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Last year, I wrote here about FutureCast, a very adaptable “game” framework that was designed as a foresight tool, to help explore pathways to change. It was developed by myself and our partner in all things game related, Randy Lubin of Leveraged Play. Randy and I created it in partnership with the United Nations Global […]

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN) along with U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent the following letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urging the Bangladeshi government to end the persistent harassment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus—and to end its pattern of abusing the justice system to target critics of the government more broadly. For more than a decade, Professor Yunus has faced more than 150 unsubstantiated cases brought against him in Bangladesh. The Senators wrote, “The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have noted irregularities in proceedings against him, including the most recent

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CHICAGO – Today, Governor JB Pritzker, Nexamp, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) joined local leaders and partners to announce that Chicago will serve as Nexamp’s second national headquarters. As the nation’s largest community solar provider, Nexamp’s expansion in Illinois will create 50 new jobs as part of more than $2 billion in planned investments in the state through its existing projects and development pipeline. “Illinois’s commitment to sustainable energy wouldn’t be possible without innovative companies like Nexamp—and their decision to open a Chicago headquarters underscores the role Illinois is playing in the national solar conversation,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “As solar energy companies like Nexamp expand throughout the Midwest, we see a ripple effect of job creation and skills-building that, just like clean energy itself, will benefit communities and generations for years

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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office made $1.33 billion in investment earnings from the state investment portfolio during 2023, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced today. Another $978.8 million in gross investment earnings was earned for cities, villages, school districts, counties and other units of government that take part in the highly rated Illinois Funds local government investment pool operated by the State Treasurer’s Office. “Every dollar we make through smart investing is a dollar that does not need to be raised in taxes for our cities, counties, and schools,” Treasurer Frerichs said. “That means they have more money for public safety, road maintenance, and teaching materials as well as other programs vital to communities across the state.” “We cannot solve all of the state’s challenges,” Treasurer Frerichs said, “but we can be part of the solution.” Treasurer Frerichs

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SPRINGFIELD - A new federal law that took effect on Jan. 1 will impact many Illinois small business owners and companies by requiring they report more information to the federal government, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted to establish and maintain a national registry of beneficial owners of entities that are otherwise not subject to disclosure regulations to prevent money laundering, corrupt financial institutions, and financial terrorism. The CTA will affect small businesses, corporations, or other domestic or foreign entities like LLPs or LLCs that file documents with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. Those businesses are now required to disclose the entity’s beneficial owners – individuals who own or control the company – to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau within the U.S. Treasury. The CTA defines beneficial owners as shareholders who own 25 percent

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We have some sensible news out of the Supreme Court today: The Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration on Monday and cleared the way for border patrol agents to remove razor wire Texas officials installed along a busy stretch of the southern border until the legality of the barriers is resolved in court. I ...continue reading "Supreme Court hands down a sensible ruling on the border"

Here are a few charts that I created for no real reason. I was just fiddling around. The first shows real GDP per worker hour: I tossed in a few big inventions just to drive home the point that practically nothing affects the growth rate of productivity more than a tiny bit. However, it's not ...continue reading "Three random charts about US economic growth"

Former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar appears in a new episode of the PBS series Finding Your Roots, and in a preview of the episode Sammy discovers that Hagar really isn’t his last name.  In the clip,…

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The proposal set off alarm bells in municipalities on Monday after the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis emailed it out to muni officials.

The audit found that Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft withdrew the state from a voter information service that had helped officials ensure dead people are no longer registered.

St. Louis Lambert International Airport worked to clear runways of ice on Monday morning.

A Massachusetts judge ruled that the merger would harm consumers by decreasing competition. The airlines disagreed, saying the combination would boost competitiveness and lower fares. Now, Spirit and JetBlue are appealing the decision.

Metro Transit advised riders to allow extra time for travel Monday due to delays.

The next few weeks of legislative action are primed for debate over opening up access for Missouri students to leave their neighborhood schools — though escalating dysfunction in the Senate may change those plans. Proposals to allow open enrollment between school districts and expand tax-credit scholarships for private schools are among the first bills to clear legislative committees. Eight more bills have had committee hearings already or are teed up for hearings this week.  After years of…

Icy weather closes businesses and delays openings

Originally constructed in 1881, the building has been vacant since around 2014, the city said.

Do you feel itchy yet? A nationwide pest control service released a new report of the top cities in the nation when it comes to one dubious measure – having the worst bed bug problem.

We are about to learn a whole lot more about Bon Jovi. The band’s history is set be revisited in the new docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which has…

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EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury in East St. Louis returned a seven-count indictment charging eleven individuals in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of fentanyl, meth and cocaine in southern Illinois and across the country. Granite City individual is on the list. The indictment charges: Rogelio Martinez-Becerra, also known as “Rodrigo” or “Chaparro” (Shorty), 35, of St. Louis; Jose Manuel Garcia-Ramirez, also known as “Panzon” (Potbellied), 34, of Bakersfield, California; Ricardo Lopez, also known as “Ricardito”, 35, of St. Louis; Gustavo Torres-Yerena, also known as “Ojos verdes” (Green eyes), 60, of San Bernadino, California; Oscar Daniel Barajas-Lopez, also known as “Danny”, 21, of O’Fallon, Missouri; Jaime Barajas, 40, of O’Fallon, Missouri; Dary Axel Amaya-Gomez, also known as “Colombiano”, 31, of Bridgeton, Missouri; Deangelo Barnes, also known as “Lentes”

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Score some bonus treats on your special day from beauty brands with free birthday gifts. Here's how to get free birthday gifts from Ulta, Urban Decay and more.