ATA Held Hostage - - Week 10

Good news for at least one hostage. The SCTP Collegiate Championships were rescued by the Cardinal Center. The tournament was held over the weekend. Pictures are on 3 other threads.

In other news.....a local Illinois Paper had the following headines. Sparta trapshoot on the way out
http://rockrivertimes.com/2015/10/25/sparta-trapshoot-on-the-way-out/

 

Just goes to show you that "Rock River Times.com" doesn't have a clue. I don't know why they post these rumors.

All anyone has to do to find the true story is go to the ATA website and they can see that the grand will be held in sparta next year. It's on their website so it has to be the truth. They, the ATA, would never lie to it's members.

FlyersAREbest

 

Stupid thread....SCTP isn't the ATA and thus aint held hostage. No one escaped.

 

When I first looked at the name of the .com site I thought it said "Rock RIDGE"

Man, I thought of 10 different things to say in about 10 seconds. Then I realized it was rock RIVER

 

There is no doubt this news paper got some bad information and it is compounding the problem by spreading vile rumors that have not been validated and confirmed by the Kool Aid Crew ... The residents of Sparta are said to be in wonderment, confused, and irritated, not to mention not happy about the situation with the WSRC ... The 4,000 attendees each spend $5,500 each to get to the numbers they are now using for promotion and to influence Gov Rauner to keep the facility open ... The ATA is broadcasting 10 to 12 million dollars into the local economy which means each of the 4,000 (though this number has never been reached) attendees have to spend only $3,000 each to bolster the generated amount of money to the state, for an experience of a life time ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Time marches on, week 11 is almost here. The part about hiring someone from the shooting world may be true. I've heard if the place does reopen a member of the Central Handicap Committee is in line for the job. Brad

 

Brad that sounds to me like the story the oldtimers used to tell about the doctor and the undertaker working both sides of the street. With all the improprieties being discussed on here that would not be in the best interest of the membership. Someone from the trapshooting membership could be good, but someone who already seems to be included in the good ole boys club should not be considered. Just my observation and opinion.

Dave Berlet

 

Bill, I spend between $4000. and $5000. each year at Sparta. This includes lodging, food, shells, and other shooting expenses. Not including options. Gas, auto repairs, and maintenance, are in the misc. file. Roger C.

 

So you're not lodging in a rented trailer with four other guys while dining on cheap beer and hot dogs purchased from home to save money. There is a difference you know?

 

Roger,
I have no doubt it can be done but how many people will do that ..? My point being the ATA makes claims (10/12 million) about the amount of money generated by the facility for the local and regional economy in the area that would be very difficult to obtain with such a limited attendance ... I have seen trap shooters not shoot because the target prices were raised $1 per hundred, never to be seen or heard of again ( I offered to pay the $1 for a few and there were no takers) ... I 'm not sure the average trap shooter would pay the amounts I used as examples but if they would without crying, screaming, hollering, and kicking all the way, all prices should be raised to off set the deficit realized by the State and IDNR ... The claims that the grand is the shoot of all shoots where average shooters can shoot against the best should carry a price tag that reflects that ... The facility (WSRC) being listed as second to no other should warrant a price (fee's) like no other if that is the case ... No Steak tartar (sp?) at McDonald's at any price, no targets at the WSRC unless people pay and pay big time for the privilege of shooting there and see how long that lasts ... The ATA is dead in the water, renters who have been evicted for the most part with no recourse against a State that cannot pay legitimate winners of their State Lottery what they are due ... If it does not sound good , that's because its not ... If not this year, next but in the near future any way you look at it ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Illinois budget woes keep getting worse

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Another week, and more bad news for Illinois.

First, Moody's Investors Service lowered credit ratings for Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Governors State, Northeastern Illinois, Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois universities. The agency acted because of the ongoing impasse over the budget, which was supposed to be in place by July 1.

The action will increase the cost of borrowing for the universities, although several of them said they don't plan additional borrowing at this time. "But from a reputation standpoint, it doesn't look good," said Paul McCann, interim vice president for business affairs at Eastern Illinois University.

The previous week, Moody's further downgraded the state's rating, which already was the lowest in the nation.

Second, companies that do business with the state are jacking up their prices, ending their contracts and dropping out of the bidding process. All of that means taxpayers will pay more because the state isn't paying vendors on time.

Steven Stratton, owner of Stratton Halls in Bellwood, which sells hats to the Illinois State Police, summed it up pretty well in an interview with Kurt Erickson, the Quad-City Times Springfield bureau chief:

"It's stupid. It's just costing the state more money in the end."

For instance, since the end of June, taxpayers have had to pay $49.5 million in interest payments because the state is behind on its bills. In the past five years, the interest payments have totaled $484.3 million.

Third, a spat between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has turned silly. Rauner's office took Emanuel to task for raising property taxes and seeking more money from the state while refusing to back the governor's legislative agenda.

Emanuel responded on Friday: "I would just say this to the governor and the governor's office: You're 120 days behind budget, $6 billion and counting in not paying bills. Stop name-calling and just do your job."





How did Rauner respond? He went to a meat market in Chicago and bought a frozen tuna steak — that is, a dead fish — that he plans to send to Emanuel. Rauner told reporters that he was just having some fun with Emanuel, who once sent a dead fish to a pollster who had made him angry, according to The Associated Press.

We're not laughing.

Rather than hurting universities, hurting businesses and sending fish messages, Rauner and the Democratic legislative leaders should be doing something they haven't done in recent weeks: Sitting down together to resolve their differences. They aren't scheduled to do so until Nov. 18 in a public meeting in Chicago.

The residents of Illinois shouldn't have to wait that long.


This is some of the latest good news (not) for the residents of Illinois and the WSRC ... Google Illinois budget and there are many problems being sighted ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

ressure mounts for Illinois lawmakers to end budget impasse
WRITTEN BY ASSOCIATED PRESS POSTED: 10/19/2015, 09:52PM
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Meanwhile, business and labor leaders and some of Rauner’s fellow Republicans — including former Gov. Jim Edgar — were stepping up calls for a truce.

“It doesn’t help to continue fighting with each other. . . . We’ve got to get together, work together,” GOP Comptroller Leslie Munger, a Rauner appointee, told reporters Monday. “Everyone has to give some and get a balanced budget with reforms in place. The sooner we do it, the better off we’ll be.”






Rauner and Democrats who run the Legislature have been fighting since spring over the budget for the July 1 fiscal year.

Democrats want Rauner to agree to a tax increase to help close a roughly $5 billion budget hole, but the governor won’t approve an increase until the Legislature approves changes he wants, such as a property tax freeze and curbs to public-employee union powers.

Fitch cited lawmakers’ budget failure, Illinois’ above-average debt and “exceptionally high” unfunded pension liabilities in lowering the rating on general obligation bonds to BBB-, a few levels above what’s considered “junk” status.

Last week, Munger said Illinois won’t be able to make a scheduled $560 million payment to its pension funds because of cash-flow problems. While Moody’s statement doesn’t indicate a change in Illinois’ rating, the agency said the missed payment could be a factor in future action.

Illinois currently has the worst-funded pension systems and lowest credit rating of any state.

Asked about the moves by Fitch and Moody’s, Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly pointed to comments the governor made earlier this year, when he said he works for Illinois taxpayers, not the ratings agencies. She said Rauner is trying to improve Illinois’ finances but Democrats are standing in his way.

Munger and Edgar also have suggested Rauner alter his approach. Speaking in Moline on Friday, Munger said the governor’s attacks on unions aren’t productive. On Monday, she emphasized that other Rauner-backed reforms — such as reducing the cost of workers’ compensation insurance — must be part of any budget deal.

“There are ways that won’t impact unions at all,” she said.

Edgar, who served as governor in the 1990s, said last week that Rauner shouldn’t hold the budget “hostage” to get the reforms he wants. He told The [Springfield] State Journal-Register that Illinois is in the worst shape he’s seen in decades.

Rauner’s office said Edgar is entitled to his opinion but noted that Illinois’ challenges have been decades in the making and require serious action to fix.

Edgar was governor when lawmakers approved a pension payment plan that allowed them to pay minimal amounts to the funds, contributing to the massive payments Illinois must make now and Illinois’ more than $100 billion unfunded liability.

Illinois GOP Chairman Tim Schneider said Rauner has compromised, and he pinned the blame for the stalemate on House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton. The Chicago Democrats have said Rauner’s priorities would hurt the middle class.

“I think Speaker Madigan and John Cullerton could pass a budget tomorrow if they wanted to,” Schneider said, noting Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers.

But not all Democrats vote in lockstep, making it unlikely they could pass a budget or override a veto without support from Republicans, who have so far stuck with Rauner.

The situation means little substantive action is expected as the House and Senate meet Tuesday. House committees will consider several bills, including one to provide $1.84 billion for local governments and lottery payouts. But no final action is likely.

“There’s still no deal on the table and no end in sight,” Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said.

SARA BURNETT, Associated Press

Associated Press reporter Sophia Tareen contributed.

 

ILLINOIS LOTTERY TICKET SALES SLOWED BY BUDGET CRISIS, BUSINESSES SAY


Business owners who sell Illinois Lottery tickets are saying they are feeling the pinch ever since the state began delaying winner payouts.

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By Evelyn Holmes
Monday, November 02, 2015 04:55PM
CHICAGO (WLS) --
The state's budget crisis is already affecting lottery winners by forcing them to wait for any jackpot over $600. Now, business owners who sell the tickets are saying they are feeling the pinch.

At the South Loop Market, there are plenty of lunch time orders, but not many lottery ticket sales.

"About 30-40 percent of our lottery sales is not even existent anymore," said Sid Hammad, owner of South Loop Market.

The lottery problems stemming from Illinois' budget impasse have already led to a lawsuit and a shakeup in lottery management. State Rep. La Shawn Ford (8th District) is sponsoring a bill that calls on the lottery to quit selling tickets until there's a budget and players can be paid their winnings. He's also started an online petition to get support for the effort.

"If you can't pay people then you shouldn't be selling tickets," Ford said.

Ford also says Illinois is also losing revenue and tax dollars to businesses in bordering states like Indiana from the sale of other items like gas, cigarettes, and snacks purchased by lottery players when they buy tickets.

Nora Niaves of the Handy Marathon in Hammond, Ind., says they first saw an increase in sales in August, when Illinois said payouts over $25,000 would have to wait. That increase has grown since the payout amount shrank again in October.

"Every game, we see a lot," Niaves said.

Illinois lottery officials have not released ticket sales data. A spokesperson declined to comment about the impact of delaying payouts, but says revenues are still going to a school fund as required by state law.

Chicagoan Thomas Johnson says if he wins, he wants to get his money.

"People who play the lottery are very afraid of playing the lottery for Chicago. And Hoosier, at least you don't have to worry about getting your money," Johnson said.

It's anyone's guess as to win the problem will be resolved. An attempt in the legislature to release money to lottery winners and others didn't make it to the floor. In the meantime, for those in Illinois who play the lottery, it's a wait-and-see game.

 

Illinois faces millions in extra debt costs from budget fiasco

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Print By Elizabeth Campbell and Brian Chappatta • Bloomberg News
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Illinois State Capitol. (file photo/Post-Dispatch)

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When Illinois returns to the municipal market after its unprecedented 18-month borrowing drought, it may find its budget impasse will cost taxpayers millions of dollars in the coming decades.

On a $1 billion offering of 25-year tax-exempt bonds, it would cost about $175 million more now than if an equal amount was issued with spreads at 2014 levels, based on data compiled by Bloomberg that assumes the yield equals the interest rate paid. Now in its fifth month without a spending plan, signs are mounting that debt sales for cash-strapped Illinois are only going to get more expensive.

After initially planning to sell $1.25 billion in general obligations for capital needs, the governor's office said in September that it wasn't ready to announce any amounts or sale dates. The state's credit rating has been cut by two of the three largest rating companies, it's missing pension payments, and yield premiums demanded by investors are hovering near the highest since 2013. Illinois last sold debt in April 2014 for a top yield of 4.5 percent, about 1.1 percentage points more than benchmark securities. That spread has widened by about 70 basis points.

"Investors are going to ask for wider spreads over the near term if there's not a resolution for this budgetary crisis," said Dennis Derby, a money manager in Menomonee Falls, Wis., at Wells Fargo Asset Management, which holds some of the state's bonds among its $39 billion of municipal debt. "It's a headline risk. It's the potential for spreads to widen out even further."


The Land of Lincoln's lack of borrowing contrasts with localities nationwide that are selling bonds at the fastest pace since at least 2003. That's saving states and cities millions of dollars as interest rates are near the lowest in half a century. Meanwhile, Illinois is sidelined by political gridlock. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled legislature are showing no signs of nearing an agreement for a spending plan.

Catherine Kelly, Rauner's spokeswoman, said Illinois plans to sell bonds this fiscal year, which ends June 30. She declined to comment on why the state has gone so long without borrowing. Illinois can legally still borrow.

"Speaking very generally, state law allows bond sales in these circumstances," according to an emailed statement from the Office of the Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

But returning to the market would come at a cost, and the state doesn't have extra money to spend these days. Investors demanded 1.7 percentage points more yield to own Illinois 30- year bonds on Nov. 3 versus benchmark munis. That's the most of all 20 states tracked by Bloomberg.

Illinois is running out of funds on a daily basis, according to Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger. Unpaid bills totaled $6.8 billion, as of Nov. 3. Still, debt service remains a priority "above everything else," Munger said Oct. 14, after announcing the delay of a $560 million monthly pension payment in November because of the cash crunch. The December payment may also be postponed.

Moody's Investors Service slashed Illinois's rating to Baa1, three steps above speculative grade, on Oct. 22, following a downgrade from Fitch Ratings three days earlier to an equivalent BBB+. Moody's also lowered the ratings of six public universities less than a week later, citing their exposure to the budget turmoil.

"The state's low rating and trading levels preclude them from taking much advantage, if any, of lower interest rates," said Paul Mansour, head of municipal research in Hartford, Conn., at Conning, which holds Illinois debt among its $11 billion of state and local securities. "It does hurt that way."

In the past, credit downgrades have delayed bond deals for the state. Illinois had to cancel a planned $500 million general-obligation bond sale in January 2013 because Standard & Poor's dropped its rating five days before. Yet about two months later it returned with an even bigger $800 million offering that had narrower 10-year yield spreads than the market average.

Not everyone expects Illinois will stay a stranger to the $3.7 trillion municipal market despite its financial woes.

"We've seen them in the past when market access seemed to be somewhat tenuous come to market with a big deal that they priced very cheap," said Jason Diefenthaler, who runs a high- yield muni fund at Wasmer Schroeder & Co. in Naples, Fla. The company owns Illinois bonds. "Problem issuers tend to come to market more often."

Long-term, the budget situation is fixable, according to Ty Schoback, a senior analyst in Minneapolis at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, which holds some Illinois debt among its $30 billion of municipal holdings.

"As long as there's adequate compensation in price, in addition to us having a view that they will ultimately come to a fix and get past this political gridlock, we certainly would consider additional purchases," said Schoback. "You need to be compensated for the headline risk and the political uncertainty and these BBB+ downgrades."

 

oliedog, I do know the difference, I was just making a statement to Bill. I know many do not have that amount to spend as I did not at one time in my life. I do not think the Grand is ever going to be financially viable at Sparta in our life time, but I would hope it is. To many have left the sport and to many of us are growing to old to support our game of choice. Maybe the young people that are being trained by the high schools and colleges will revive the game in the future. If there is a future for the ATA as we know it is in straits because of the secrecy that the present and past officers have introduced into the operation of the organization. Roger C.

 

Y

 

You can go to the Grand, shoot, have a great time. But....it is not
Necessary to shoot all events. Shoot what you can afford, or what
Your body can handle. The older we get we cannot shoot 300 targets each
Day, so do what you can do and have FUN.

Greta c

 

Greta C , Or stay home and shoot your local trap club, Cloverdale, Oh will have a 50 bird meat shoot Sunday. It costs 18 dollars and half the shooters win some meat. You can shoot it as many times as you want, they will have 12 to 20 squads, non registered, just fun for old or young. Cloverdale is just one of half dozen clubs within a half hour of my house here in NW Ohio that have shoots like this every Sunday of the year at one or the other. Brad

 

OYes, that is so, the local clubs need our support. Go to a local club and volunteer

To score, squad, and SHOOT with your friends.

everyone will appreciate you and you will appreciate yourself!

Greta c

To