“It doesn’t take a majority to win, just a tireless minority that will keep starting brush fires in the mind and hearts of their fellow men.”

Samuel Adams

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Supreme Court ruling to Illinois businesses: Get out while you still can

Supreme Court ruling to Illinois businesses: Get out while you still can

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chapter 9 bankruptcy for municipalities is the answer? This will happen when the State removes their pension liability and transfers it to local units. Taxes will go sky high and local units of government will declare bankruptcy. You will be treated just like those employees who worked for General Motors and others that declared bankruptcy. Reduced pensions back to the workforce.

Anonymous said...

This chapter in Illinois History is brought to you by... Michael Madigan, Frank Mautino, and the Illinois Chicagocrat Party.

Anonymous said...

I know, lets fly to the airport and hand out giant checks for a photo op days before the election. Giant checks for stupid things - like splash pads.

Anonymous said...

@3:47 PM It would be interesting to know what the average fringe benefit is paid to employee in comparison to the his hourly wage.
Anon 3:47's brief explanation is very explanatory and describes a possible solution to which the sooner the issue is addressed the better off all of us will be.
Hasn't a plan been put into action that would balance pension programs for state employees in 31 years. 31 years, I'll say no more except how many more problems will erupt in that time frame that we are not aware of today.
If a solution is going to take 31 years to rectify the states management team and the union have been doing a horrible job in the past of their realization of the employees job security and future. Many benefits and pay scales agreed upon by union and company management were developed to take care of themselves right now with no reasoning for the future i.e. 30 and out pension programs, ability to buy up to 5 years of work time, and the tier method of employees pay. The ability of a early retirement program and than to double dip has backfired also because it stops youth from getting a good job.

Anonymous said...

It has been reported that a new plastic company in Oglesby, Il. has run into a major snag. This should be extremely interesting in our area especially since the plastic fire at Westclox.
What process that this firm has proposed was not stated but much has to beconsidered in accepting a plastic firm such as is it a cancer causing process, what product is utilized to clean the plastic and what amount of time the employee is exposed in a 24 hour day, in case of fire what will be carried to the citizenship in the fumes, is this a storage facility and what appearance will it project in one of the main areas of Oglesby, claim is it will employ 12 - this is only a projection and will it really be 12 and at what line do you draw to get 12 jobs accepting negative aspects. Why are they choosing Oglesby as a site?

Anonymous said...

9:10, the ZBA voted down the proposal because it would look bad to have that sort of business at that location.
It had nothing to do with anything in your post. I am confident the potential employer would have worked closely with the IEPA and the local fire departments to have the proper safety precautions in place per the existing laws.
As it stands now, Oglesby will most likely loose out and this potential employer will have to take his jobs elsewhere. The Oglesby ZBA did not like how the business would look and fit in with their long range planning for RETIAL and TOURISM. Both of which produce very few good jobs.

Anonymous said...

And plastic recycling that has soooo many negatives including fire risk is so worth 12 paying Mediocure jobs. Let them take them to Peru. The leader of the valley. Look at where the last fire was. Such a wonderful cleanup. The site is ready for sale. Bawhahaha

Anonymous said...

6:41 - absolutely. Send the jobs to Peru, I'll personally welcome a business like that. Because I know that they will be following the laws and regulations established by the IEPA and our local fire departments.

Anonymous said...

@ 10:15 AM Read 9:10's posting again and you will find "what appearance will it project in one of the main areas of Oglesby".

Anonymous said...

How could so many people who have very little realization of the plastic industry and its dangers be experts in the plastic field?
In the East there is a location called Loves Island which a book was written about many years ago it is not only good reading but also very educational.
Do not count on the IEPA, the fire department and above all the plastic corporation to protect you right here in river city. Westclox has had one plastic fire for any number of jobs I don't think anyone else wants the next.

Anonymous said...

OK 10:17 ad 10:30, like I said, we can just toss the plastic in the river then

People - get off your NIMBY high horse. Recycling is a valid business - just like "Vape Shops" - but recycle centers pay better. We need MORE recycling not LESS!
At no time did I say that I was a "plastics industry expert." Neither are you. You just don't want "ugly" businesses to locate in "The Valley" because of how they look, the image they present to others, and they interfere with your Corn Dog Stands, Book Nooks, and Tourist Traps.

More Industrial Expansion in NEEDED!

Anonymous said...

Oh what a Topsy Turvy world we live in. We have people coming out against recycle centers because they MIGHT catch on fire, and IF they do, the fire MIGHT be more dangerous IF our government does not enforce the fire codes, workplace safety, and environmental codes.

Meanwhile, we call it Economic Development when a Italian Fast Food Restaurant or Brew Pub opens - creating jobs that pay LESS than the MINIMUM WAGE. At the same time, we make welfare payments to the "Agriculture Industry" to spray poison and fertilizer 100 yards from schools and residential zones. Later this summer we will be paying them to spray poison from the air over the city. For what? To grow a crop on every square inch of available land. A crop, 80% which is burned to push our cars down the highway - producing more pollution in aggregate than burning pure fuel oil. What do we do with the other 20% of the corn grown around here? We force feed it to our kids in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Yup - The Illinois Valley sure is a strange place.

Anonymous said...

10:30, using your same reasoning, we should do away with gas stations. After all, we are due for a big gas station fire and we can't count on the IEPA and local fire departments when it comes to enforcing the laws for dispensing gasoline properly.

By the way, Loves Canal to a recycle center is a bit extreme, don't you think? Jeez... will you NIMBY's stop at nothing?

Anonymous said...

Has the Peru Economic Director contracted the guy that wanted to open this recycle center in Oglesby? We have several empty buildings that could house such a facility.

The old furniture store on Shooting Park Road would be a good location. Easy access to Rt. 251 and I-80.

Plenty of space at the old Westcolx Facility - I'm sure the owner of that would not mind another tenant.

Several empty buildings down town, including the bank. Not sure about a loading dock there though, but something could be built.

Maybe the old Washington School could be converted.

We should be looking into this. We can't let these jobs escape.

Anonymous said...

Who are some of you crazy people? Don't let a business locate here because it might catch on fire? What the heck?

Anonymous said...

Spring Valley turned down a fish processing plant because they thought it would smell. That was going to be a very large operation - 75 to 100 employees. They where going to commercialize the Asian Carp and use it for pet food as well as export to China. I believe the plant settled in Peoria since nobody in the Illinois Valley wanted to work with them.

We are to "stuck" on ourselves around here. I don't buy all the "Starved Rock Country" B.S. This is not a tourism Mecca. We should be encouraging "dirty" jobs. To heck with the brewpub master pipe dreams.

Anonymous said...

10:35, there is a certain segment of our "Illinois Valley" population that doesn't have to work. They are either retired or living off the accomplishments previous generations. They don't particularly care if anyone else is able to have gainful employment. If you look at the people that tried to prevent the sand mining expansion you will understand.
Unfortunately, many of our politicians and our local media have hooked their wagon to the "tourism" star. Their dream for the Illinois Valley is a tourism destination that brings in visitors from Chicago and beyond to spend money. Unfortunately, this type of Economic Development only provides gain for the government - through sales taxes and the owners of the bars, restaurants, and retail establishments. There are a few professional residual services associated with them, but for the most part "jobs creation" is limited to the seasonal part time minimum wage variety.
What the Illinois Valley needs are more "dirty jobs." Manufacturing, processing, mining, transportation, warehousing, etc. We need to embrace "ugly" businesses. Until the attitude changes around here, it will not happen.

Anonymous said...

Just ask any student at LP. They all aspire to be Corn Dog cookers.

Anonymous said...

8:07
similar to the city of peru's early retirement incentive - do you know how much that is costing us?

Anonymous said...

I want to get one of those 250 jobs promised by the Ottawa beer mogul. When do they start planting the fields of hops and barley and brewing the millions of barrels of beer it takes to support 250 employees?

Give me a break! Beer mogul! The operation he described in the paper was pure fantasy! Larger than Sam Adams brewery!

Anonymous said...

The students at LP "aspire to be Corn Dog cookers." You clearly have no idea about the students in our community or where many of them go. Wow. Nice comment by....probably a corn dog cooker.

Anonymous said...

What is bad about promoting tourism? It has a far greater impact than you think. Look at downtown Utica if you don't think tourism is real.

Getting high paying manufacturing jobs is very difficult because corporations have shipped them overseas. I find it is usually the local citizens who fight those things (see examples above) not the city leaders.

I agree the beer mogul was full of it but I am all for a brewery coming to the area. Why would you argue against any business coming to our area?

Anonymous said...

"Getting high paying manufacturing jobs is very difficult because corporations have shipped them overseas."

Whose fault is this? Think about that the next time you go to WalMaart and buy a shirt or a pair of sox. But, to my point, high technology manufacturing is coming back to the US and Illinois. We need to put in policies that incentivize that. Remove the red tape, lower taxes, and allow free association.

When I look at downtown Utica, I see a nice downtown entertainment district. I also see people working for very low wages - since they collect tips, it is legal to pay them below minimum wage. I see people without employer benefits - no retirement 401K, no insurance, no paid vacation. I see money being passed from the customer to the owner - with taxation for the government. Very little for the employee. That is what I see in downtown Utica.
I also see a government that is promoting "Starved Rock" country. Along with that branding is an active cabal against "ugly" development.

Anonymous said...

@:13 PM When you believe that someone such as a waitress or bartender has given you very good service you have the opportunity of increasing their income by leaving a very nice sized tip for them. In fact I had lunch yesterday in Utica, picking up the tab for myself and guest I left better than a 20
% tip. Many times the attitude and friendliness of the server is the difference between a good meal and a bad meal.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:26 PM Peru conducted its early retirement program without having the proper knowledge. This was strictly a case of opening the door to the endless unknown and paying for its bite for a long time to come. Upon opening the early retirement Peru officials were not aware of how long the window must be left open.
What has developed in the recent suggestion of the city paying for retirees medical premiums until they reach the age of medicare when they retire before the age of 65?

Anonymous said...

I'd like to see a riverboat casino come to Peru. That would bring decent paying jobs. It would also provide money to allow the riverfront area to be fixed up. That would bring in more people who would then shop at our stores and stay in the hotels. I'd also like to see somebody open a boat tour business and give tours about the Native American history and how this area developed.

Anonymous said...

5:14, keep dreaming. First off, if your idea is implemented, the "boats" would bring crime to Peru. Any jobs would be low paying. We need to develop the Peru riverfront as an industrial area - petro-chemicals, fertilizer, mining, etc.

The only Native American History around here is the Black Hawk War. Do some research and see what Illinois's favorite son, Abe Lincoln did around here during the Black Hawk War.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:21 PM Like your idea of a the riverfront becoming a industrial area. also agree with you on the type of person a casino would bring to Peru and crime would become so high that a already enormous police force in numbers would have to be doubled or tripled.
There is very little chance of a casino coming to Peru as there is way too much illegal gambling being carried on in Peru for a "boat" to become competitive. Legal gambling is supposed to pay 25% to the state and 5% to the city and taxes are collected. Who does illegal gambling pay this 30% to and how is this money taxed by the state and feds?

Anonymous said...

ya' and we can turn "Da Westclox" into a convection center. And the Kaskaskia into a 5 Star Hotel.

Anonymous said...

@8:57 PM Rumor has it that some of this 30% goes to the person who stands outside the buildings to spot for approaching law enforcement and some goes to the person assigned the task of making sure all drapes and blinds are closed so that law enforcement cannot see what is going on inside.
Since illegal gambling is illegal and does not lawfully exist this activity is not taxed which would create admittance.
Who else politically gets the balance of profits as their share besides the spotter and the blind & drape man is probably of up most authority or it won't be taking place.

Anonymous said...

8:57, you are telling falsehoods when you say the city is picking up the tab for health insurance premiums. It costs an employee with his spouse around $1100 a month to stay on the city plan, check with the clerks office.

Anonymous said...

7:21 - and that only covers a small portion of the premium. The city picks up the remainder (2/3 comes to mind).

7:01 - and what is wrong with that? Besides gambling - which has been around here a very long time - more and more people in Illinois have been forced into the shadow cash economy. Due to lack of solid economic development, it is difficult to obtain legitimate employment that pays all the bills around here. So people supplement their income by doing odd jobs for cash, pick up scrap metal for cash, and yes, even run games for cash. All untaxed cash because our "leadership" thinks big box stores, tourist traps, and fast food restaurants equals economic development!

Anonymous said...

6:44 since you have no idea how economic development actually works, why don't you run for office and bring all of those big manufacturing jobs to the area if it is so easy. Our "leadership" is not causing any illegal gambling that has been part of the area culture for many decades and before you or I were born.

It would be fun watching you campaign against the type of economic development we do get in Peru. We are pretty fortunate and the future looks pretty bright. People who think locally elected politicians just "bring jobs to the area" crack me up. You have no idea how business works. Absolutely no idea.

Anonymous said...

Anon 7:21 PM
How could 8:57 be telling falsehoods
when asking a question? He/she did not say he/she asked. No need to check with the city clerk but you may check with a English instructor.

Anonymous said...

The average work week with overtime is 172 hours per week. Adding the city's share of the city plan for employee and spouse of $1100/month to the 2/3rds which is $2200/ month and the cost becomes $3300/month or $19.19/hr which the city pays 2/3rd.Now take this figure and add it to the city employees pay and you have one of the best jobs in Peru that does not need a college education or a 5 year apprentice program. In fact what are the qualifications for city employment, if any?

Anonymous said...

6:44 your wrong, retiree's pay the full portion, employees have a totally different pay in, they don't come close to paying $1100 a month, get the facts from the clerks!

Anonymous said...

retirees should not be given insurance from the city. they should be on medicare.

Anonymous said...

Retiree's are not given insurance, they pay for it. They can't get on Medicare until 65, did the light bulb burn out!