Illinois Summary - 9/20/11

Nationwide Immigration Hotline Launched Out Of Chicago

(Chicago, IL)  --  Chicago is leading the way when it comes to helping immigrants get deportation information.  They launched the nation's first 24-hour legal aid hotline with nearly 70 volunteers who can assist in English, Spanish, Korean, and Portugese.  According to NBC Chicago, the hotline comes after more than 80-thousand kids were left without a parent because of a rise in deportations out of the city.  The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights started the hotline.  They just wrapped up a month long trial period that helped organizers get an idea how useful the line would be.  The "Chicago Tribune" reports that more than 172 calls came in during the trial period.

Nicholas Sheley Found Guilty

(Galesburg, IL)  --  A jury says Nicholas Sheley is guilty of first degree murder.  He is accused of killing Ronald Randall in June 2008.  Randall's family members didn't speak to reporters immediately after the verdict, but a family friend says he's not celebrating yet.  That's because Sheley still has to be tried for other crimes in Whiteside County and in Missouri.  The friend says this is just one step in seeing complete justice served against the spree killer.  Sheley is accused of killing five people in Whiteside County and an Arkansas couple in Missouri.  He will be sentenced in Knox County on November 18th.  Meantime, he'll be in Whiteside County Circuit Court for an arraignment in those murders September 26th.

U of I Posts Accuerate Law School Data

(Urbana, IL)  --  The University of Illinois has posted the correct information about the academic performance of its first law school class on its website.  The move comes after the performance numbers were inflated to attract potential students to the school.  The law school website and promotional materials had listed the GPAs for the 2010 incoming class as 3.81.  The actual GPA is 3.7.  They also listed the median LSAT test scores as 168.  The actual score is 163.  University officials say they're conducting a thorough investigation to determine why the numbers were posted incorrectly.  In the meantime, law school admissions dean Paul Pless has been placed on leave as officials determine whether it was done intentionally.

President Obama Wants To Cut 33-Billion From Ag Programs

(Alton, IL)  --  Ag programs will likely take a hit if President Obama has his way.  He's proposing a 33-billion-dollar cut to the farm safety net program.  That means some Ag subsidies, payments, and programs will be eliminated but Brad Grotefendt [[ grow-da-fent ]], with the Madison County Farm Service Agency, says it's too soon to tell how the cuts will impact Illinois.  Congressmen are just now starting to write a new farm bill, which will replace the one that expires next year.  Grotefendt says rewriting that bill isn't an easy job and making changes in one region may have a negative impact in another.  He says whatever happens, he hopes the cuts are spread across the board so not just one agency will have to bear the brunt.

Rutherford Accused Of Mailing Brochure To Campaign Donors On Taxpayer Dime

(Springfield, IL)  --  State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is touting his success.  He sent an eleven-page brochure to 850 people earlier this year, but the "Daily Herald" has uncovered a possible violation.  Five-hundred-66 of the people on the mailing list have contributed a combined total of one-point-six-million dollars to Rutherford.  Most of the others have supported the Republican Party in some way or another.  If Rutherford's intentions were to give his contributors a list of his successes, he should've paid for the mailing from his campaign account. Instead, the book was paid for by the state of Illinois.  In a prepared statement, Rutherford says it was, quote, "just a conincidence" that his campaign donors were among those who received the mailing.  The mailing cost about 15-hundred dollars.  The treasurer has reportedly received more than nine-thousand dollars in contributions since the mailing went out.

Quinn China Developments

(Springfield, IL)  --  Governor Quinn has struck at least two deals since he's been in China.  In agriculture, he says Decatur based ADM will provide 100-million dollars worth of soybeans to a Chinese company.  And when it comes to ernergy efficiency, the governor says a Chinese company will build a wind farm in Lee County.  He says the money that's been invested into the China trip is crucial to expanding Illinois' role as a competitor in the international marketplace.

Illinois Among the Worst States To Do Business With

(Springfield, IL)  --  A new survey pits Illinois as the third worst states in the nation for businesses.  Development Counselors International surveyed 322 corporate executives across the U.S., and they say Illinois' high taxes, the state's deficit and an anti-business climate are reasons that keep them away from Illinois.  But the state's top Republicans have a plan to turn that negative trend around.  They've unveiled their jobs agenda, which is designed to put people back to work and allow businesses to be more competitive with neighboring states.  The plan is to re-enact the net operating loss deduction, re-enact the Illinois research and development tax credit, extend the life of the existing enterprise zones by up to 20 years, reduce administrative costs for setting up and incorporating a Limited Liability Corporation, and increasing the estate tax exemption from two- to five-million dollars.  Republicans say if approved, their plan could put up to 60-thousand people to work.