Passwords may soon be a thing of the past

A wave of capital and new technology centered on biometrics, physiological and behavioral authentication is quickly making the world of PINs and passwords a thing of the past, according to "Biometrics: the Future of Mobile Payments," a new report by BBVA Compass economists.

Biometric measures use DNA, fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice recognition, facial patterns, vein patterns and hand measurements to authenticate and verify people's identities. The advanced technology has been quickly adopted by smartphone users — Apple's iPhone uses fingerprint device recognition — and it could soon revolutionize banking, the economists write in the report.

"Biometric authentication is growing at a fast pace and shows great potential to protect individual data and enhance customer experience, particularly in the banking industry," said BBVA Compass Chief EconomistNathaniel Karp. "Biometrics in banking is most popular in developing economies inAsia, such asIndiaandIndonesia; the Americas rank second."

Current estimates say the global biometrics technology market in the financial sector alone could reach into the billions by 2020. This includes biometric sensors, biometric app downloads, direct purchase and software development fees and authentications fees from biometrically secured payment and non-payment transactions.

Uncertainty about biometric authentication's ability to guarantee the protection of personal information is common, but a recent survey found that one in five members of generations X and Y would be willing to share their DNA to help secure financial and personal information.

According to the BBVA Compass research report, the benefits of biometrics go beyond strengthening proof of identity and enhancing fraud detection. 

"As biometrically-enabled devices become standard, critical industries such as banking will be able to offer better customer experience, faster processing times, lower costs and facilitate a multi-channel environment across industries in a seamless fashion," said Karp.

Led by BBVA Compass Chief EconomistNathaniel Karp, the bank's research team analyzes the U.S. economy and Federal Reserve monetary policy. For its analyses, the economists create models and forecasts for growth, inflation, monetary policy and industries. The economic research team also follows a variety of issues that affect the Sunbelt states where BBVA Compass operate.

'Grease' pulls into the Corn Stock tent

From the time they were children, Rachel Wooden and her little sister Ingrid Beyhl planned to someday perform on stage in the musical “Grease”. They’d already been doing the show in their garage, forcing their parents to watch over and over.

For Rachel, the dream of playing Sandy never happened. She auditioned twice; the first time she was too young, the second she was too old. Don’t fret for her, though. She is directing “Grease” at Corn Stock Theatre, opening Friday night under the tent in Upper Bradley Park. It is her Corn Stock directing debut.

For Ingrid, she is finally going to be on stage in “Grease,” in the role of Marty under her sister’s direction.

“’Grease’ is one of my favorite shows of all time. That’s why I submitted it. I figure if I couldn’t be in it, I would direct it. That way I could still see my vision for the show come to life. It’s the best of all worlds,” Wooden said. “I couldn’t be more excited.”

“Grease,” written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, takes place in a fictional Chicago high school in 1959. It follows a group of teen-agers who are trying to survive against peer pressure and the social issues of that time, including love, friendship, sexual exploration teen pregnancy, and rebellion. The show swirls around the romance of the cool Danny Zuko and the new girl in town, the sweet Sandy Dumbrowski.

The music recreates the sounds of the era. Songs include “Summer Nights,” “Those Magic Changes,” “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Greased Lightning” and “We Go Together.”

The musical became a standard for high schools, particularly after it was tamed somewhat from the original script.

But Corn Stock, which is staging the show for the first time under the tent, is using the original version, Wooden said. She said the things that were considered objectionable 30 years ago, mostly rough language, aren’t looked at the same way. “We’re leaving in the rough language, the off-kilter jokes and sexual innuendos. But it certainly isn’t bad. If parents have let their children watch the movie version, they should be comfortable letting them see this,” she said.

The film was a hit, starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing and Jeff Conaway.

Wooden has a cast of 23, ranging in age from 19 to about 50. “One thing I tried to do was cast different types; different body types, hair types. I wanted what would look like a well-rounded high school group,” she said.

David Brown portrays Danny, leader of the group the T-Birds. In his first lead role at the tent, Wooden said she can’t wait to unleash Brown on the audience. “He is a talent and he is everything you want and expect Danny to be,” she said.

Meg Simpson is making her Corn Stock tent debut in the role of Sandy. “Her personality is Sandy, so she is great in the role,” Wooden said.

Betty Rizzo, the tough-acting dominant member of the Pink Ladies, is performed by Jillian Risinger and Kenickie is portrayed by Ethan Johnson.

Dan Challacombe, long-time favorite of Peoria-area audiences who has performed in countless community theatre shows as well as several times a year at Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre in Goodfield, portrays Teen Angel. “We were sitting there before auditions started wondering who we would get for that role and Dan walked through the door. How lucky could we get? He is so good,” Wooden said.

Other cast members include community theatre veterans Susan Knobloch, Beth Ann Evers, Jake Van Hoorn, Kyle King, Megan Manley, Jessica Palkovic and, as Vince Fontaine, Bryan Blanks.

“One of the best things about this show is the complexity of the characters. I am very pleased with my cast and how they have handled those complexities,” Wooden said.

The seven-piece band is directed by Laura Weaver Hughes. Choreographer is Darin Jackson Adams and the set was designed and built by Chip Joyce. It was painted by members of Lisa Bentley’s art class from Limestone High School.

“Grease” runs Friday through Aug. 8, each performance starting at 7:30 p.m.  

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students. They are on sale at the Corn Stock box office or can be ordered online at www.cornstocktheatre.com or by calling (309) 676-2196. 

Illinois tourism had record year in 2014; Peoria region saw growth

It was another record-setting year for tourism in Illinois and new initiatives in place this year has state and local tourism officials excited about 2015 and beyond.

The message brought to Peoria on Wednesday by the Illinois Office of Tourism was nothing but positive, showing that tourism is the one bright spot in the state best with financial problems and where the government is operating without a budget.

“The ongoing increase in visitors to Illinois demonstrates that both leisure and business travelers are considering Illinois a premier travel destination, providing a direct economic benefit for communities across the state,” said Cory Jobe, director of the Illinois Office of Tourism, during a news conference at the Caterpillar Visitors Center.

“These number are a true testament that the  industry’s efforts to support and promote to Illinois are paying off, year after year,” he said.

Peoria was again one of the stops on the Office of Tourism’s annual Road Show, a tour of 12 cities in the state over four days to give local officials and communities the latest figures on number of visitors to the state, revenue generated, jobs supports and new initiatives.

The event was held at Caterpillar’s visitor center because it is one of this region’s top tourism attractions despite being open just under three years. Since it opened in October 2012, the center has had more than 230,000 visitors, with people from each of the 50 states and more than 50 countries, said Kathryn Spitznagle, manager of the Caterpillar Visitors Center.

In 2014, Illinois hosted more than 109 million visitors, an increase of 3.5 percent from 2013, with more than $36.3 billion in travel expenditures, the state tourism office said.

In the Peoria region, visitors spend $665.5 million in 2014, an increase of 4.75 percent. This money supported 5,010 jobs and generated $15.24 million in local tax revenues.

Local politicians spoke of the importance of tourism to the region’s economy and said they are excited about the future because of new developments now on line or coming. “The impact of tourism in our state is significant and a very important part of our economy. And Peoria County, ranked 10^th in the state in tourism, gets a good share of it,” said State Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria.

Koehler said he enjoys is when he and his wife host out of town visitors and can take them around the region to see various things. “It gives us the opportunity to re-see ourselves and everything the area has to offer. I am very excited about the future we have here,” he said.

Peoria City Councilman Ryan Spain said Peoria in a community that has lifted itself up to invest in tourism and is now seeing that pay off. He cited the decision by voters several years ago, in the midst of a recession, to increase sales taxes in Peoria County to help pay for the new Riverfront Museum. He cited other investments that have paved the way for new dollars.

“Tourism really plays in Peoria. It is important to every community in our region. It is critical we continue to invest in it,” Spain said.

Don Welch, president of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau who served as host of the event, told of new programs his agency has launched to grab larger shares of tourism dollars. Part of that is trying to grow the convention business here. One program he mentioned is called “Bring Your Meeting Home,” a push to local business people who go out of the area to attend conventions to help get those conventions to Peoria.

Welch also talked about new developments that will bring in much more in tourism dollars, in particular the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex that will soon host major softball, baseball and soccer tournaments on its fields and under a 125,000 square foot dome. He said IGNITE Peoria, the one-day event at the Peoria Civic Center that showcases different art groups from the region that is back next week for its second year, will continue to bring people from outside the region.

The success of IGNITE, he added, has the Civic Center looking into other local events it can showcase throughout the year.

In the past year, Welch said, the Convention and Visitors Bureau has booked 207 events that will generate 68,195 room nights and have an estimated economic impact of $24.3 million in the future. One of those is the Hearts At Home National Conference in 2016 and the Illinois Elementary School Association Cheer Finals starting in 2017. He also noted that Peoria will host the Illinois High School Association boys basketball state finals – the original March Madness – at least through 2020.

“There is a lot of stuff out there. We’re going to fish in some pretty big ponds,” Welch said.

Jobe went through several of the initiatives at the state level and lavished praise upon agencies like the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, calling them “our front line.”

“I’m proud of our economic impact numbers,” Jobe said.

Some programs include taking advantage of the love people have for Abraham Lincoln. There is also Project Time Off, which tries to convince Illinoisans to use the vacation time they have accumulated instead of leaving it on the table. Another is called Illinois Made and it will include short films aimed at introducing tourists to artisans and businesses and the things they make themselves.

The brand “Enjoy Illinois,” which is also the name of the Office of Tourism website (www.enjoyillinois.com) is being adapted by local agencies, including the Peoria Area Conventional and Visitors Bureau, which uses the “enjoy Peoria” brand. Jobe said it denotes a lifestyle brand for tourists and residents, alike.

Ameren Illinois says grid modernization is working

Ameren Illinois customers are experiencing fewer and shorter power outages as a result of electric grid upgrades the company has implemented under the state's Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act (EIMA), the company said Monday.

These reliability improvements are saving its customers an estimated$48 millioneach year, Ameren Illinois said in a news release.

Since the modernization program began in 2012, the installation of storm-resilient utility poles, automated switches, and an upgraded distribution grid have resulted in 238,000 fewer annual electricity service interruptions on average. When customers do experience an outage, Ameren Illinois is restoring power 19 percent faster on average than in previous years.

"By all measures, the modernization plan is working for our customers and forIllinois," saidRichard Mark, President of Ameren Illinois. "Reliability has improved 17 percent, outages are down and good paying jobs are being created at a time when our state sorely needs them."

More than 330 employees and an additional 1,000 contract workers have been hired to support investments in Ameren Illinois' electric system and operations. In addition, Ameren Illinois is on track to exceed its EIMA full-time equivalent job creation commitment of 450 direct, contractor, or induced jobs during its peak program year. Under EIMA, Ameren Illinois expects to invest an additional$122.2 millionon system improvements in 2015 towards a total expected investment of$643 millionover the 10 year life of the program.

The company also said it is ahead of schedule in installing advanced meters, two-way devices that will provide customers with enhanced energy usage data and access to tools and programs to help them use less energy.

In 2015, Ameren Illinois plans to deploy 142,000 electric meters at customer locations in central and southernIllinois. This month, Ameren Illinois launched a suite of on-line tools to help its customers develop personalized energy savings plans, the company said.

"Today our customers have access to information that puts them firmly in control of their energy bills," said Mark. "Over time the upgrades will help us detect and isolate outages faster while giving our customers even more ways to manage their usage and contain costs."

The 2014 National Grid Modernization Index, developed by the GridWise alliance and the Smart Grid Policy Center, ranksIllinois3rd in the nation for its grid modernization policies, investments, and activities, trailing only TexasandCalifornia.Illinoismoved up from 10^thplace in 2013.

To learn more about Ameren Illinois' modernization program, visit AmerenIllinois.com/focus or follow the company at Facebook.com/AmerenIllinois and on Twitter @AmerenIllinois.