Still No Budget for Illinois

The House was unable to present the Governor with an acceptable budget proposal and has now extended this even longer. Bad show GA.

Understandably both sides have their worries and wants, but it is about the people now. We're facing possible tax increases, cuts to funding for vital programs, capital projects suffering and schools are struggling all over Illinois. We need to get a resolution through NOW!

Quinn is throwing his power around and Madigan is throwing his around, Everyone is afraid of ticking off a fellow legislator or their constituents and it is not only making Illinois look bad, but is making it worse for the citizens.

It may mean a temporary tax increase, it may mean cuts to some programs, it may mean a look into government waste. It's should not be about party right now, but strictly for the benefit of the people.

We need real leadership and legislators who will stand up for what is right and get things done!

Madigan Speaking his side:


Quinn Speaking his side:

The Granite City Steel Mill Set to Re-Open

Granite City Steel Mill Set to Re-Open

100 maintenance workers will return to U.S. Steel's Granite City steel mill this week to prepare for the plant to restart production.

Jeff Evans stated that as many as 600 steel workers who work in the plant's blast furnace could be back in three to four weeks.

"I was told others would return soon, but they didn't give me a time frame," Evans said.

He has also heard that workers could be converting hot liquid steel strip into slabs in four weeks.

"It take a couple weeks to warm up the blast furnace," he said. "If they don't warm them up, that could cause damage."

U.S. Steel Corp. announced Monday that the Pittsburgh-based company plans to recall about 800 laid-off workers at a plant in Canada this summer. The Hamilton, Ontario, plant will restart production at its coke ovens to produce coke that will be shipped to Granite City Works.

The Canadian mill employed about 1,700 people when it was idled in October. About 700 workers elected to retire early. and more than 800 were laid off in waves starting in November.

Dowling said the reopening of the Granite City Steel mill represents a "glimmer of hope," though "we don't know how prolonged this increase will be. We're certainly hopeful that it's a sign of a more general recovery in manufacturing."

Let's hope this thing gets up and going so that our community can get back to business as usual.