March 11, 2015

By Jim Nowlan
Outside Columnist

Ida Mae and I were classmates in our rural high school, decades ago. Ida Mae often came to school in worn, dirty clothes, but she was attractive underneath it all. I liked her, though we came from different sides of the track and didn’t mix much.

Many years later I received a long, wrenching letter from Ida Mae, in which she spilled her guts about her high school years.

She was horribly abused by her stepfather, she wrote. Life was absolutely wretched. Read More

Zoo in Moultrie County is Wrong

Dear Editor,
We are currently faced with a proposed zoo being established on prime farmland, an idea that is unthinkable. Whether one embraces the concept, and sees no problem, or is totally opposed for numerous reasons- that is his right. What no one has the right to do is to force his view upon others. Through this method of “silent manipulation”, there is total disregard of others and their rights.
I am reminded of the citizen outcry, in opposition, to the proposed Ameren tower route through our community. The difference being that people were made aware and had opportunity to express their views. I challenge each one of you to follow the advice of the unknown author who cautions us by saying,”Slow down and think things through before you make any life changing decisions.” Read More

February 25, 2015

By Jim Nowlan
Outside Columnist

In his maiden speech on state finance this past Wednesday [Feb. 18], GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner changed the dynamic of Illinois budgeting from an “incremental” process to that akin to “zero base budgeting,” which goes all the way back to former president Jimmy Carter’s days as governor of Georgia in the early 1970s.
The above sounds like academic-speak, so please let me explain.
Rauner proposed a budget that is balanced, at least in theory, without the necessity of nudging the recently reduced state income tax back up a bit, as many Democrats including Speaker of the House Mike Madigan feel is necessary.
The businessman governor proposed dramatic, some would say draconian, cuts not only in pensions, health care for state employees and higher education, but also for children who are wards of the state, kids with developmental disabilities, and the mentally ill.
This will force interest groups and advocates for all these spending initiatives to come to the legislature to make their cases for why the programs must be sustained at higher levels than Rauner wants. Read More

No Zoo In Moultrie County

Currently there are 11 zoo/wildlife parks in Illinois, not including major zoos in St. Louis and Indianapolis. Three are within easy driving distance from Moultrie County, including Henson Robinson Zoo in Springfield, Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington and Scoville Zoo in Decatur.
Is the proposed 140 acre zoo a want, need or necessity, or is it human hubris? A small group of people want to build a zoo one mile east of Cadwell and ¾ mile west of the Pumpkin Patch. This is where I have lived for almost 40 years. Many of the adjoining owners have made formal protests with the county officials.
Here is a list of concerns shared by adjoining property owners: Read More

February 18, 2015

By Tyler Harvey
Mo-Do Farm Bureau Manager

On a state level, the Illinois Farm Bureau had an “Action Request” the week of February 9 and thanks to all who made the call to action. The action request was in reference to H.R. Bill 636 which is a bill to make the Section 179 small business expensing option permanent at the $500,000 level.
Last June, the U.S. House voted 272-144 to permanently extend to $500,000 the annual cost of property eligible for expensing under Section 179 and indexing the amounts for inflation. The bill would allow businesses to deduct immediately from their taxable income the full costs of up to $500,000 in investment of certain equipment from their taxable income, instead of spreading out the costs over time. The benefit of the immediate expensing phases out if total qualifying investment exceeds $2 million, indexed for inflation.
However, on January 1, the maximum expensing level for 2015 fell back to $25,000. But the U.S House just voted on Friday the 13 to pass H.R. 636, America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2015 by a vote of 272-142. Read More