Area leaders are mobilizing forces to buy time and correct levee problems on a schedule that may need to accelerate due to a federal agency's floodplain re-mapping initiative.
   On Aug. 15th, U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers co-sponsored a levee summit, bringing together all of the levee districts and people from the business community to get a better understanding of the overall flood protection system in Southwestern Illinois.
   At that meeting a spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the agency is undertaking a project to remap floodplain areas throughout the entire nation as a result of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Levee standards - and the deficiencies of some of the levees protecting the American Bottom - were discussed. According to Madison County Board chairman Alan Dunstan, nothing alarming came out of the meeting as most of those in attendance already knew that problems existed. It was decided to meet again at [continue]

Governor funds new healthcare initiative by taking from existing health programs
By KERRY L. SMTIH

   Although Gov. Rod Blagojevich has said he wants to reallocate state spending to put more money into health care, more than 25 percent of the budget cuts he made six weeks ago came from existing health and human services programs.
   In late August, the governor overrode legislators and cut a total of $463 million from the state's General Fund budget to fund the start of his $2.1 billion universal healthcare initiative. Ironically, according to Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, a Republican from Greenville, $120 million of those cuts came from [continue]