2013 June Issue

 IBJ Newsmakers Rench tapped to head First Mid-Illinois Bank’s Metro East region    Brad Rench has taken the reins of First Mid-Illinois Bank & Trust’s Metro East market in the wake of Gordon Smith’s recent retirement. Rench succeeds Gordon as senior vice president and regional president of First Mid’s operations in Southwestern Illinois which include…

   A bill that stalled in the Illinois Senate’s House Labor and Commerce Committee at session’s end is merely procedural, union contractors say, in recognizing them for the apprenticeship programs they already provide. Those advocating for small open and merit shops, however, say the reporting requirements inherent in HB 924 could put them out of…

   Illinois currently loses an estimated $200 million a year in sales tax revenues to Internet sales, and the U.S. is losing $24 billion annually. If the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 passes the House, President Obama will sign into law a measure that many say will even the playing field between brick-and-mortar and Internet…

JOYCE M. ROSENBERG ~ AP Business Writer – May 22, 2013 Made in the USA back in style for small businesses Reprinted by permission of The Associated Press   NEW YORK (AP) – When Martin Rawls-Meehan started making adjustable beds in 2004, it was a foregone conclusion that key parts would be made overseas. It was…

Compromised: President’s Budget, Another Attempt to Reach Fiscal Deal    President Barack Obama’s FY 2014 budget is unlike any previous presidential budget request in recent history. It is not a statement of the president’s vision for the federal budget. It does not represent what he thinks is the best course of action for spending, taxation…

Obama Budget:  A Step in the Wrong Direction    Congress passes hundreds of bills each year, with many of those bills receiving broad, bipartisan support. Most of these bills pass without much fanfare and aren’t reported on by the media. What Americans do notice, however, are the bills to deal with bigger issues – issues…

Certified Public Accountant, Certified Valuation Analyst, Diel & Forguson LLC IBJ: Has technology changed the accounting business? Diel: Technology has made a major impact on our industry. For example, every accounting firm used to have a library. We had hundreds of books in our library, and now we have no library at all. All of…