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Louisiana teachers' union concerned about educators' future; Supreme Court hears arguments in Trump immunity case; court issues restraining order against fracking waste-storage facility; landmark NE agreement takes a proactive approach to CO2 pipeline risks.

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Speaker Johnson accuses demonstrating students of getting support from Hamas. TikTok says it'll challenge the ban. And the Supreme Court dives into the gray area between abortion and pregnancy healthcare, and into former President Trump's broad immunity claims.

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The urban-rural death divide is widening for working-age Americans, many home internet connections established for rural students during COVID have been broken, and a new federal rule aims to put the "public" back in public lands.

Labor: Jobs Bill Could be Good for Illinois Workers

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Monday, February 22, 2010   

CHICAGO - The U.S. Senate is expected to vote today on a jobs bill, and it is legislation that the state's largest public employees union says is just what's needed to stop job losses in Illinois. In a recent survey, economists said the Recovery Act that went into effect one year ago helped stem the flow of lost jobs to some extent, but they also said more help is needed.

Anders Lindall AFSCME Council 31 says that saving the jobs of those who provide services to their communities would breathe new life into the economy of Illinois.

"We know that every dollar spent on public services yields $1.40 in economic activity."

The original version of the jobs bill provided tax incentives to create private-sector jobs. It also offered aid to states and local governments to save public-service jobs, Lindall says, but that aid was removed from the bill.

The bill before the Senate today was tweaked in a way that Lindall says watered it down. To really boost the Illinois economy, he wants to see certain line items added back into the bill, "to include significant aid to state and local governments to save the jobs of teachers and police officers and the state and city and county employees who provide vital services in our community."

A new CNN poll shows that 84 percent of Americans believe Congress is not doing enough about jobs in Illinois and around the nation.

The survey of economists mentioned was published at www.usatoday.com.




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