I am a big fan of locally owned and operated radio. I’ve travelled all over Illinois and spent a lot of time working in rural areas and local radio stations are a great source of news and information. Recently I had the immense pleasure of discussing the importance of funding transportation investment on two great radio shows. Jay Leseuer’s The Morning Meeting on WCMY in Ottawa, IL and Mary Griffith’s Morni ...

IR-2011-93, Sept. 14, 2011 Washington — The Internal Revenue Service today issued guidance designed to clarify the tax treatment of employer-provided cell phones. The guidance relates to a provision in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, enacted last fall, that removed cell phones from the definition of listed property, a category under tax law that normally requires additional recordkeeping by taxpayers. ...

Illinois’ top business and labor leaders held a press conference this week to urge Congress to prevent transportation cuts and pass a long-term, fully funded transportation bill. Doug Whitley, President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and Michael Carrigan, President of the Illinois AFL-CIO spoke about the economic impact of transportation investment. Outlining the progress being made with Illinois’ Cong ...

Just when you think you have a solid understanding of Illinois’ notorious prevailing wage law, and you feel confident as to your particular obligations with regard to its record keeping requirements, the Illinois Legislature turns the table and “tweaks” the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act again. ...

  Oscar the Grouch loves trash....and we might as well. Yes, I Loooooooove traaaaash! When Oscar the Grouch sang this infamous ditty on Sesame Street oh so many years ago, little did he know that people might soon be joining him in harmony.  Why? Because trash is being turned into energy! I'm not talking about capturing methane from landfills.  I'm not talking about incinerating garbage. I'm talking ab ...

Great Debates in World History               Lincoln v. Douglas   Cats v. Dogs   Ginger v. MaryAnn     Environment v. Jobs Whenever someone mentions the word "debate" in Illinois, images of the Douglas-Lincoln debates can't be far behind.  History has painted the series of events between the two candidates as THE example of how debates should be structured.  Great minds facing off, using facts (not sou ...

By Nancy Joerg, Esq., Senior Attorney and Shareholder, Wessels Sherman Joerg Liszka Laverty Seneczko P.C. www.wesselssherman.com Employers in Illinois sometime wonder what to do when one of their supervisors becomes involved romantically with an employee reporting to that supervisor. The obvious human resource problem with such a romantic relationship is that it can become a serious morale issue for the cow ...

Threeeee....types of energy to talk about today I can't help but remember the Schoolhouse Rock shorts that used to play during Saturday morning cartoons.  One that sticks in my head was "Three, it's a magic number."  Sure, today I'm not as good at multiplying by three, I still remember that damn song. Today I provide three energy trends/news events that may or may not be magic, but each one provides a marke ...