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Southwest Illinois News is designed & hosted by the Moore Design Group. How To Reach Us: St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com |
 $1.2 Billion Funds Chicago to St. Louis Corridor CHICAGO, IL, (SWI-News.com), January 31, 2010 - Governor Pat Quinn and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin kicked off a series of announcements in Chicago Friday to discuss details about Illinois' $1.2 billion federal award to bring high-speed passenger rail service to Illinois by 2014. Illinois is among only three states to receive at least $1 billion for high-speed passenger rail, which will make the trip between Chicago and St. Louis faster than driving and will provide new train equipment. "Illinois was one of only three states in the country to receive over $1 billion for high speed rail. We appreciate the confidence of President Obama to bring high-speed rail to Illinois," said Governor Quinn. "Thanks to hard work and perseverance, our vision to have Illinois serve as the nation's high speed rail hub is becoming a reality, bringing jobs and economic growth to our communities." The Obama Administration announced the competitive awards Thursday as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) program. The investment from the federal government is expected to create approximately 6,000 jobs in Illinois. Illinois received the third largest award among 31 states chosen to share in the $8 billion made available nationwide for high-speed passenger rail. Thirty-seven states applied for funding. "Investing $1.2 billion into improving our rail system is going to mean more jobs - jobs for today and jobs for the future," said Senator Durbin. "Today's announcement assures that Chicago, already a major rail hub of the nation, will soon become the major high-speed rail hub of the Midwest and nation." "Today, President Obama's vision is bringing high-speed rail to Illinois and the rest of the United States," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. "This groundbreaking program will put many people back to work in Chicago and across the country, and it will also help transform transportation for the entire Midwest region." Illinois' high-speed rail signature route, Chicago to St. Louis, will receive $1.1 billion for corridor improvements. Improvements to this 284 mile route will allow passenger rail service to operate at speeds up to 110 mph, reducing the total trip time from Chicago to St. Louis by over an hour. The improvements include an overhaul of track, signal systems and existing stations as well as the implementation of state-of-the-art train control technology that will improve train safety. In addition, Illinois will receive $1.25 million to complete an environmental impact study for a second track along the same route. The award for Illinois includes $133 million to build the Englewood Flyover on Chicago's South Side, a Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) project which will clear one of the largest rail bottlenecks in the nation. The improvement will eliminate significant delays for commuter trains, Amtrak trains and freight trains. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) received 259 grant applications from 37 states and the District of Columbia requesting nearly $57 billion in funding - far exceeding the initial $8 billion available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In total, 79 applications from 31 States were selected for funding.
CARBONDALE, IL, (SWI-News.com), January 24, 2010 - A Union County man was sentenced last week for knowingly removing thousands of historical artifacts from a Southern Illinois National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Leslie Jones, was sentenced to 30 days imprisonment, 500 hours community service, five years of probation, and to pay $150,326.06 in restitution to Cypress Creek NWR, for excavating, collecting, and transporting illegally taken archaeological resources from a prehistoric Native American site on the southern Illinois refuge. In his plea agreement, signed October 2009, Jones admitted selling the articles to interested collectors to supplement his income. Jones case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Illinois. In January 2007, Jones was observed by Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) Refuge Officers digging and removing these artifacts from an archeological site on the Refuge. The site, as it was later determined, minimally dates to the Middle to Late Archaic to Middle Woodland periods (6000 B.C. to 400 A.D.). It is suggested that, based on the artifacts found, Native Americans used this site for stone tool production, cooking and other domestic activities. In late January of 2007, law enforcement officers and special agents from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Johnson County Sheriff's Office seized 13,232 artifacts from Jones' residence during the execution of a federal search warrant. These artifacts included pottery, clay figurines, tools, and over 200 pieces of human skeletal material. Jones later admitted living off the artifacts he collected and sold. "Archeological sites are similar to a museum," said Mark Wagner, Staff Archaeologist, Center for Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. "We wouldn't tolerate someone going into a museum and removing an object because they felt like it. These items don't belong to archeologists, they were stolen from the American public." Under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA), it is a felony to disturb, alter, remove, or damage archaeological sites and objects that are over 100 years old on Federal lands. Archaeological sites and artifacts are-also protected by 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which prohibits digging in, excavating, disturbing, injuring, destroying, or in any way damaging prehistoric, historic, or archaeological resources, structure, site, artifact, property; or removing said items. Persons found guilty of offenses against ARPA could be punished by not more than two years in prison and not more than $250,000.00 for the first offense. Dot Foods to Deliver 100 Truckloads of Food to Haiti MOUNT STERLING, IL, (SWI-News.com), January 24, 2010 - Dot Foods, the largest food redistributor in the United States, is partnering with Food For the Poor and its food manufacturer partners to generate 100 truckloads of food products and transport them to Haiti as soon as possible. In addition, Dot will match all employee donations made to the Haitian relief effort and plans to immediately send two truckloads of product to Haiti on top of the monthly truckload donation it has been providing for the last 10 years. Dot and FFP are coordinating efforts to reach out to Dot's manufacturers for food donations. Dot and FFP will then facilitate the transportation of the product. They will move the food from any plant or warehouse where the manufacturer has the product to ports in southern Florida for the transfer to Haiti. "It is with great empathy for the Haitian people and consistency with our values that we have organized an immediate response to this cataclysmic event," said Pat Tracy, chairman of Dot Foods. "It is our intention to provide significant relief in this worldwide effort by contributing food, transportation services and money. I have had the opportunity to visit the slums in Port-au-Prince and the poverty is so widespread and so complete in the country of Haiti that it truly makes it a heartbreaking catastrophe." Dot also is matching its employee contributions to the Haitian relief effort dollar-for-dollar. All of the money Dot's employees donate along with Dot's match will be sent directly to FFP. Dot has been working with FFP, the largest international charity in the United States, for 10 years, delivering a truckload of food product to Haiti every month. Illinois Community Colleges Expand Green Job Training BELLEVILLE, IL, (SWI-News.com), January 17, 2010 - A $1.7 million state grant for the Illinois Community College Sustainability Network (ICCSN) is expected to expand green educational and training offerings throughout Illinois' community college network. Part of the funding will be used to establish Green Jobs Centers at three Illinois campuses, including Southwestern Illinois College's (SWIC) Belleville Campus. "Investing in green job training will ensure Illinois' long-term success in one of the country's fastest-growing industries and will allow us to build upon our position as a leader in sustainability," said Governor Quinn. "This grant furthers our commitment to building a cleaner, greener Illinois and training a workforce that's prepared to meet the demands of a green 21st century." The ICCSN is a consortium of community colleges geared toward advancing career development in energy efficiency and renewable energy. The state is providing $1.7 million this fiscal year to the 48 Illinois community colleges to develop innovative programs that will stimulate the adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy practices in Illinois homes and businesses, and train people for energy efficiency and renewable energy jobs. In addition to a Green Job Center at SWIC, the grant funds centers at the College of Lake County in Grayslake and Wilbur Wright College in Chicago. The centers will partner with educational institutions, businesses, community-based organizations, and building and trades organizations to implement programs to prepare individuals for careers in the green industry. The job training component of the program will focus on energy efficiency and conservation for homes and small businesses. Workers will be trained in weatherization, energy audits and other strategies that reduce energy consumption, utility bills and carbon emissions. New Bill to Protect Illinois Homebuyers CHICAGO, IL, (SWI-News.com), January 3, 2010 - Illinois Senate Bill 1894 increases the education requirements for real estate agents in Illinois and expands an anti-predatory lending program to three new counties. "Homeownership is a cornerstone of our economy," said Governor Quinn, after signing the bill. "This important new law helps protect Illinois' homebuyers from unscrupulous lenders and ensures that our real estate agents have comprehensive, up-to-date training." Under the legislation, the education requirement to become a real estate agent in Illinois increases from 45 to 120 hours by eliminating the "salesperson" licensure category and establishing "broker" as the new entry-level license. Additionally, the new law requires real estate brokers to complete 12 hours of continuing education every renewal period (two years). The bill also creates the licensure category of "managing broker," which requires 165 hours of education and 24 hours of continuing education every renewal period. Senate Bill 1894's stringent education requirements help ensure that Illinois' real estate agents are fully trained and up-to-date on Illinois' real estate laws and homebuyer protections. The legislation also expands the state's anti-predatory lending database program to three counties that have among the state's highest foreclosure rates - Kane, Will and Peoria. Under current law the program only applies to Cook County. The program requires lenders to provide loan information to the State to determine if the homebuyer should receive loan counseling, prior to approval of the loan. The types of loans that qualify a homebuyer for counseling are those that frequently result in foreclosures. These include: (1) the loan permits interest-only payments; (2) The loan may result in negative amortization; (3) the total points and fees payable by the borrower at or before closing will exceed five percent; (4) the loan includes a prepayment penalty; or (5) the loan is an adjustable rate mortgage which allows adjustments of the interest rate in the first three years. Senate Bill 1894 also includes a provision that allows municipalities to place a lien on an abandoned residential property to help cover the cost of clean-up. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Kevin A. McCarthy (D-Orland Park) and Sen. William R. Haine (D-Alton). 
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