©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Hare, Garza Call for Action on Unemployment Extension |
17th District Congressman Phil Hare says he's very unhappy with the U.S. Senate right now, with Republicans in the Senate, and with a procedural maneuver that he claims will devastate two and a half million people nationwide in just 10 days.
Hare says he's displeased with the Senate's inaction on another extension of unemployment benefits, instead opting for a Summer recess following the funeral for late-Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
The Rock Island Democrat told a group at the Galesburg unemployment office that all kinds of groups will be affected by the loss -- union workers for one.
"I talked to one of the business agents from the Laborers Local union, and he has members who've lost their unemployment -- they run out, they're on the 'out of work' list," Hare said. "They're, literally, sleeping in his union office. So, the fact of the matter remains: we've got a recession, we've got people who need a lot of help."
Hare says he's unhapy that a fillibuster essentially killed the unemployment extension the House has already passed, and accuses the GOP of spreading misinformation, like that people who collect unemployment aren't necessarily looking for work anyway.
Mayor Sal Garza joined Hare, and says typically someone wouldn't need unemployment benefits for a long time, but times are different.
"In an ideal world, this kind of extension is meant to be temporary," Garza said. "But because of what reality holds here, in our local economy as well as throughout the Midwest, Galesburg is typical of having to utilize these kinds of benefits. Our hope is that the future will be stronger. But, making it to that future, quite honestly for most people, is a challenge."
Hare claims 98,000 Illinoisans have lost the benefits since May 30. Local officials did not have numbers as to how many local residents would be affected by having benefits expire.
Hare's November election opponent, Quad Cities businessman Bobby Schilling, issued a statement agreeing that the unemployment benefits need to continue.
(Blanche Shoup from the Workforce Investment Board, and Rep. Phil Hare listen as Mayor Sal Garza speaks Tuesday at the Illinois WorkNet Center in Galesburg. WGIL News Story and Photo by Will Stevenson.) |
|
| 07 07 10 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
