Illinois Summary - 7/19/11

Schools Head:  Budget Cuts Will Hurt New Law Kick-Off

(Springfield, IL)  --  Illinois State Superintendent of Education Christopher Koch is saying budget cuts mean the state won't be able to appropriately implement a new education law.  Illinois lawmakers received praise nationally for major education reforms designed to improve teacher performance.  But Koch tells the "Chicago Tribune" the state's budget cuts may mean it will take longer than planned for changes to start.  The State Board of Education found more than seven-point-six-million dollars of budget cuts it said may hurt attempts to move forward.

Illinois Attorney General Leads Charge Against Child Pornography

(Springfield, IL)  --  Attorney General Lisa Madigan is stepping up the effort to combat child pornography.  She is promoting a program created to track illegal images on the Internet.  Microsoft developed PhotoDNA and donated it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to track online child pornography files.  Madigan will meet with some of the nation's biggest Internet companies later this week to ask them to adopt the photo identification technology.

State Agency Will Keep Placing Foster Kids With Catholic Charities

(Springfield, IL)  --  A state agency is going to keep placing foster children with Catholic Charities until a ruling is made in that organization's lawsuit against Illinois.   A judge temporarily stopped the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services from terminating contracts with Catholic Charities in the Belleville, Joliet, Peoria and Springfield dioceses.  Catholic Charities' attorneys yesterday were ready to ask the court to intervene until the state agency agreed to keep placing them.  DCFS would like to nixe its contracts with Catholic Charities because the organization won't put foster children with unmarried couples including people in civil unions.

Two Republican State Lawmakers To Run In New Districts

(Springfield, IL)  --  Two state representatives who represent Springfield are planning to run for new terms in newly created districts.  Republican state Representative Raymond Poe tells the "State Journal-Register" he intends to seek a seat again in the new 99th district.  Republican state Representative Rich Brauer of Petersburg says he will seek office in the new 87th district, which would cover much of Springfield's north end, which Poe now represents.  The new 99th district is in Sangamon County, and includes Springfield's west side, plus Chatham, Auburn, Divernon, Pawnee, New Berlin and Loami, which are now in Brauer's district.

Corn Crop May Suffer Because Of Heat And Humidity

(Undated)  --  The state's corn crop is possibly going to suffer because of heat and humidity.  Officials say average temperatures for this month have been among the highest since 1960 around the Corn Belt.  Precipitation has stayed below normal in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, southern Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.  University of Illinois farm economist Darrel Good tells the "State Journal-Register" a few days of 90-degree temperatures are OK but 98-degrees or higher is bad as corn plants need cooler weather at night to properly mature.