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An early news report that Jesse Jackson, Jr. may be negotiating a plea bargain with federal investigators concerning misuse of campaign funds, leading to resigning from his House seat and going to jail: http://news.msn.com/politics/jesse-jack ... -to-resign

[SHOW]

Otto Kerner--the first of four Illinois governors in the last 40 years to be convicted on federal criminal charges (although he was convicted while serving on the federal bench).

Jesse Jr. and his wife are two of the phoniest worthless people on the planet. Watching these two operate is really something else ... and I've felt this from day 1. Say what you want about Jesse Sr ... he had to work and he is a gifted speaker. You might not like or agree with him but you have to admit that. The kid - just a worthless piece of crap.

You know it’s bad when you see a news link that says “Ex-IL Governor released from prison” and you still have to click on the link to see which one.

The money is flying over on the Illinois side of QC. Moline has been getting all these huge, high profile projects. They are getting Amtrak service to Chicago where they have to upgrade the tracks…not cheap. They got a bigger campus of Western Illinois University, 3 new hotels being built, a new large office building and progress is slowly being made on the I-74 bridge, which is also a billion dollar project.

The strangest one though is that they just announced a $150 million Hyatt development in East Moline, on the footprint of an old factory that was torn down. It’s in a part of town that is pretty depressed, and is still very industrial. A very weird spot for a Hyatt. The only things the site has going for it is that it is right on the Mississippi River, and it is very large (130 acres). Oh, and one of the guys deeply involved in it is a state senator. I hate to make that insinuation, but I can’t help thinking that, especially knowing it is Illinois.

http://qctimes.com/news/local/developer ... f887a.html

The now vacant 130-acre site will be anchored by a 120-room Hyatt Place and a 132-room Hyatt House. The hotels, which will be the first component built, will be designed by world-renowned architect Helmut Jahn.

“This will be the largest single multi-use development in the state of Illinois,” said Beitler, who was selected by property owner River Eagle Investments to develop the project. “I can’t begin to tell you what an exciting project this is — to take 130 acres of empty parcel and go to the best architects in the world … to design and create in anyway they chose. For us, this is a dream come true.”

In addition to the Hyatt Place and the extended-stay Hyatt House, the master plan calls for a wide variety of uses, including a pharmacy, credit union/bank, drive-thru food courts, neighborhood retail shops, gasoline station, medical facility, restaurants, a recreational sports center for indoor soccer and basketball, 300 apartment units, senior citizen housing, self storage facility and condominiums overlooking the Mississippi River.

stlouie_lipp wrote:You know it’s bad when you see a news link that says “Ex-IL Governor released from prison” and you still have to click on the link to see which one.

This made me laugh.

pioneer98 wrote:The money is flying over on the Illinois side of QC. Moline has been getting all these huge, high profile projects. They are getting Amtrak service to Chicago where they have to upgrade the tracks…not cheap. They got a bigger campus of Western Illinois University, 3 new hotels being built, a new large office building and progress is slowly being made on the I-74 bridge, which is also a billion dollar project.

The strangest one though is that they just announced a $150 million Hyatt development in East Moline, on the footprint of an old factory that was torn down. It’s in a part of town that is pretty depressed, and is still very industrial. A very weird spot for a Hyatt. The only things the site has going for it is that it is right on the Mississippi River, and it is very large (130 acres). Oh, and one of the guys deeply involved in it is a state senator. I hate to make that insinuation, but I can’t help thinking that, especially knowing it is Illinois.

http://qctimes.com/news/local/developer ... f887a.html

The now vacant 130-acre site will be anchored by a 120-room Hyatt Place and a 132-room Hyatt House. The hotels, which will be the first component built, will be designed by world-renowned architect Helmut Jahn.

“This will be the largest single multi-use development in the state of Illinois,” said Beitler, who was selected by property owner River Eagle Investments to develop the project. “I can’t begin to tell you what an exciting project this is — to take 130 acres of empty parcel and go to the best architects in the world … to design and create in anyway they chose. For us, this is a dream come true.”

In addition to the Hyatt Place and the extended-stay Hyatt House, the master plan calls for a wide variety of uses, including a pharmacy, credit union/bank, drive-thru food courts, neighborhood retail shops, gasoline station, medical facility, restaurants, a recreational sports center for indoor soccer and basketball, 300 apartment units, senior citizen housing, self storage facility and condominiums overlooking the Mississippi River.

I think Moline is interesting and has potential. I've been to the John Deere stuff down there on the river a few times and stayed at a hotel there. Ramada maybe? It's nice to walk along the river and all that. It seemed to me though that the first time I was there, maybe around 2006 it was much more active and busy then the last time in 2010. Then a lot of shops were closed and the JD Collector Center was closed. Of course the big John Deere Pavilion was there, but I don't know how big of a draw that is.

Maybe this big hotel is a part of a bigger plan to get another casino on the river or something. I could see that happening.

IMADreamer wrote:I think Moline is interesting and has potential. I've been to the John Deere stuff down there on the river a few times and stayed at a hotel there. Ramada maybe? It's nice to walk along the river and all that. It seemed to me though that the first time I was there, maybe around 2006 it was much more active and busy then the last time in 2010. Then a lot of shops were closed and the JD Collector Center was closed. Of course the big John Deere Pavilion was there, but I don't know how big of a draw that is.

Maybe this big hotel is a part of a bigger plan to get another casino on the river or something. I could see that happening.

This Hyatt development is nowhere near the JD Pavilion area that you are referring to. It's about a 10-15 minute drive East of there up the river. The site is very near the Deere Harvester Works plant. There is a trailer park nearby. Such an odd fit, other than the size and vicinity to the river.

But you mentioned the JD Collector's Center. That site is one of the hotel projects I was talking about. It is going to be turned into either a Hyatt Place or a Hilton property:
http://qctimes.com/news/local/groups-pl ... f887a.html

I agree that Moline has a ton of potential. I may be very tempted to move there once they get the Amtrak to Chicago. I doubt Moline will get a casino anytime soon, though. The QC market is saturated. Bettendorf and Rock Island both have huge casinos, and Davenport is currently in the process of getting a huge new casino to replace their dilapidated old riverboat casino.

Moline has done a great job at gentrifying a few areas. The weird thing is, if you wander just a couple blocks outside them (or in the case of the new WIU campus, across the street), you feel like are back in a post-industrial wasteland. Maybe it's not as bad as I make it sound. Davenport has had some big-ticket projects, too, although maybe not as many as Moline. The difference is that Davenport has done a slightly better job in general at gentrifying neighborhoods. It seems like Davenport has several fairly strong neighborhood groups who have some clout, and that has helped them keep larger areas of the city in better shape. Don't get me wrong, Davenport still has a ton of work to do, too. It's an interesting contrast in their approach.

ROCKFORD, Ill. • A former city bookkeeper was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison Thursday for embezzling more than $53 million from her Illinois community, in what ranks as one of the worst abuses of public trust in the state's corruption-rich history.

Rita Crundwell, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud for embezzling money from the city of Dixon from 1991 until her arrest last April, tearfully apologized in a Rockford federal courtroom before U.S. District Judge Philip Reinhard sentenced her to 19 years and 7 months in federal prison — just shy of the maximum 20 years. She was taken into custody at the end of the hearing.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illi ... ba268.html



fyi

Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 at the 2000 census. Named for its founder, John Dixon (Dixon's Ferry), it is the county seat of Lee County[1]. Located on the Rock River, Dixon was the boyhood home of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

she stole $53 mil from a town of 15k. wow.

lukethedrifter wrote: Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 at the 2000 census. Named for its founder, John Dixon (Dixon's Ferry), it is the county seat of Lee County[1]. Located on the Rock River, Dixon was the boyhood home of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Yeah and here is what a typical resident must look like:





She did this right under their nose for years. And they were just blissfully ignorant about the entire thing. Duuuuuuuuh.