2016 12 18 20 13 07

   Thanks to an outcry from 2,500 community banks and trade associations across the nation, regulators – in a rare move – agreed to change the rules that will ultimately impact the type of residential mortgages banks are able to offer, their capital levels and how they weigh the risk of the assets on their…

   As the deadline looms  when Illinois’ insurance exchange must be up and running under the Affordable Care Act, Illinois continues to see an exit of major health insurance providers.   Although Illinois recently predicted as many as 16 carriers would be participating in its health insurance exchange, as of press time that number had dwindled…

Chief Supervisor Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District Council IBJ: How has the levee restoration project been progressing? Sterman: We’ve been making progress – not as fast as I would like or had hoped – but we are making progress. We’re gradually getting the design through the Corps of Engineers review process. The nature of the…

IBJ: Since you became the ninth director of the Illinois Dept. of Employment Security in June 2011, you’ve been working hard to position IDES as an employment agency rather than an unemployment services office. How is that going? Rowell: We’re really remaking ourselves. It’s a challenge, but we’re making solid progress and we’re uniquely positioned…

   Over the past 10 years, U.S. homeowners collectively experienced the very highest highs and the very lowest lows of home ownership, according to experts from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.   The two – Ray Boshara, a senior adviser at the Fed’s Center for Household Financial Stability – and William Emmons – chief…

   Toward the end of this year’s legislative session, two bills were introduced – one in the Illinois House and one in the Senate – that were largely overlooked. The bills, SJRCA 40 and HJRCA 33, seek to change the Illinois Constitution to impose a graduated income tax on both personal and corporate income.   More…

   It is getting harder and harder to ignore the freakish and downright dangerous weather swirling around every part of the globe, giving firm evidence that climate change is already making a mess of things for us all.   In addition to floods and droughts, it’s getting hotter, with last year standing as the hottest year…

   On June 25, President Obama announced his comprehensive plan to address climate change. The announcement was hardly a surprise to the coal industry, as Mr. Obama promised during the 2008 presidential campaign that he would bankrupt the coal industry.   However, for the past five years we have held out hope, albeit faint, that the…