These sculptures have a definite local flair
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- Published on 03 December 2015
- Written by Paul Gordon
Welders would probably tell you there is a definite element of art that goes into their work. For sure, a good vision would be an asset when making sure pieces go well together.
But close to 60 welders at Caterpillar Inc. have proved a talent for art, including vision and even drawing, is prevalent in their vocation. And they will be rewarded for that talent.
Four team of approximately 15 welders each recently completed four pieces of sculture using nothing but their skill with pieces of scrap metal they found lying around Caterpillar plants in East Peoria. The time they used was only after their scheduled production work was completed each shift.
About the only thing gained for these welders was a sense of accomplishment and pride, said Tim Williams, the facility manager at Building SS, where the sculptures were unveiled on Thursday. There they will be judged by employees with the winning sculpture to be announced next week.
The four sculptures will be displayed at the Caterpillar Visitors Center beginning in January.
“These teams designed each sculpture themselves and did all the work building them. As you can see, they did great work. We have some very talented welders here and this was a good way to show it,” Williams said.
The competition came about as part of the company’s Employee Engagement Initiative, Williams said. He said welders came to management with the idea earlier in the year and got the green light to proceed.
“This was their initiative. They developed their own concepts for each sculpture. The only rules were that they had to be made with scrap pieces, production work had to be finished per shift first, and the sculpture had to fit on a pallet so it could be moved,” he said.
“We’re pretty proud of what they’ve done.”
The welders all are proud of their work, as well, said Randy Peters, a welder for the company for 12 years and one of 16 members of a team that put together a sculpture with a globe, tractor and a functional weather vane. Another of the team members, Peters said, is a tattoo artist who did the work putting the map on the globe that took 14 separate scrap pieces to put together.
“We wanted to use as much of the Caterpillar theme as we could,” he said, explaining that the numbers 1, 10 and 100 present on the sculpture refer to the motto that each Caterpillar tractor will be built by one team in 10 days and will last 100 years.
Travis Lutes, a welder for five years who was part of a team that welded a sculpture showing a bulldozer in front of the Murray Baker Bridge, with the Peoria skyline behind it. He said that was done to show the connection between East Peoria, where most of the company’s central Illinois factories are located, and Peoria, where Caterpillar’s headquarters are located. Those pieces then are in front of an American flag and a bald eagle to pay homage to the military veterans who work at Caterpillar, Lutes said. Each small piece of the eagle’s feathers was welded to the body.
Another sculpture is of a bulldozer that appears to be driven by a caterpillar, the fuzzy kind. This one has been welded together from scrap but appears basically seamless. This sculpture shows the different Caterpillar company logos from its history. The blade is signed by the team members.
The fourth sculpture also plays on Caterpillar’s global company theme. This one has a globe that more resembles the large, cage-looking one that is prominent in the lobby of the company’s headquarters building. A large hand, with each finger and joint individually welded, is attached to the globe. There also is an American flag, with each star a large bolt.
Peters and Lutes said each member of their teams were assigned a certain piece or aspect of the overall sculpture and worked on it when they had the time. “Production always came first; we knew that. But sometimes that left little time to work on our piece. We used every minute of the time we got to get it done,” Lutes said.
Peters said a few on his team were put on temporary layoff, which made it difficult to get that sculpture finished on time. “We’d just about given up on it, but we really pulled it together the last two weeks,” he said.
'Miss Reardon Drinks A Little' next at Corn Stock
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- Published on 02 December 2015
- Written by Paul Gordon
Bill Lawrence has long thought there was something about the script for “And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little” that was timeless, almost as timeless as he is.
Indeed, this is a play that he considers contemporary even though it was written by Paul Zindel nearly a century ago. That’s because the plot could be from modern day events as easily as it was from the 1960s.
The same goes for what Lawrence, directing a show at Corn Stock Theatre for the first time in 17 years, believes is the subtext of the play that opens Friday at Corn Stock’s Winter Playhouse.
“I’ve always believed the subtext of this play is that what parents do to their children will scar them for life,” said Lawrence, 86.
Listed as a dark comedy, Lawrence considers “And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little” to be a drama that has a lot dark humor in it. “This is not a comedy; it’s a tragedy that is filled with all kinds of shadows,” he said. “And it’s one helluva script.”
“And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little” focuses on the three Reardon sisters, all of whom have become educators within the same school district. Ceil has become superintendent of the school district, Catherine is an assistant principal and Anna is a chemistry teacher. Of the three, only Ceil married and that is one of the shadows cast upon the plot.
Another shadow is what caused Annie to have a breakdown and become obsessed with issues such as rabies. Did she really have an inappropriate relationship with a student?
Yet another is why Catherine Reardon drinks a little – or actually, a lot, like throughout the play. What happened when Catherine and Anna took care of their mother in her last years while living in the same apartment in which they grew up?
“There is some very tough dialogue to master in this play. The way he wrote it, there are lines that are very similar to others at different times, which is one of the things that makes it so good,” Lawrence said. “But this is a powerhouse cast. They handle it well.”
The Reardon sisters are portrayed by three community theatre veterans, to whom Lawrence referred as “three warhorses.” Ceil is portrayed by Helen Engelbrecht, Catherine is played by Cindy Hoey and Anna is played by Belinda Calvert. Engelbrecht and Hoey portrayed sisters in “Other Desert Cities” last year at the Winter Playhouse and Calvert appeared in “Dixie Swim Club” under Corn Stock Theatre’s tent this last summer.
“With those three in the cast, you know you are in for some good theatre, good acting. They bring those roles to life in a way only they can. And the rest of the cast is good, too,” Lawrence said.
They include Cathy Sutliff making her Corn Stock debut as Fleur Stein, Jacob Coombs as Bob Stein, Ann Rowbotham, who usually is a tech crew member, as Mrs. Pantrano and 13-year-old Gardner Brown as the delivery boy. “I like my cast very much,” Lawrence said.
He did not submit to direct this winter; in fact, he believed his directing days were finished. He was talked into it by Gloria Costa, who is his production secretary for this show.
“I wasn’t anxious to direct again, but they ran into some problems with one of the plays they originally scheduled and had to find something else. Gloria reminded me that I once said I would only direct again if I could direct this show again. And, well, here I am. I personally think they were dragging the bottom of the barrel when they asked me,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence remained active at Corn Stock even after he quit directing. He said one thing has always stuck with him in that time, and that is the sense of “serious commitment” to the organization one feels. Lawrence is a recipient theatre’s prestigious Gretchen Iben Founders Award.
Asked if he’s glad he did the show, Lawrence replied, “Yes; I’ve enjoyed the challenge, though I am looking forward to Dec. 14,” he added, referring to the day after the “Miss Reardon” closes its six-show run.
“And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little” will start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4 and 5, at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, 11 and 12 and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and can be reserved by calling (309) 676-2196.
Judge orders state to pay for insurance; criticizes 'fiddle while burning' posture
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- Published on 30 November 2015
By Mark Fitton
Illinois News Network
SPRINGFIELD — A St. Clair County judge has ordered the state to pay its health insurance contributions for home health care workers.
The request for that order was filed earlier in November by the union that represents the workers, SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana.
The union argued the state had failed to make its contributions to the health fund for home care workers represented by the union. In doing so, the union argued, the state breached its contractual obligation.
The union said the lack of payments — which the state attributed to a lack of fiscal year 2016 budget — put the workers in danger of losing their health insurance after Dec. 31. The workers are eligible to participate in the health insurance fund by way of the state’s contract with SEIU.
The union said the state owed the fund $1.5 million for fiscal year 2015 and $11.8 million through October for fiscal year 2016.
In his order filed Wednesday, Circuit Judge Robert P. LeChien agreed and ordered the state to make all contributions owed through October 2016. He gave the state 10 days to comply. Further, the judge said, the state must make continuing monthly payments.
LeChien criticized Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration and the Legislature for inaction to date.
“This lack of ability of the governor and the General Assembly to perform duties makes essential services and assistance headed for a chaotic bust,” the judge wrote. “Payment out of pocket for medical services and medication dooms the financial survival of employees and their families.”
“While the employees have complied with the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) in all respects, the fiddle while burning posture of the other branches of state government provokes the judicial branch to act to preserve the status quo because it is necessary for the state to secure the financial stability of the SEIU Health Fund for 2015 and 2016,” LeChien wrote.
SEIU Healthcare Illinois applauded the decision. In a prepared statement, President Keith Kelleher called the ruling “another major rebuke to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s extreme agenda and another example of Rauner’s failure in leading and managing Illinois’ finances, contracts and basic state operations.”
Asked for its reaction, the Rauner administration replied in an email:
“Payments could not be made due to a lack of appropriation authority, which was caused by the failure of the Democratic majority in the legislature to pass a balanced budget. The state has been represented by Attorney General (Lisa) Madigan on this matter and is in the process of
complying with the court order.”
The union’s request for a restraining order was filed in St. Clair County as part of an existing lawsuit by several unions against the state, Case No. 15-CH-475. A copy of the temporary restraining order is available at http://www.seiuhcilin.org/files/2015/11/15-CH-0475-2015_11_25-ORDER.pdf.
Illinois News Networks’ requests for comment from the comptroller’s office, also a defendant, and from the attorney general’s office were not returned by Monday evening.
llinois is entering the sixth month of fiscal year 2016 without a budget as the first-term Republican governor and Democrats who have supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly remain at impasse.
Rauner and the four legislative leaders are scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon in Springfield.
— Illinois News Network Reporter Greg Bishop contributed to this report.
The Illinois News Network is an independent project of the Illinois Policy Institute
Big meeting, little progress in Springfield
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- Published on 01 December 2015
By Mark Fitton
Illinois News Network
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ governor and four legislative leaders are at least talking about talking again.
And that seemed to be one of the few positive takeaways from their much-publicized Tuesday meeting in Springfield.
Gov. Bruce Rauner and the four leaders of the General Assembly met for a little less than an hour in public and about the same time in private.
Afterward, they said they’d meet again soon — perhaps next week and perhaps with supporting staff.
Additionally, the legislative leaders said they and the governor have at least gotten started on a deal to get some non-general fund money flowing, including motor fuel taxes for local governments’ use.
But the dug-in positions that have produced Illinois current budget impasse appeared largely unchanged. For instance, Gov. Bruce Rauner again advocated term limits and legislative redistricting reform, saying gerrymandering and the protection of incumbents remains the norm in Illinois.
“Our politicians pick the voters, our voters don’t pick the politicians,” Rauner, R-Winnetka, said in his public remarks before the private meeting.
House Speaker Michael Madigan hardly agreed.
“Term limits and redistricting are Republican campaign issues for November 2016” and shouldn’t be preconditions for a state budget, the speaker said.
The Republican leaders from the House and Senate said what they’d been saying since the spring: No new revenues or tax increases without reforms.
Sen. Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, and Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs also said they continue to stand with Rauner when it comes to the need for a property tax freeze coupled with giving local governments flexibility on collective bargaining, prevailing wage and outsourcing.
“I think the governor has made it very clear what he’s looking for,” said Durkin. “Nothing’s changed, and that’s not going to change, either.”
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said he was encouraged by the meeting and remains ready to negotiate.
But he also took a shot or two at Rauner’s leadership style, saying they governor should have summoned the leaders sooner and more frequently, and he implied Rauner needs to step up when it comes to the budget.
“The budget is our (the Legislature’s) problem and he’s just the governor?” That doesn’t make sense,” Cullerton said.
While Radogno said she remains ready to negotiate, she didn’t see much change on Tuesday.
“When it comes to actual brass tacks, there’s no progress,” she said.
Rauner didn’t meet with the press or issue a statement after the meeting.
No date was released for the next meeting, the details of which are apparently still being worked out.
The House returns to Springfield on Wednesday, and the leading legislators indicated there might be progress on House Bill 4305 by Rep. Martin Moylan, D-Des Plaines. It would make nearly $2 billion available to local governments and people owed by the state, such las lottery winners who are now taking vouchers for winnings greater than than $600.
The state has entered the sixth month of fiscal year 2016 without a budget.
The Democrats want money for state services beyond the $32.5 billion estimated available. They passed a $36 billion spending plan, saying they’d work with the governor on revenues and cuts.
With the exception of money for primary and secondary education, the governor vetoed most of the Legislature’s plan, saying he wouldn’t support additional revenue until he gets some of his agenda items, which he says are reforms and necessary if Illinois’ economy is to improve.
Meanwhile, the state is spending at clip that could put it $4 billion to $5 billion into the red as it funds the education budget, satisfies its debt service and pays for items demanded by court orders, consent decrees and in continuing appropriations.
FrizziToon: A Charlie Brown Christmas... 50 Years Later
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- Published on 30 November 2015
- Written by Donn Frizzi
