The State and Local Government of Illinois Essay Example for Free

The State and Local Government of Illinois Essay Illinois is a state in the northern central of U.S., a center of Midwest, which entered the Union on December 3, 1818 making it the 21st state of the US (Illinois Encarta). Illinois’ economy has increased or developed, until now Illinois is the most dynamic and prolific in terms of its industrial and agricultural characteristics. Illinois is the 5th most populous and diverse state in the Midwest in terms of demography. Chicago is in the northeastern side, tiny industrial cities in the and huge agricultural part in the western and central Illinois, and a lot of natural resources like petroleum and coal in the southern part can   be found. Illinois is also an essential or significant transportation center having the â€Å"Port of Chicago† connecting the Mississippi to the Great Lakes through the Illinois River, and is also is surrounded by compact networks of highways, waterways, railroads, and air routes, which most of it unite or meet on the metropolis of Chicago, the third largest city in the United States. Illinois is consisted of two sections or partitions, and these are Chicago and the downstate or the smaller communities managing to keep their distinctive characteristics. Illinois is divided or separated into 4 major natural regions and these include the Central Lowland, the Ozark Plateaus, The Golf Coastal Plain, and the Interior Low Plateaus. Except for some short streams, nearly all the rivers and streams flow west or southward to the Ohio River or to the Mississippi River, joining the Mississippi close to Cairo in the southern part. Illinois’ climate is composed of cold winters and hot summers, with polar masses moving south to the state of Canada during winters and warm air masses moving up from Mexican Gulf during summers. The average July temperature in Illinois ranging from 24 degrees Celsius in the northeastern Illinois to above 26 degrees Celsius in the southern part wile January averages range from less than -4 degrees Celsius in the northwestern side to above 1 degrees Celsius in the south (Illinois Encarta).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The two top crops grown in the state with respect to value and quantity are soybeans and corns, ranking Illinois as the 2nd primary state its production. Illinois is placed 4th in the country as an industrial state next after California, Texas, and Ohio, based on the Illinois’ industry contribution to the country’s income, with which most manufacturing is done in the Chicago area. Illinois’ urban and industrial areas need huge amounts of electricity with which 51% is supplied or generated through steam driven power plants through the use of coal and 48% is through its 6 nuclear power plants (Illinois Encarta). Chicago is the center of intricate systems of highways waterways, airlines, railroads, and gas and oil pipelines; making Chicago the major or main center of trucking activities in U.S. According to the national census of 2000, Illinois is the 5th most populous state in the US, having a total population of about 12, 419, 293, and having an 8.6% increase compared to the 1990 census, with 88% are living in urban areas (Illinois Encarta). School attendance in Illinois was made obligatory since 1883 and is now oblige for all children 7 to 17 to go to school, resulting to $9851 expenses per student as of 2002-2003 (Illinois Encarta). Illinois: Government   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Illinois first constitution was adopted in the year 1818 and new constitutions have been adopted in 1848 and 1870, and a 4th constitution was adopted in 1970 concerning the 20th century industrialized state and responsibility for financing public education (Illinois Encarta). Illinois’’ State Government   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Illinois’ state government is composed of an executive, legislative, and judiciary, in the executive, the governor is the states chief executive who is elected for a 4 year term and has the power to appoint key officials of the state administrative agencies and department upon the approval of the state senate. The governor has the power to veto bills approved by the legislature, but the legislature can overrule or ignore such veto by 3/5 majority vote of each house’ members. Other elected officials of the executive who are elected for a 4 year term are the attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, secretary of the state, and the lieutenant governor. On the legislative, the state legislature known as the General Assembly which is composed of the House of Representatives and a Senate, having 59 Senators and 1189 Representatives. Representatives are all elected to serve to 2 year terms while the senators are elected to either 2 or 4 year term. The assembly meeting is annually held on the 2nd Wednesday of January, and the governor or the presiding officer of both houses may call special meetings or assembly. The Judiciary of Illinois has 3 types of courts, namely, the circuit courts, the appellate courts, and the supreme courts. The Supreme Court is the states’ highest court composed of 7 judges who are elected for 10 year terms, and the 3 judges are elected from Cook County including Chicago, and 1 judge from each of the 4 other districts. The Judges elect one as chief justice who will serve for 3 years unless the person’s term as a judge ends and the judges of the states appellate court are also elected for 10 year terms. Circuits are Judges elected for 6 year terms and they in turn designates associate judges for 4 year terms. Illinois Local Government An elected county board is the main policy making body of each of the 102 Illinois counties. A county board is voted in each county and the number of members of the county board is set by ordinance in each county. The members of the Cook County Board are elected from 2 districts such as Chicago and outside Chicago. In the local government, there are called county officers who have the responsibilities and power given by the law and by the county ordinance. The president of the Cook County Board is elected from the county having the power as the chief executive officer of the county and each county has a sheriff, a treasurer, and a county clerk who will serve for 4 year terms, and they may assign or vote recorder, coroner, auditor, assessor, and other officials. The treasurer of the county may perform as a treasurer of any school district or local government in his respective county if a school district asked for it. In the local government there are also Home Rule Units or a municipality with a population of more than 25000 and has an elective executive. A Home Rule Unit doesn’t have the authority to acquire liabilities from ad valorem property tax receipts that will mature in 40 years, and doesn’t have the authority to give a penalty of a felony (Constitution of†¦). Home rule units only have the power to punish offenders by imprisonment for more than 6 months or impose taxes based on occupants’ earnings. A home Rule Unit has the power to adopt, repel, or alter a form of government subject to the approval by referendum, and has the power to provide for its officers their manner of selection or terms of office through the approval by a referendum. Municipalities and counties which are not Home Rule Units have only powers given by the law and the powers to have improvements in their locality by especial assessments. Special districts and units, townships, school districts, and appointed by law as local government units only have the authority given by the law. Chicago and most other cities have their mayor and a council form of government. Most of the medium size cities in Illinois have their chosen or selected professional city manager, and most villages are managed by the board president and Board of trustees. Works Cited â€Å"Constitution of the State of Illinois.† n.d.. Illinois Handbook of Government, 18 December 2007 http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/handbook/ilconstitution.pdf. â€Å"Illinois.† 2007.   Illinois MSN Encarta, 19 December 2007 http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566615/Illinois.html. â€Å"Illinois Compiled Statutes.† 2007.   Illinois General Assembly Illinois Compiled Statutes, 19 December 2007 http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs.asp. â€Å"Illinois Government.† 2007.   Illinois.gov Illinois Government Judiciary, 19 December 2007 http://www.illinois.gov/government/judiciary.cfm.

Early Repolarization Pattern (ERP) Essay -- pattern, leads, conditions

Introduction Early repolarization pattern (ERP) is an enigmatic common electrocardiographic (ECG) finding,occurring in 1% to 2% of the general population (1). ERP prevalence is decreasing with advancing age (2) This ECG pattern is frequently observed in healthy persons,particularly young,male (3,4,5), athletic (6,7), and of African-American origin (4,5,6,7,8).On the 12-lead ECG the ERP is characterized as â€Å"notching† or â€Å"slurring† of the terminal portion of the R wave and beginning of the ST-segment that produces a positive hump known as J wave. The J wave is a deflection with a dome that appears immediately after the end of QRS complex followed by ST-segment elevation ≠¥ 0.1 mV (or 1 mm, varying from 1 to 4 mm) above isoelectric line (relative to the subsequent TP interval) concave upward in at least two contiguous ECG leads. This ECG finding is most frequently seen in the precordial leads from V3 to V5 and often in the inferior leads II, III, and aVF (9) Normal ERP should be differentiated from others conditions with ST segment elevation such as asthenic habitus, acute pericarditis, STEMI,Brugada syndrome (BrS), congenital short QT syndrome(SQTS), and IVF (10,11). Although the condition is usually considered benign, its potential arrhythmogenicity has been suggested by experimental studies.(12) The majority of such sudden cardiac arrests are caused by ventricular tachyarrhythmias, which occur in persons without structural heart disease in 6 to 14% of cases. (13,14) These results were replicated in similar studies and the association with increased arrhythmic risk was subsequently extended to the general population in large cohort studies (16,17). In brief, ER consists of 2 components: prominent J waves and ST-segment elevation.... ... and QT interval association.In the recently study, patients with ERP had shorter QTc interval than subjects with normal ECG pattern. Also statistical results are significantly different about other paratemeters like QT,JT,JTc,QT-apex interval.The previous studies showed ERP and short QT interval relation however subjects had different heart rates.Conversely we showed this association one-to-one matching with heart rates. Study limitations The number of subjects in this study is limited,because as a tertiary center patients with early repolarization pattern referred to our institution were complex and had comorbidities Although the cohort included subjects with strictly defined common features, data collectionwas not uniform among centers. In our study population, we had no subjects with structural heart disease so the results may not apply to these subgroups.

Paniqui Water Essay

Dried water lily stalks woven into fine handicrafts became the livelihood of women, housewives, out-of-school youths, and senior citizens of Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines. A wide range of products like shoes, sandals, slippers, bags, baskets, wallets, pouches, belts, trays, placemats, boxes, tissue holders and many others can be crafted by Paniqui folks using stalks of dried water hyacinths. The ample visibility and fast growth of this plant caused a problem of obstructing the flow of water as the region is traversed with many rivers, swamps, and creeks, causing flooding during heavy rains. The local government started this project with 25 weavers which increased to 50 within 12 months as demand from local and foreign tourists poured out. The BusinessOver a wide variety of handicrafts can be made from dried water hyacinths. It’s light yet strong fiber property can be woven to different products according to the clients’ preferences. Because it is organic, it can be used for packaging of goods which will substitute plastics that are non-biodegradable. The abundant yield of high quality dried water lily straws with the hard-working weaving skills mean that the plant harvesters and weavers of Paniqui have very good potential to enter the market of producing high quality hand-made water lily handicrafts in different designs and products. Furthermore, the same raw materials and weaving techniques can be applied to develop a range of good quality and attractive water lily fashion ware like slippers and handbags. The production of the water lily baskets and boxes would be undertaken by the Paniqui Women Association and the PAGASA Youth Association both recognized and supported by the local government. High quality fabric materials for fastenings, linings, gloss, water-proofing, and highlights were sourced from the locality. Production of water lily mats, trays and other handicrafts would enhance the quality and value of products produced by the local groups and should give in a major income increase for their own households. The target market for water lily handicrafts would be predominately the local market of wealthier Filipinos, overseas Filipino workers, expats and foreigners. The local government unit of Paniqui plans to engage on supplying water lily handicrafts for wholesale to a number of domestic distributors and retail networks. The aim of water lily boxes, baskets, and handbags will primarily be environment conscious consumers who do not use plastic bags or plastic containers. These consumers and other unaware consumers will be targeted through direct marketing and direct and indirect advertising campaigns backed up by the local government unit of Paniqui, the Provincial Government of Tarlac, and the Department of Trade and Industry. There are three main market targets for the water lily handicrafts. The target for the water lily fashion items (mostly handbags, slippers, wallet, etc.) will be established domestic handicraft wholesalers and retailers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, as well as exporters for the United States, Japan, and European markets. It is anticipated that domestic sales to cater to the large tourism market all over the Philippine islands will make up the majority of water lily fashion item sales. The target market for water lily handicrafts (mostly lampshade, decorative household products, placemats, etc.) will initially be the Filipino community living abroad. This embodies a significant market, as there are many Filipinos working around the world-over 860,000 not mentioning Filipino immigrants, so the overall potential market size is large. The main potential competitors would be other communities all over the country who also started this water lily weaving project, as this is promoted by the Department of Trade and Industry to local government units with trouble with the pesky water plant. Another is handicrafts made of other indigenous materials. Water lily products could compete well on the basis of price with other indigenous materials as the raw materials are freely harvested. The distinctive promotion about the water lily products is that they are well crafted by hand utilizing indigenous materials and the designs are decorative emphasizing the Filipino heritage. Also, the use of the product is very helpful to the environment as it substitutes the use of plastic materials and at the same time ceases the clogging of flow of water on rivers and creeks. However, the selling price of the handicrafts is very reasonable. The handicrafts could also be made to order. The Entrepreneur & Management The water lily project started as a livelihood program for the Paniqui women, out-of-school youths, and senior citizens organized by the Local Government Unit of Paniqui. Management is directed by the Municipal Mayor with the help of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office. The Program is in coordination with the Provincial Government of Tarlac which also gives the needed promotional and advertising campaign with the national agency, the Department of Trade and Industry who assist the weavers for needed training and development. Development It started from 12 housewives to 25 women and youths and then to 50 within a year. Handcrafting eventually became a constructive activity for people who were once dawdling outside their homes playing cards and getting drunk the every day. Some weavers take their work at home with the whole family joining the making of the water lily handicrafts. While others chooses to work at the Paniqui Livelihood Center were materials are readily available. A household would earn roughly around three hundred pesos (Php 300) weekly during slack season and about six hundred pesos (Php 600) weekly during peak season. Before it became a livelihood program last August 2008, the conceptions for these water lilies are pests to the community as it hampers the flow of water in rivers and creeks during heavy rains causing flooding in the area. It is projected that by the fourth year of operation the total income for the workers from handcrafting activities could increase roughly 3 times by the year 2012.| Starting out as a backyard industry nearly a decade ago, the water lily handicraft business especially in Las Pià ±as City is booming as more people take notice of the wide range of products that can be made out of the plant that grow in abundance even in urban waterways. Some of these products were put on display at the 7th Water Lily Festival held on Thursday at Carnival Court, BF Resort Village, Las Pià ±as City, a brainchild of former Rep. Cynthia Villar that promotes water lily-based livelihood projects. These included baskets, trays, chests, bags, traditional bags (bayongs), hampers, cabinets, lamp shades of different shapes and sizes—and even a dining table complete with chairs. The smaller items range from coasters to slippers. But as an added demonstration of the plant’s artistic and commercial uses, the festival also featured a beauty pageant wherein contestants donned gowns fashioned completely from dried water lily stalks and leaves. â€Å"This goes to show that with creativity, you can do a lot with water lilies,† Villar said at the sidelines of the event. Villar noted that aside from providing livelihood for hundreds of families in Las Pià ±as, the water lily business has also cleaned up the city’s waterways. â€Å"The industry has become so successful our Zapote River is now free of water lilies and fish have begun breeding here again. We are now getting our water lilies from the Laguna de Bay, and I hope the lake will also be cleared of water lilies because of this business,† she said. Holiday season demand Sales go up during the holiday season when orders for popular Christmas gifts like baskets, trays, and ornamental pots shoot up. To cope with demand, the foundation hires about 100 more workers, in addition to the 50 who work during off-peak seasons. â€Å"It’s a very profitable business, especially since you really don’t need a big capital to start this up. You just need to harvest water lilies, dry them, and start working on them. So many workers become interested in this livelihood,† Torres said. How it works The recycling process is straightforward. Once harvested, the plants are dried under the sun and then cured in an oven. Then they cut, and bent around a wire frame and dyed before they are woven into craft articles. Step 1 Water Lily Stalk Harvesting Step 2 Sun drying Step 3 Oven drying Step 4 Wire cutting Step 5 Wire bending Step 6 Wire frame welding Step 7 Weaving Step 8 Trimming Step 9 Blow torching Step 10 Glue application Step 11 Varnishing Step 12 Finished product The finished items are tissue holders, baskets, hampers, and other products. Each item is sold per piece and the amount of money one takes home depends on one’s diligence. Because output is directly rewarded, workers are motivated to be more productive. Cynthia Villar highlighted the importance of water lily in improving the lives of Las Pià ±as residents by declaring the 27th of July as the day of the Water Lily Festival.

Anabolic Steroid Use in Sports Summary - 1493 Words

Anabolic Steroid use in Sports The competitive drive to win at all cost is fierce among athletes. Winning at all cost often includes using one of many performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids. Many athletes use performance enhancing drugs, like steroids, to achieve higher goals and set higher records than other drug-free successful athletes. Although athletes are performing at higher levels when using such drugs, what is the cost? Finally anabolic steroids should remain banned from sports because their use results in many harmful side effects; because their use violates sports regulations, and because their use can cause death. Anabolic steroids should remain banned from sports because of the many harmful†¦show more content†¦Another reason is the potential side effect caused by the use of anabolic steroids. Since the use of steroids has become a trend among athletes, the number of deaths among them has risen. A lot of these deaths are due to suicides and violent behavior as a result of the effect of these anabolic androgenic steroids on mood. A number of recent, well-publicized deaths of American football players have drawn attention to the potential dangers of sports supplements and the raised important public health concerns about the unrestricted availability of these products that are exempt from U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation (Haller, 2002). Performance enhancing drugs are not only dangerous and damaging; they are potentially deadly. Between 1985 and 1995, at least 121 US athletes collapsed and died during or directly after a training session or game; most often because they had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or heart malformations (Maron, 1996). Most of the athletes that have collapsed and died during or directly after training session or game tested positive for some type of performance enhancing drug. From case reports, the incidence of life-threatening effects appears to be low, but serious advers e effects may be under-recognized or under-reported. Data from animal studies seem to support this possibility. One study found that exposing maleShow MoreRelatedSteriods Informative Speech909 Words   |  4 Pages100 Section #34/Rosie Title: The Facts about Anabolic Steroids in our Bodies. Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the effects of Anabolic Steroids in peoples bodies. Thesis: Today I would like to enlighten the class on what I’ve learned about Anabolic Steroids and the causes it has on our body. Introduction Attention material: According to Do Something.Org, Science Daily quotes that â€Å"A recent study found that 57%of high school steroid users said that they would risk shortening theirRead MoreThe Legalization Of Steroids Should Be Beneficial For The World Of Sport1226 Words   |  5 PagesSteroids seem to to be having a negative view for much of history. 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