Bush hog

Brother-in-law of Nick Hurtgen who awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in the Health Facilities Planning Board case at the end of February and agreeing to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois pled guilty today, Phil Prange, also a former fundraiser for Gov. Tommy Thompson, is a busy guy.

Deep pockets for the punditry and expert-political-opinions of WisChuckleheads.com, Prange is also allegedly involved in the Wisconsin Business Council, reportedly with tires to the Doyle administration and insider Marc Marotta, a partner at Foley & Lardner law firm, dating back to 2002.

Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, today accused the group of being a “money laundering, influence peddling operation for Democrats.”

Single-payer national health insurance

Meanwhile, Michigan’s Congressman John Conyers is the chief sponsor of HR 676 legislation to implement a single-payer health insurance system in the U.S.

Single-payer allows health care providers to deliver health care and get paid from a single source rather than a plethora of insurance companies and HMOs.

It's a government-run health insurance system, not government-run health care.

Loyal to big business

Reportedly, small business is leery of House Democrats health care reform bill, draft legislation that says Americans earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or $88,000 for a family of four, could qualify for credits to help them buy health insurance. The legislation also mandates employers to provide health insurance coverage for their employees or pay the federal government a fee that is 8 percent of payroll.

Prevailing wage standards adjusted

In Gov. Jim Doyle’s final budget bill, he increased the publicly funded private construction project amount from $2,000 to $1 million before prevailing wage provisions kick in.

Reportedly, under the new prevailing wage law, developers who receive $1 million or more in grants or loans from state agencies, cities, villages or counties will have to adhere to prevailing wage provisions. In instances where tax incremental financing or business improvement district funds of $1 million or more are used as grants or loans, the prevailing wage law will also be enforced.