https://www.ilnews.org/news/state_politics/gov-rauner-wins-some-loses-some-during-veto-session/article_d71ea7dc-c59f-11e7-af5a-47abd23c916d.html

SPRINGFIELD, IL – (Greg Bishop, Illinois News Newtork.  Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below)

Overall, Gov. Bruce Rauner is winning the veto game, though more than a dozen of his vetoes were overridden in the past two weeks.

The governor did get some major victories in the legislative veto session that ended Thursday, including his veto of a bill that would have criminalized the creation of local right to work zones and another that sought to increase the state’s minimum wage to nearly double the federal minimum. The minimum wage hike legislation never came up for an override vote.

Rauner did lose on a host of other measures. The governor said Thursday it proves reforming Illinois will continue to be an uphill battle.

“I vetoed some bills that were harmful to the people,” Rauner said. “Some we succeeded at protecting the people of Illinois and some we didn’t. We just gotta keep working.”

LEED silver certification anticipated for 1.5 million-square-foot Wilmington facility

WILMINGTON-IL  — Gov. Bruce Rauner joined area officials at a ribbon cutting today to open a new 1.5 million-square-foot distribution center for General Mills. The facility, located at the rapidly developing RidgePort Logistics Center in Wilmington, could employ up to 150 people when it is fully operational.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, General Mills is a worldwide company that is home to such well-known brands as Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Haagen-Dazs, Annie’s, and Cascadian Farm. Its new distribution center in Illinois will ship General Mills products to destinations across the U.S.

“Illinois is the nation’s logistics and distribution hub,” Rauner said. “As a business person, I can see why General Mills has chosen our central location, our unmatched transportation systems and, most important, our pool of highly skilled Illinois workers. Seeing this facility open is testimony to our state’s central role in the distribution of goods to every part of the nation.”

“The Wilmington customer service facility will be a key addition and a critical location for the General Mills distribution network,” said Mike Nordstrom, General Mills vice president for Global Workplace Solutions. “From this location, we will deliver top-selling cereals, snacks and other products to customers across America.

“We’re also proud that this facility will continue our company’s strong commitment to treating the world with care, as we anticipate that the building will achieve LEED Silver certification,” Nordstrom said.

“What a tremendous boost this will be for the Will and Grundy county areas both for jobs and the local economies,” said state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, who invited Gov. Rauner to Wilmington. “Our area has some of the most talented and knowledgeable people in the world when it comes to logistics. I hope we can build off this momentum and other companies see the great things that are happening in the area and choose to locate here as well.”

The new General Mills center is part of the sprawling 2,500-acre RidgePort Logistics Center that is being developed by Elion Partners about 40 miles southwest of Chicago. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is providing $113 million in multimodal improvements involving highway (I-55) and rail infrastructure.

“An additional feature of RidgePort Logistics Center, apart from its infrastructure and logistical location, is servicing the trucking profession,” said Michael Stellino, managing director of development for Elion Partners. “By having a mixed-use logistics park, we are responding to the needs of the truck drivers, employees and tenants of the park such as General Mills.”

Located in Will County, RidgePort Logistics Center is the largest planned, rail-served industrial park in the Chicago market with 30.6 million square feet of potential development. About 5.4 million square feet have been developed to date, and 810,000 additional square feet are under construction.

Gov. Rauner sends more than 150 troops to provide additional security for hurricane-ravaged island

CHICAGO  IL — Gov. Bruce Rauner is sending approximately 150 Illinois Army National Guard Military Police soldiers to assist the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, he announced at a press conference today.

“The people of Illinois prove time and time again that we rally together in times of crisis,” Rauner said. “Our fellow Americans need us. Many of them have lost everything. I’m proud that we can step up and send our Guard troops in to help relieve some of the pressure they’re experiencing in Puerto Rico.”

The deployment comes just one month after Rauner sent a letter to Ricardo Rossello, the governor of Puerto Rico, letting him know the people of Illinois were eager to assist and would mobilize troops immediately if and when more boots were needed on the ground.

Puerto Rico requested this assistance through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), the nation’s state-to-state mutual aid system. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are part of the compact. The request was coordinated in Illinois by the state’s Emergency Management Agency (IEMA).

Under the EMAC agreement, Puerto Rico agreed to reimburse the state of Illinois for all deployment expenses, estimated at more than $948,000.

“The recovery in Puerto Rico will be difficult and long, and it’s likely more assistance will be needed in the coming months,” said IEMA Director James K. Joseph. “We will continue to closely monitor the EMAC system for additional ways Illinois responders can help with the recovery.”

Soldiers from the 933rd Military Police Company, based at Fort Sheridan, were flown to Puerto Rico by the Illinois Air National Guard’s Peoria-based 182nd Airlift Wing and Scott Air Force-based 126th Air Refueling Wing this morning. They will provide additional security, escort relief convoys and conduct law-enforcement patrols on the hurricane-ravaged island.

“Hurricane Maria has caused terrible devastation in Puerto Rico,” said Maj. Gen. Richard J. Hayes Jr., the adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard. “We are proud to respond to the needs of our fellow citizens as the Minutemen have done for more than 380 years.”

The Illinois Air National Guard already has approximately 60 Airmen on the island assisting with relief efforts, including about 30 security forces personnel, 15 food services specialists and 15 communications specialists from bases in Springfield, Peoria and Edwardsville. The Guard also has troops assisting with hurricane relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

CHESTER, IL – Around 4:30 P.M this afternoon several law enforcement agencies responded to spring street in Chester, regarding an incident with a Chester Police Officer.

The Randolph County Herald Tribune reports that, ”  Scanner radio traffic indicated an officer was down with a suspect on top of the officer.” 

The Herald Tribune also states that, At least two suspects have been taken into custody and the officer has been taken for medical evaluation.”

Public information officer of the Illinois State Police Joey Watson released a statement to the TV stations in this market stating the ISP is providing emergency assistance, but can not provide any further information

Both WSIL and KFVS are sending reporters to the scene.  We will provide any updates from media sources or law enforcement agencies.

Updated with full story from the Randolph County Herald-Tribune.  Click on the link below

http://www.randolphcountyheraldtribune.com/news/20171104/chester-police-officer-injured-in-incident

https://www.ilnews.org/news/state_politics/bill-banning-bump-stocks-advances-out-of-house-committee/article_0b507bc4-b90d-11e7-a054-2f3a9e275a7b.html

The House Judiciary-Criminal Committee hears testimony on legislation to ban bump stocks on October 24, 2017. The panel included, from left to right, Illinois State Rifle Association lobbyist Ed Sullivan, NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde, and state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines. (Greg Bishop – Illinos News Network)

SPRINGFIELD, IL –  (Greg Bishop, Illinois News Network.  Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

There are competing measures to ban bump stocks in Illinois. One, critics say, is too far reaching. The other is stuck in committee.

Democratic state Rep. Marty Moylan said his bill is in response to the Las Vegas shooter reportedly using bump stock devices to make his weapons fire as if they were fully automatic. Moylan responded to critics in committee Tuesday.

“This is not a knee-jerk reaction,” Moylan said. “This is what we do responsibly to protect our citizens. My measure is focused on modification devices.”

National Rifle Association lobbyist Todd Vandermyde said Moylan’s language would impact sports shooters.