue shortfall of more than $1 billion in order to balance the budget.

More than 40 other states have had to cut their budgets since Sept. 11 because the recession and the terrorist attacks significantly reduced tax collections.

In October, the governor cut $460 million in order to keep the state budget in balance. In February, the governor proposed another $680 million in reductions. However, state tax collections continue to miss projections, and the short-term impact of the new federal economic stimulus package will require further changes in the budget.

"Involuntary layoffs of thousands of AFSCME members could be avoided if the union leadership would listen to rank-and-file members and negotiate reasonable changes in the current contract," Ryan added. "AFSCME leaders in Iowa, faced with similar budget problems, negotiated a wage freeze this year that saved 800 jobs."

[Illinois Government News Network press release]

Thieves caught red-handed

[MARCH 26, 2002]  The United Pentecostal Church was broken into early Monday morning. When the police arrived they were able to follow the footprints left in the snow to a storage shed. Inside they found two males, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, both from Lincoln, with the keyboard and amplifier that they had taken from the church.

[Bob Frank]

[MARCH 25, 2002]  State Reps. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsythe, and Jonathan Wright, R-Hartsburg, are filing an amendment that would keep Lincoln Developmental Center operating with 240 residents and 480 employees.

The two state legislators made the announcement today (Monday, March 25) at a 10 a.m. meeting in the office of Lincoln Mayor Beth Davis. About 30 parents, LDC employees and members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union were on hand to hear the proposal.

"It will be an uphill fight. I don’t want to lead you on, but it’s the right thing to do and it’s the fair thing to do," Mitchell told the audience.

Mitchell will represent the new 87th Legislative District, drawn this year by the reapportionment committee, which takes in about three-fourths of Logan County, while Wright represents the present 90th District.

The proposed amendment would increase the funding proposed for LDC in the 2003 fiscal year from $11,028,400 to $27,816,000. Gov. George Ryan, citing abuse and neglect at the 125-year-old facility, in February of this year ordered LDC downsized from a high of nearly 400 residents to 100, and from a high of about 700 employees to 210. Employees, parents, and members of the Lincoln/Logan County community have protested the downsizing and continued to seek ways to keep LDC operating.

Mitchell, who has not represented Logan County in the past, said he was impressed by the level of civic participation on the LDC issue. "You are all pulling together, working as a team," he told the crowd.

The proposal is an amendment to House Bill 5976 and specifies the amount of funding for various services at LDC for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. Funding for personal services, for example, would go up from the Department of Human Services’ proposed $7,844,700 to $19,786,000.

The amendment will be filed today and must first go to the rules committee, made up of two Democrats and one Republican. Once it gets out of the rules committee, it goes to the appropriations committee for the Department of Human Services, which operates the 11 facilities for the developmentally disabled in the state. If it survives the DHS appropriations committee, it will go to the House floor.

Noting "it will not be an easy go" to increase funding for LDC, Mitchell said, coincidentally or not, the downsizing comes "at a time when the state is hemorrhaging red ink." He also pointed out that other representatives in other parts of the state have facilities in their districts being cut, as well.

The recent economic downturn has put the state of Illinois in a financial crisis that has forced cuts in programs for the poor and threats of layoffs to balance the budget.

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City Alderman Joe Stone asked if Mitchell thought the amendment had a realistic chance of success. Repeating again that it would be an uphill fight, Mitchell urged everyone present to contact other legislators, especially those on the DHS appropriations committee, and ask them to support the LDC plan. "We are not asking for favoritism for this county, just what is right," he said.

A chart provided by Mitchell’s office showed that LDC is the only facility for the developmentally disabled that is taking a major cut: 66.5 percent of its budget last year of $35,305,100. Only one other facility, Singer, has a funding cut, and that is only 4.1 percent. Other state facilities, some of which are accepting former LDC residents, have slight budget increases, according to the chart.

In a prepared statement, Mitchell said, "I was very disappointed by the actions of the Department of Human Services. They have proposed cuts to LDC that severely diminish the services they provide and put hundreds of people out of work. My goal is to find some common ground and keep 240 residents and 480 employees at LDC. There was absolutely no basis for these dramatic cuts."

Mitchell noted that many parents and family members of LDC residents have spoken out in favor of keeping the facility open, saying they provide excellent care. He also pointed out that a recent editorial in the State Journal-Register states that the singling out of LDC was unfair and that moving residents could be harmful to them.

"In his State of the State and Budget Address last month, Governor Ryan invited members of the General Assembly to discuss any ideas that we have. I would like to take him up on that offer and discuss how we can increase the funding at LDC," he said.

"We’re both going to be working hard this week to be in contact with members of the Human Services appropriations committee," Wright added.

In another attempt to save LDC, AFSCME, parents of an LDC resident and state Sen. Larry Bomke of Springfield have filed a lawsuit asking that no more LDC residents be moved from the facility until the end of the fiscal year. Circuit Court Judge Don Behle has not yet announced his ruling on the suit.

[Joan Crabb]

State Rep. Bill Mitchell will introduce the following bill to the state legislature. The first column is the budget proposed by the Department of Human Services. The second column represents Mitchell’s proposal increasing the funding for LDC.

Proposed amendment to HB 5986 (Daniels) to provide funding increases to the Lincoln Developmental Center in FY 2003

[MARCH 23, 2002]  SPRINGFIELD — Under legislation advanced this week by the Illinois Senate, Illinois residents would have more information about contamination of their drinking water, and the victims of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would be remembered with a commemorative holiday in Illinois, according to state Sen. Claude Stone.

The measures were all advanced to third reading — the point in the legislative process when lawmakers vote on the bills.

Stone says citizens have every right to know when their drinking water is not safe. Senate Bill 2072 requires the Illinois Department of Public Health to notify the public by radio, television or newspapers about contaminated water. It will also require notice to the appropriate local governments to encourage further citizen notification.

Senate Bill 1531 designates Sept. 11 as a commemorative holiday and a school study day. The bill allows the secretary of state to sell special Sept. 11 license plates, the proceeds of which will aid victims of terrorism and local governments in preparing and preventing future acts of terrorism.

Other bills advanced to third reading this week by the Senate include:

School speed zones (SB 1808) — Expands school zone speed limits to include roadways on school property.

Children (SB 2118) — Clarifies that a Children’s Advocacy Center may be funded through grants, contracts or other sources instead of a tax levy authorized by referendum.

Consumer fraud (SB 2160) — Prohibits the mailing of postcards or letters that ask the recipients to call a telephone number, unless the postcards or letters tell the recipients that the phone call will be a sales pitch.

Handicapped parking (SB 1530) — Clarifies that a handicapped parking decal or device must be displayed properly in the vehicle where it is clearly visible to law enforcement personnel, either hanging from the rearview mirror or placed on the dashboard of the vehicle in clear view.

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Liquor distributors (SB 2052) — Repeals a controversial 1999 law that prohibited a wine or liquor supplier, other than an Illinois winery or a winery that sells less than 10,000 cases per year in Illinois, from terminating or failing to renew a distributorship agreement without good cause. In January 2002, a federal court ruled the law unconstitutional because it applies retroactively and gives special consideration to winemakers in the state.

Airport improvements (SB 1556) — Allows 26 regional airports in Illinois to use up to 3 percent of their property tax levy for capital improvements.

Energy savings (SB 1565) — Allows the Illinois Development Finance Authority to administer a low-interest loan program for the purchase of high-efficiency energy equipment or appliances, energy monitoring devices or clean small-scale energy production devices.

Theft (SB 1577) — Creates a new felony criminal offense intended to stop the theft of credit card information via use of a scanning device, a small decoder that takes information from a credit card for use in making a false credit card.

National Guard (SB 1583) — Extends all the civil protections offered by the federal Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940 to members of the Illinois National Guard on state active duty. Among the many civil protections are measures that prohibit guard members from being evicted, having their insurance canceled or having their property seized because of nonpayment of bills as a result of their active guard service.

Fire sprinklers (SB 1622) — Requires state licensing for contractors who install, maintain or repair fire sprinkler systems, with some exceptions.

[News release provided by  Sen. Claude Stone]

Military addresses sought

It is a year like no other. Since Sept. 11 we are a changed nation. Individually, our daily sensitivity toward whom and what we have in our lives has been heightened. We are more conscious and appreciative, first about those we love and see everyday. Next, we have a newfound appreciation for those who risk their lives every day as rescue workers and protectors of life and property in our communities. We also now think more about our military men and women who are committed to serve and protect our country. Many are away engaged in battle, some are in waiting to go, all are ready to lay their lives on the line in defense of our freedom.

Lincoln Daily News is seeking the names and addresses, including e-mail addresses, of friends and relatives who are serving in the armed forces. They need not be from here in Logan County. If you know someone serving, please send the information to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com. A complete list will be made available and kept updated through the site so we might all hold them in our thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

[Click here for names available now.]

Name of person in military:

Branch of service:

Current location of service:

Postal address:

E-mail address:

Relationship to LDN reader sending information (optional):

[LDN]

It’s on the radio, TV, in all the media. You hear it in the office, on the street and maybe at home — threats of terrorism. America is on high alert. Here in central Illinois, away from any supposed practical target areas, perhaps we feel a little less threatened, but we are still concerned. So how concerned should we be, and how prepared are we for the types of situations that could occur?

Whether the threat is domestic or foreign, violent, biological or chemical, our public health and rescue agencies have been preparing to respond to the situations. Lincoln Daily News has been at meetings where all the agencies gather together as the Logan County Emergency Planning Committee to strategize for just such a time. Our reports have not even provided every detail that every agency has reported; i.e., a number of representatives from differing agencies such as the health and fire departments, CILCO and ESDA went to a bioterrorism and hazmat (hazardous materials) seminar this past August.

Here are some of the articles that LDN has posted pre- and post-Tuesday, Sept. 11. Hopefully you will see in them that WE ARE WELL PREPARED. At least as much as any area can be. Every agency has been planning, training, submitting for grants to buy equipment long before Sept. 11. We can be thankful for all of the dedicated, insightful leaders we have in this community.

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• LEPC hears plans for annual exercise

• U.S. under terrorist attack
  How is Logan County affected?

• The day after ‘Attack on America’
  Area leaders respond to national tragedy

• ESDA and LEPC conduct successful hazardous materials exercise at water treatment plant 

• Logan County ready for action if terrorist event occurs - Part 1

• Logan County ready for action if terrorist event occurs – Part 2

• Clinton nuclear power plant safety measures in place

• Logan County agencies meet to discuss protocol for suspicious mail

As promised, the United States led an attack on Afghanistan. The attack began Sunday, Oct. 7. American and British military forces made 30 hits on air defenses, military airfields and terrorist training camps, destroying aircraft and radar systems. The strike was made targeting only terrorists.

More than 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East have pledged their cooperation and support the U.S. initiative.

Online news links

Other countries

Afghanistan

http://www.afghandaily.com/ 

http://www.myafghan.com/  

http://www.afghan-web.com/aop/ 

China

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/

Germany

http://www.faz.com/

India

http://www.dailypioneer.com/ 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/ 

http://www.timesofindia.com/ 

Israel

http://www.jpost.com/ 

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/ 

England

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/ 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/ 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/

Pakistan

http://www.dawn.com/

http://frontierpost.com.pk/ 

Russia

http://english.pravda.ru/

http://www.sptimesrussia.com/ 

Saudi Arabia

http://www.arabnews.com/ 

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United States

Illinois

http://www.suntimes.com/index/ 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/ 

http://www.pantagraph.com/ 

http://www.qconline.com/ 

http://www.pjstar.com/

http://www.sj-r.com/ 

http://www.herald-review.com/

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/ 

New York

http://www.nypost.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/

Stars and Stripes
(serving the U.S. military community)

http://www.estripes.com/ 

Washington, D.C.

Announcements

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