Inside:
- Scam prevention seminars coming up next week
- Learning about farmland assessments
- House Republicans push relief for working families
- Grant assistance available for gravestone repairs
Scam prevention seminars coming up next week
Far too many of us know someone who has fallen victim to a financial scam. Maybe it was a friend or neighbor, maybe a loved one, maybe even yourself. Scammers will stop at nothing to separate you from your money, and they are always rolling out new and more clever scams to do so.
To help local residents know the warning signs of a financial scam, and know what to do about it, I am joining with Heather Calcara of the Illinois Attorney General’s office and our local law enforcement agencies to present a pair of scam prevention seminars next week. These events are free and open to the public.
On Wednesday September 10, we will be at the Warren County History Museum, located at 238 S. Sunny Lane in Monmouth from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m.
That same day, we will be at the Alexis Community Center, 205 W. Palmer Avenue in Alexis from 11 a.m. until noon.
If you can, I hope you will stop by and pick up some helpful information on how to avoid being scammed and what to do if you think you or a loved one is being targeted by scammer.
My thanks to WRAM radio, Midwest Bank and Farmers State Bank of Western Illinois for their help in organizing and hosting these events.
Learning about farmland assessments
Thank you to Brenda Matherly of the Illinois Farm Bureau, our local farm bureaus, and everyone who attended our series of Farmland Assessment Seminars around the district this week.
We had a great turnout of local residents interested in better understanding the farmland assessment system and finding out ways to challenge an assessment that might contain an error. This is a very important issue for local farms, large and small.
You can find more information on farmland assessments from the Illinois Department of Revenue by clicking here.
House Republicans push relief for working families
This year it has felt like the price of everything is going up. Electricity, gas, groceries, you name it. The pain in the pocketbook just keeps increasing.
To try and provide some relief to working families in Illinois, House Republicans have introduced a package of bills meant to help meet some of these costs. This Relief for Working Families legislative package has several goals: encourage entrepreneurship, help tipped employees keep their tips, and create opportunities to build technical skills which lead to higher paying jobs.
The bills, all filed during the spring session but not yet allowed out of committee, make several changes to state law. One creates an income tax deduction for employers who provide educational assistance for employees. Another eliminates many of the startup fees which new businesses face. Others provide tax credits for contributions to scholarship funds for technical academies, create a Trades Retention and Development Encouragement grant program, and double the education expense income tax credit from $750 a year to $1500.
Find out more about the Relief for Working Families legislative package here.
Grant assistance available for gravestone repairs
We often receive calls asking for assistance in repairing gravestones at cemeteries. Now there is an opportunity to request grant funds to help with stones.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced last week a new program that will grant funds to clean up cemeteries that have been abandoned, neglected, or are otherwise in need of additional care. Units of local government and not-for-profit organizations (including, but not limited to, not-for-profit cemetery authorities) are eligible to apply for ten Cemetery Relief Fund Grants that will be issued yearly.
Each grant is valued at up to $20,000. Find out more information on the program and how to apply here.
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