November 2015 – CU-CitizenAccess.org

A central Illinois farmer harvests his crop shortly before sundown on Sept. 24, 2015. U.S. agricultural exports reached a record level in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Controversial trade deal draws heavy lobbying from U.S. agribusiness

Post author:Robert Holly / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:November 17, 2015
Post category:Agriculture

A new trade deal aimed at cutting thousands of taxes and opening markets with 11 Pacific Rim nations has drawn heavy lobbying from some of America’s largest agribusinesses. The deal – known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership – was reached in early October. It is designed to ease the flow of goods between partner nations by lowering restrictive trade policies and regulations.

Read more about the article Illinois gets D+ grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation

Darrell Hoemann/The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

The quad on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Tuesday, November 3, 2015.

Illinois gets D+ grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation

Post author:Pam G. Dempsey
Post published:November 9, 2015
Post category:Government

Four of the seven Illinois governors elected from 1960 through 2006 went on to serve time in prison, so it’s no surprise that Illinois has developed a reputation more criminal than credible. Nor is it surprising that Illinois earned a D+ in the State Integrity Investigation, an assessment of state government transparency and accountability by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity.