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Illinois enacts mandatory paid leave ‘for any reason’

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois will become one of three states to require employers to offer paid time off for any reason after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law on Monday that will take effect next year.Starting Jan. 1, Illinois employers must offer workers paid time off based on hours worked, with no need to explain the reason for their absence as long as they provide notice in accordance with reasonable employer standards.Just Maine and Nevada mandate earned paid time time off and allot employees the freedom to decide how to use it, but Illinois’ law is further reaching, unencumbered by limits based on business size. Similarly structured regulations that require employers to offer paid sick leave exist in 14 states and Washington, D.C., but workers can only use that for health-related reasons.Illinois employees will accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to 40 hours total, although the employer may offer more. Employees can start using the time once they have worked fo...

Wheel separated from commercial truck strikes vehicle, injures driver

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

Provincial police are investigating an incident where a wheel from a commercial truck on Highway 400/88 struck a southbound vehicle and injured the driver.Wheel separation from a commercial vehicle traveling #Hwy400/88 northbound. One of the wheels bounced into the southbound lanes and struck a southbound vehicle. The male driver was transported to hospital with non critical injuries. #AuroraOPP investigating. pic.twitter.com/rUV3LiHIxm— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) March 13, 2023Ontario Provincial Police say the crash happened around 6:30 a.m. Monday, where a commercial truck travelling northbound had a tire separate from the vehicle and bounced into the southbound lanes.The wheel landed on the driver’s side of the southbound vehicle, and the driver was transported to hospital with non-critical injuries.OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt tells CityNews that the investigation is ongoing, and charges are pending though there is no word on what charges or if they’ve be...

Pritzker signs bill mandating paid leave for Illinois workers

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to sign a bill Monday which will mandate paid leave for nearly all Illinois workers.It's called the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. It's a bill that was passed by the Illinois General Assembly earlier this year and is now making its way to the governor's desk.It will require employers in the state to give their employees time off based on the hours they've worked, and unlike before, they can be used for any reason.Most employees will get a minimum of 40 hours, or what's equivalent to five days, of paid leave per year and employers will have the option to offer more if they'd like.The time will be available for use on the worker's 90th day of employment. While the time can be used for any reason, an employer can still require prior notice before taking the time off.Up to 40 hours of unused paid leave can be carried over annually, but employers are not required to pay out the balance if a person leaves the workspace. Employers that viol...

$201 cardboard box among Silicon Valley Bank-branded items for sale on eBay

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – From coffee mugs to a cardboard box, swag from the now-failed financial institution Silicon Valley Bank is attracting bids on eBay.Along with those who appear to be manufacturing items with the SVB logo and tongue-in-cheek "Bank Run 2023 FDIC 250K" OR "Risk Management Department" messages, there are number of other singular items for sale.A branded "corporate swag" tumbler and bottle set surpassed $75 Monday with nearly seven days before the auction's close. Bidding for a hat and 12-ounce tumbler set reached $100. Tom Brady’s ‘retirement sand’ auctioning off for $99,990 on eBay The seller of a $50 used, blue SVB coffee mug claims to have been an employee at the failed bank:I worked for Silicon Valley Bank in the Enterprise Business Analytics team as a data scientist," the alleged former employee wrote. I am utterly shocked by what has happened and am extremely concerned about the future. Buying this mug helps me out but also gets you a piece of history to one of the fa...

Iowa man pretended to ATF agent, police allege

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

A 56-year-old Davenport man faces multiple charges - including impersonating a public official - after police allege he wore law-enforcement attire and pulled over a driver for a traffic stop.Craig Weber fares a felony charge of having a short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun, three aggravated misdemeanor charges of impersonating a public official, and a serious misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment, court records show. Chicago man files class action suit against Buffalo Wild Wings, says boneless wings are just nuggets Craig Weber (photo: Scott County Jail) Driver claimed to be ATF agent, police allegeAbout 12:50 a.m. Feb. 8, Iowa State Patrol conducted a traffic stop on a red Ford Escape SE police allege was speeding 75 mph in a posted 55 mph zone at Interstate 74 westbound at the Lincoln overpass, arrest affidavits say.According to affidavits, Weber, the driver, said he knew he was speeding, and said he was an ATF agent out of the Quad Cities office. He said he has be...

'We've got a lot to prove': 9th-seed Illinois grateful yet motivated for NCAA Tournament

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

CHAMPAIGN - For the first time in over a decade, it's a "three-peat" for the program when it comes to "March Madness.'Yet it's a bit different than the past few years when Illinois was coming into the NCAA Tournament off conference championships of some sort. The Illini got a No. 1 seed after winning the Big Ten Tournament in 2021 then got a fourth seed after winning the conference regular season championship in 2022.This year, Brad Underwood's team has a No. 9 seed as they get ready to take part in the West Region of the Division I men's basketball tournament. They'll face eighth-seeded Arkansas on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. central time in Des Moines, facing a tremendous challenge just to get out of the opening round.Should they do so, top-seeded Kansas is likely waiting for them in the second round, making for a difficult road for the Illini to snap an 18-year Sweet 16 drought.It's put Illinois in the underdog role heading into another NCAA Tournament, but it's not like Underwood is t...

What Role Did Trump Play In The Collapse Of The Silicon Valley Bank

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

Spring arrives weeks earlier for much of the country

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As our temperatures continue to climb and our pollen continues to spike, you may be noticing more and more trees, plants and flowers budding and blooming noticeably earlier than years passed.The USA-NPN or National Phenology Network monitors the rise in temperatures and the impacts our changing climate has on our plants across the United States. It even has a page solely dedicated to the status of spring across the nation. La Niña has ended — Here’s what’s next and when El Niño could begin Being able to track seasonal and year-to-year changes with our growing seasons can help farmers and the food industries that rely on them. This type of information can also be valuable to local gardeners planting or harvesting at the most appropriate time. The National Phenology Network's research has led to the creation of 'The First Leaf Index' and 'The First Bloom Index.' Data of lilacs and honeysuckles were chosen as the plants/shrubs it tracked to help create these maps. The...

Paul J. Davies: A full banking crisis isn’t apparent in the Silicon Valley Bank wreckage

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

The market still appears to be hunting for weakness among some smaller U.S. banks and even across Europe after U.S. authorities stepped in to guarantee deposits at Silicon Valley Bank. This makes little sense: There should be no snowballing of runs on banks. But profit expectations could be trimmed at many firms, which could justify some — but far from all — of the price declines.The Federal Reserve brought out its bazooka Sunday, guaranteeing funds for any bank whose depositors might have been clicking “withdraw” over the weekend. The central bank saw clear potential for a systemic crisis in the closures of SVB and Signature Bank and acted to kill it before it got started.In Europe, the much smaller local office of SVB in the UK was easily absorbed into HSBC Holdings Plc in a private solution negotiated by regulators swiftly over the weekend. The chances of contagion were far smaller in Europe anyway, in part because rules designed to ensure that banks can c...

St. Paul nonprofit completes purchase of surplus Duluth Harbor lighthouse

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — A historic 43-foot-tall lighthouse at the entrance to the Duluth Ship Canal has a new owner.Rethos, a St. Paul-based historic preservation nonprofit, was awarded the Duluth Harbor North Pierhead Light by the National Park Service last month.In 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard announced it no longer needed the lighthouse that was built in 1910 at the end of the north breakwater of Duluth’s shipping canal.It first offered the structure to government agencies, nonprofits or educational groups at no cost. So Rethos submitted an application.“It seemed kind of crazy to me that we would take over a lighthouse, but it also seemed pretty spectacular to be able to take over a lighthouse, especially one in Duluth on Lake Superior where we could tell that really great story of Duluth,” said Rethos Executive Director Heidi Swank.Swank received an email last month informing her that Rethos was the new owner of the lighthouse, she said. She received a hard copy of the letter signed...