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Organization Tutors in Southside Place, TX
Find Private & Affordable Organization Tutoring in the Southside Place Area!
Furman University - Bachelor of Music, Vocal Performance
Rice University - BS, Statistics
Loyola University-Chicago - BA, English, Theatre
UT-Arlington - BA, Psychology , Oklahoma State University-Main Campus - MS, Counseling Psychology
Rice University - BS, Bioengineering
Auburn University - BS, Management , The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - DDS, DDS
Rice University - BA, Cognitive Sciences
The University of Texas at Austin - Bachelors of Science, Human Development and Family Science
Florida State University - BS, Chemical Engineering , Rice University - MS, Environmental Analysis & Decision Making
Rice University - Bachelors, Biochemistry , Baylor College of Medicine - Current Grad Student, M.D.
Wellesley College - BA, English/Religion , Harvard University - M.Div, Religion/IR
American University - Bachelors, Political Science, Minor in Marketing , South Texas College of law - Masters, Juris Doctor
UH Victoria - Bachelors, Science , UH Clear Lake - Masters, Science
Texas Southern University - BA, Psychology , Capella University - MS, School Counseling


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A & K Pvt. Ltd
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Deals in Banking Services, Mutual Fund Services, Loan Services, bank accounting services
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72/5-6, Wanawadi, Maharashtra - 411040, India
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subset: commoncrawl


text: What type of listing is this? For Sale What are you trying to sell/buy/trade? Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 What are your prices? $150 Where are you located? USA Where are you willing to to ship? CONUS Description Selling my excellent condition Panasonic 14mm f2.5. Aesthetically perfect, image quality is excellent. I just don't shoot wide and when I do, I use my Canon 24-105. No box included but I will ship securely. I have tons of feedback on POTN as namasste as well as perfect feedback on Ebay. Shipping is $7 in the CONUS, paypal fee included in the price. Payment accepted Regular PayPal (fee included in price) Shipping method USPS Priority Shipping charge $7 Handling time ships within one day References Ebay as iridebikes or POTN as namasste Additional comments Open to reasonable offers below asking price, Buyer must have a PayPal confirmed address Acknowledgement I have read and agree to the Buy and Sell rules.


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List Of Essential Oils
Reference Chart On The Benefits Of Essential Oils
KID SAFE CHART check it out! We want to mention that if an oil is not on this list it does not mean that it is not safe to use on younger children. These oils were chosen by Plant Therapy's e…
List of Carrier Oils and Their Benefits | Everything Pretty
Some essential oils are not safe before a certain age no matter the brand simply because of the compounds they contain. Here is a list of essential oils with Age Restrictions. Included on this chart updated 6/26/15 are warnings on respiratory issues, blood issues, dermal applications and hazardous oils for all ages.
Here is a list of essential oils to control asthma including detailed instructions on how to use them.
A great printable list of oils to use in diffuser necklaces or even ultrasonic diffuers.
Let's be sure to keep our furry family members safe- this is a great list of essential oils that are safe for DIFFUSING with dogs and cats. via diyanimaldoctor.com
Graphic only: Here is a list of essential oils you can substitute for one another if you are in a pinch.
Making essential oil perfumes | Natural health Blog | WellBeing Blog
EO Shelf Life, a handy list to know when your EOs will expire, and they CAN expire. Read the article for more information.


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Each month, Rated People connects over 50,000 homeowners with quality tradesmen - simply enter your job details in the form above to get started.
We'll match your job to the relevant tradesmen in your area - those interested will pay to see your contact details and call you to quote.
As each tradesman expresses interest in quoting on your job, we'll send you their profile and ratings to help you choose the right one for you.
After the work is complete, return to the site and rate your tradesman based on their quality of work, reliability and value for money.
Aerial / Network Specialist
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supply and installation of TV aerial.
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Call 410.377.0025 for an appointment.
Located in Towson, Maryland (Driving Directions)
We are currently having a huge sale on spring and summer clothing! New fall and winter clothing arriving daily, including school uniforms! Stop by today!
Looking for the perfect baby shower or birthday gift?
We have baby shower, new baby gifts and birthday presents for all ages.
Consignors...NOW taking fall appointments. Please call 410.377.0025 for an appointment. Receive 10% off of your purchase of Gently Loved Clothing when you use store credit! See How to Consign for all information on consigning with us.
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© The Lily Pad of Towson, LLC
| 6909 York Road Baltimore, Maryland 21212
| Site by Glyphic Solutions


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Although analysts had been expecting natural gas prices to drop this year from the record highs of 2003, many now say tight supplies will probably keep prices near last year's levels. "There's no doubt that supply has declined, and a 10% hotter-than-normal summer could add another dollar to prices," said energy analyst Stephen Smith.
Full Story:MSNBC


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Dark and sexy Asian chick Josey enjoys a fuck and creampieApril 7th, 2012
You know how sometimes you can "smell" the rain in the air before it comes? In this infamous little town here, it's like that with pussy too. There's just an omnipresent odor of readily available snatch wafting through your nostrils the moment you arrive off the highway. But what does a pussy-loving monger do here when it rains and both scents are in the air? Why, he finds a sexy girl and hops in a trike headed for a cozy hotel bed of course!
Read the rest of this entry »


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Hotel Shilton
Gandhi Chowk, Mussoorie, Uttaranchal - 248 179
Starting from Rs. 4,017
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Hotel Shilton, Mussoorie - Guest Reviews & Ratings
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Home →
→ NYMP News (not region specific)
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Rockland Parent—following the success of the first NYC parenting resource book, Big Apple Parent—was launched in 2007. The fifth of eight NY Metro Parents publications, Rockland Parent currently has 50,000 copies distributed monthly throughout Rockland County. As an authority Rockland parents turn to for local resources, calendars of events and activities, and guidance on education, health, finance, parenting tips and expert advice, and products in their neighborhood, Rockland Parent helps families make the best possible decisions on how to spend their time and money.
A cornerstone of Rockland Parent's offerings is an array of comprehensive directories of parenting and family services, including birthday party venues and entertainers, camps, after-school activities, health providers and services, special needs support, and so much more. An annual Source Book is published annually in July which compiles listings in every category, a valuable go-to resource for families to have on hand at all times.
• Find out where Rockland Parent is distributed and grab a copy!
• Submit an event for the monthly calendar of events or email email@example.com.
• Advertise with us.
2016's Most Popular Names According to BabyCenter
Mail a Letter to Santa and Receive a Response
Daylight Saving Time 2016 Ends: Fall Back Without Stress
New SIDS Guidelines Released
Party Planning
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Dec 07, 2016
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If you have a bright child who seems to be losing interest in school, it may not be because they do not like it, they might just be bored.
Tips to help parents promote positive sibling relationships between an older child and an infant, as well as when the children get older.
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Sigiriya Vacation Packages
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the national capital, is located about 95 miles (153 kilometers) southwest of Sigiriya, while Colombo is 95 miles (153 kilometers) to the southwest.
The Sigiriya Archaeological Site and Sigiriya Museum are some of the attractions to do and see around Sigiriya.
Sigiriya isn't the only place in this popular region worth seeing; visitors with plenty of time can also drive a little further out to experience the magic of the surrounding countryside, cities and cultural attractions. Anuradhapura, 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the southeast, and Elkaduwa, 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the north of Sigiriya are also waiting to be discovered.
If you have great weather, take the time to explore Sri Lanka's open-air markets. Places of worship are often the best doorways into a region's spiritual traditions. The temples around Sigiriya are no exception.
The area around Sigiriya offers plenty of activities for energetic visitors who enjoy watersports. Boating and sailing are both ways to have fun upon the water here.
Be sure to take your tastebuds for a tour of Sri Lanka's restaurants and cafés. Chicken and beef are regularly used as features in local dishes. Kiribath with onion samba (milk rice) and vegetarian kottu (stir fried mix) are some popular regional treats for you to try. Sri Lanka desserts such as king coconut are also great to try. No matter what time of day, relax with a refreshing local coconut milk.
When it's finally time to bid goodbye to Sigiriya, head to the nearest major airport situated in Colombo, 80 miles (129 kilometers) away.
Accommodation in Sigiriya
Sigiriya accommodation options could be limited. Be sure to visit Expedia's booking website now to secure a spot.
The Jetwing Vil Uyana, Sigiriya Village and Hotel Sigiriya are simple to book as these lodgings are listed with Expedia.
Sigiriya Archaeological Site is a must-see for visitors to Sigiriya and staying nearby can be a great way to really make the most of it. the Jetwing Vil Uyana is situated just 1.8132789628509753 away. Also nearby is the Sigiriya Village.


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Farewell ocean goddess...It was a great fling while it lasted. Don't you worry though, I'll soon be back to kiss those luscious


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AR 129 now on sale
April 2, 2013
AR 129, 'The Price of Building' looks at the demands of profit as both a powerfully creative and destructive force in architecture.
AR 129, 'The Price of Building' looks at the demands of profit as both a powerfully creative and destructive force in architecture.
Architectural Review Asia Pacific's 129th issue, 'The Price of Building', is now on sale.
The theme of this issue is predicated on an assumption: capital, not design or regulation, is the primary driver of the built form of our cities. Accepting this, it then sets out to examine what the challenges and opportunities might be for architecture in the realm of private property development. This issue proves the demands of profit can be both a powerfully creative and destructive force, and considers architecture as a profession well placed to speak for both the public and private stakeholders of our cities.
Featured projects include Westfield Tower in Sydney, by John Wardle Architects; Elenberg Fraser's Luna in St Kilda, Melbourne; Showcase Buildings in Auckland, by Cheshire Architects & Assembly Architects; and Steven Holl Architects' Sliced Porosity Block in Chengdu.
Elsewhere, Charles Pickett looks at the birth of the Australian project home; Austin Williams examines one of Beijing's oldest surviving hutongs; Philip Vivian weighs in on the Barangaroo debate; plus Maitiu Ward interviews Rory Hyde as well as Graeme Gunn & Quino Holland.
Click here to subscribe to print or digital editions of AR, or find a copy at your nearest newsagent.
Follow AR on Twitter and Facebook.
Would you like your architecture or interiors work to be featured in the Designwall section of AR or Inside magazines? Upload your projects to Designwall on Australian Design Review for a head start.


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For  more Keanae photos (Taro field) visit
For more Wordless Wednesday photos,Â
visit 5 Min for Moms and WW HQ
For  more Keanae photos (Taro field) visit
For more Wordless Wednesday photos,Â
visit 5 Min for Moms and WW HQ
Wow this is so beautiful. I wish I could give my children such an memory. Thank you so much d=for taking the time to share.
happyhermit's last blog post..About Me Index :
I like the place 🙂 looks so serene. no wonder why the kids are having fun!
Rocks's last blog post..Wordless Wednesday-KISS
That looks like paradise for a group of young adventurers!
Robin from Israel's last blog post..Wild Purple Iris
Those days I miss!
East Coast Wahine's last blog post..Wordless Wednesday – Pineapple Hawaii
My sister has moved to Maui and I can't wait to visit this summer. I will checking in to see what you have posted.
Digital Flower's last blog post..Anthurium Foliage Close up
That is so cool! I love doing outdoor stuff with my kids!
Run DMT's last blog post..Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Trolley
Man… I want to go to Maui!!
Anne's last blog post..Wordless Wednesday – Dreamin'
16 years here and I've never been there..it looks so fun! Happy WW!
Jonara Blu Maui's last blog post..Wordless Wednesday – Hello Spring
Oh those pictures reminded me of when I was young and traveled to Hawaii… thank you for putting those memories back in the forefront of my mind. I can't stop smiling.
Hi Liza,
All I can say is WOW and that I'm glad to have been introduced to your blog. Even though I'm a Kauai girl, Hawaii and all of its islands are home to me and your photos bring such a good vibe feeling when I look at them. Thanks for stopping by…I'm definitely subscribing to you!
Liza is the local Maui Mama talking story online - Maui, travel, family, social media, all da kine stuff. Come, stay for a while, and talk story with me. Feel free to ask me about your questions about Maui. Aloha!


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The recognition of pathogenic DNA is important to the initiation of antiviral responses. Here we report the identification of DDX41, a member of the DEXDc family of helicases, as an intracellular DNA sensor in myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs). Knockdown of DDX41 expression by short hairpin RNA blocked the ability of mDCs to mount type I interferon and cytokine responses to DNA and DNA viruses. Overexpression of both DDX41 and the membrane-associated adaptor STING together had a synergistic effect in promoting Ifnb promoter activity. DDX41 bound both DNA and STING and localized together with STING in the cytosol. Knockdown of DDX41 expression blocked activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase TBK1 and the transcription factors NF-κB and IRF3 by B-form DNA. Our results suggest that DDX41 is an additional DNA sensor that depends on STING to sense pathogenic DNA.
Cells of the innate immune response detect viral infection mainly by sensing viral nucleic acids either in the endosomes during the entry of the virus or in the cytosol during viral replication. Thus far, it has been established that the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) TLR3, TLR7, TLR8 and TLR9 sense viral DNA or RNA in the endosome1–3 and the RNA helicases RIG-I, LGP2 and Mda5 sense double-stranded RNA in the cytosol4–7. Many sensors of cytosolic viral DNA have been identified. RIG-I senses cytosolic DNA (B-form DNA) via RNA polymerase III to trigger responses by transcription factor IRF3–dependent type I interferon8,9. AIM2 senses cytosolic DNA (B-form DNA) by activating inflammasome responses via the adaptor ASC10–16. Although the adaptor STING (also called TMEM173, ERIS, MPYS or MITA) has an essential role in sensing cytosolic DNA17–19, the upstream sensors that directly bind the cytosolic DNA remain unknown. IFI16, an AIM2-like molecule, uses STING for sensing cytosolic DNA20. Notably, knockdown of IFI16 expression leads to slightly lower interferon-β (IFN-β) responses to cytosolic DNA, whereas knockdown of STING expression leads to much lower IFN-β responses to cytosolic DNA, which suggests the presence of additional DNA sensors in the innate immune system.
Direct biochemical approaches with immunoprecipitation assays and mass spectrometry have identified nucleic acid sensors in the DExD/H-box helicase superfamily in both plasmacytoid dendritic cells (DCs)21 and myeloid DCs (mDCs)22. In plasmacytoid DCs, DHX36 and DHX9 have been identified as cytosolic CpG-DNA sensors that pair with the adaptor MyD88 to trigger type I interferon responses21. In mDCs, a three-helicase DDX1-DDX21-DHX36 complex has been identified as a sensor of the synthetic RNA duplex poly(I:C) in the cytosol that pairs with the adaptor TRIF to trigger type I interferon responses22. Those data prompted us to undertake a bioinformatics analysis in which we identified 59 members of the DExD/H-box helicase superfamily, including the RIG-I-like receptor subfamily (RIG-I, Mda5 and LGP-2). We therefore hypothesized that the DExD/H-box helicase superfamily may be more important in sensing microbial nucleic acids than previously thought.
By screening all 59 members of the DExD/H family of helicases through the use of small interfering RNA (siRNA), we found that knocking down expression of the helicase DDX41 in the mouse splenic mDC line D2SC led to over 90% lower IFN-β responses to poly(dA:dT) delivered via lipofection (data not shown). We confirmed those data by stable knockdown of DDX41 expression through the use of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) in this mDC line. Three distinct DDX41-targeting shRNA constructs efficiently knocked down expression of DDX41 protein without affecting the expression of STING, RIG-I or IPS-1 (Fig. 1a). Likewise, targeting STING, RIG-I or IPS-1 with shRNA specifically knocked down expression of the targeted protein without altering the expression of untargeted proteins. When stimulated with B-form DNA delivered via lipofection, D2SC mDCs in which RIG-I or IPS-1 was knocked down produced abundant IFN-α and IFN-β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), whereas these cytokine responses were considerably attenuated in D2SC cells in which DDX41 or STING was knocked down (Fig. 1b and Supplementary Fig. 1a). In contrast, the production of IL-1β in response to B-form DNA, which is dependent on AIM2 (refs. 10–15), was not affected by knockdown of DDX41 or STING in D2SC mDCs (Supplementary Fig. 1a). We next investigated whether DDX41 also has a role in sensing poly(dG:dC) in D2SC mDCs. We found that knocking down DDX41 or STING resulted in over 98% less production of IFN-α, IFN-β and IL-6 and over 80% less production of TNF by mDCs in response to poly(dG:dC) delivered via lipofection (Fig. 1c and Supplementary Fig. 1b). In contrast, knocking down RIG-I or IPS-1 had no effect on the production of these cytokines. Although knockdown of DDX41 or STING had little effect on the production of IFN-α, IFN-β, IL-6 or TNF by D2SC mDCs in response to poly(I:C), knockdown of RIG-I or IPS-1 led to attenuated cytokine responses to poly(I:C) by D2SC mDCs (Fig. 1d and Supplementary Fig. 1c). These data suggest specificity for DDX41 and STING in the response to cytosolic DNA.
To determine whether DDX41 has a role in sensing viral infection, we knocked down DDX41, STING, RIG-I or IPS-1 in D2SC mDCs and cultured the cells with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1; Fig. 1e and Supplementary Fig. 1d) or influenza A virus (Fig. 1f and Supplementary Fig. 1e). The results of quantitative PCR analysis of HSV-1 DNA indicated that the cells were cultured with equivalent amounts of virus (Supplementary Fig. 1f). D2SC mDCs in which DDX41 or STING was knocked down lost the ability to produce large amounts of type I interferon, IL-6 or TNF in response to HSV-1 (Fig. 1e and Supplementary Fig. 1d) but had normal cytokine responses to influenza A virus (Fig. 1e and Supplementary 1e). D2SC mDCs in which RIG-I or IPS-1 was knocked down had normal cytokine responses to HSV-1 (Fig. 1e and Supplementary Fig. 1d) but had much lower responses to influenza A virus (Fig. 1f and Supplementary Fig. 1e). Control D2SC mDCs treated with scrambled shRNA had normal cytokine responses to both HSV-1 and influenza A virus (Fig. 1e,f and Supplementary Fig. 1d,e). To determine whether DDX41 has an important role in antiviral defense, we measured the replication of HSV-1 DNA in the cells by quantitative PCR. The replication of HSV-1 was much greater in D2SC mDCs in which DDX41 was knocked down (Supplementary Fig. 1g), which indicated an important role for DDX41 in suppressing infection with DNA viruses. Although DHX9 and DHX36 sense cytosolic CpG DNA in plasmacytoid DCs21, D2SC mDCs in which DHX9 or DHX36 was knocked down had normal cytokine responses to B-form DNA (Supplementary Fig. 1h,i), which indicated that these two helicases have no role in sensing B-form DNA in mDCs.
To determine whether the DDX41 senses cytosolic DNA in primary cells, we prepared mDCs derived from bone marrow with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and treated these bone marrow–derived DCs (BMDCs) with shRNA targeting DDX41, STING, RIG-I or IPS-1. We then assessed the specificity and efficiency with which the expression of DDX41, STING, RIG-I or IPS-1 protein was knocked down through the use of shRNA in the BMDCs (Fig. 2a). We stimulated those BMDCs with poly(dA:dT), poly(dG:dC), Listeria monocytogenes, adenovirus, HSV-1, poly(I:C) or influenza A virus and measured IFN-α and IFN-β in the culture supernatants by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). BMDCs in which DDX41 or STING was knocked down had lower IFN-α and IFN-β responses to poly(dA:dT), poly(dG: dC), L. monocytogenes, adenovirus and HSV-1 than did BMDCs treated with scrambled shRNA (Fig. 2b–f). BMDCs in which DDX41 or STING was knocked down produced normal amounts of IFN-α and IFN-β in response to poly(I:C) or influenza A virus (Supplementary Fig. 2). In contrast, BMDCs in which RIG-I or IPS-1 was knocked down produced normal amounts of IFN-α and IFN-β in response to DNA itself or DNA virus and produced much less IFN-α and IFN-β in response to poly(I:C) or influenza A virus. These results confirmed published studies showing that RIG-I and IPS-1 have important roles in sensing poly(I:C) and influenza A virus but they are not involved in sensing DNA itself or DNA virus in mDCs8,9. To determine whether DDX41 regulates the expression of interferon-inducible genes, we compared the mRNA expression profiles of BMDCs in which DDX41 or STING was knocked down or BMDCs treated with scrambled shRNA after activation with poly(dA:dT). Knockdown of DDX41 or STING prevented the induction of type I interferon–induced gene expression activated by the poly(dA:dT) (Supplementary Table 1). These data indicate that DDX41 has a critical role in sensing DNA in BMDCs and that STING functions downstream of DDX41 as a key adaptor molecule for signaling.
A published study has identified IFI16 as a sensor of DNA in human monocytes through the use of a biotin-labeled vaccinia virus DNA-precipitation method20. To determine whether the human DDX41 senses viral DNA in human monocytes, we treated THP-1 cells, a human monocyte cell line, with shRNA targeting DDX41, IFI16 or STING and confirmed that expression of the targeted protein was knocked down (Fig. 3a). After knockdown of DDX41, IFI16 or STING in THP-1 cells, we stimulated the cells with vaccinia virus DNA, HSV-1 DNA, poly(dG:dC) or HSV-1 and measured IFN-β and IL-6 in the culture supernatants by ELISA. Knockdown of DDX41 or STING in THP-1 cells eliminated the ability to produce large amounts of IFN-β and IL-6 in response to DNA or HSV-1 (Fig. 3b–e). However, knockdown of IFI16 in THP-1 cells led to slightly lower responses of IFN-β and IL-6 to DNA or HSV-1, which confirmed the results of a published study showing that IFI16 has a moderate role in viral DNA sensing20.
To clarify the overlapping functions of DDX41 and IFI16, we assessed the expression profiles of DDX41, IFI16 and IFN-β in THP-1 cells. Although DDX41 was constitutively expressed in THP-1 cells, IFI16 was induced mainly after activation with poly(dA:dT) (Fig. 3f). We detected substantial induction of IFN-β after 4 h of stimulation, whereas we detected induction of IFI16 after 8 h of stimulation. Although knockdown of DDX41 blocked the induction of IFI16 after stimulation with poly(dA:dT), knockdown of IFI16 had no effect on DDX41 expression. These data indicate that DDX41 is more important than IFI16 in the initial sensing of B-form DNA and in triggering the early burst of the type I interferon response.
To determine whether DDX41 directly binds DNA, we transfected HEK293T human embryonic kidney cells with plasmid encoding hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged DDX41, STING or DHX9 recombinant protein, followed by purification with beads linked to antibody to HA (anti-HA). We incubated each purified helicase with biotin-labeled poly(dA:dT), poly(dG:dC) or poly(I:C), followed by the addition of avidin beads. Only recombinant DDX41 was immunoprecipitated by avidin beads plus poly(dA:dT) or poly(dG:dC) (Fig. 4a), which indicated that DDX41 bound DNA directly. To further determine whether DDX41 bound bacterial DNA in the infected cells, we analyzed L. monocytogenes–infected BMDCs by chromatin immunoprecipitation. These data showed that DDX41 directly bound the L. monocytogenes gene encoding phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase (Supplementary Fig. 3a). To map the DNA-binding site of DDX41, we prepared truncated versions of DDX41 that we then tested in immunoprecipitation experiments with biotin-labeled DNA. The results of these experiments indicated that the DEADc (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) domain of DDX41 bound poly(dA:dT) and poly(dG:dC) (Fig. 4b). To determine the binding specificity of DDX41, we did immunoprecipitation competition experiments with increasing amounts of unlabeled poly(dA:dT), poly(dG:dC) or poly(U). We found that only unlabeled DNA blocked the binding of biotin-labeled DNA to DDX41 (Fig. 4c). To exclude the possibility that DDX41-containing samples purified from HEK293T cells contained other DNA-binding proteins that mediated the interaction between DDX41 and DNA, we expressed histidine-tagged full-length DDX41 or DDX41 with deletion of the DNA-binding domain in Escherichia coli, purified the tagged proteins and assessed them in immunoprecipitation experiments with biotin-labeled poly(dA:dT) (Supplementary Fig. 3b). Only histidine-tagged full-length DDX41 bound poly(dA:dT) (Supplementary Fig. 3c), which indicated that DDX41 binds DNA through the DEADc domain. To determine whether the binding of DDX41 to DNA substrates was dependent on nucleotide composition or length, we used biotin-labeled vaccinia virus DNA or poly(dG:dC) of various lengths to immunoprecipitate purified HA-tagged DDX41 protein. Vaccinia virus DNA and poly(dG:dC) of various lengths precipitated DDX41 (Fig. 4d). Furthermore, poly(dG:dC) 25, 50 or 100 nucleotides in length was able to activate an interferon response in D2SC cells (Fig. 4d). This response was substantially attenuated by knockdown of DDX41 or STING (Fig. 4e). To determine whether stimulation with DNA modified the binding activity of endogenous DDX41, we incubated D2SC cells for 0 or 60 min with biotin-labeled poly(dA:dT). We prepared whole-cell lysates from the treated D2SC cells and subjected the lysates to precipitation with avidin-conjugated beads. We detected proteins bound to biotin-labeled poly(dA:dT) with antibody to DDX41, p204 (the mouse ortholog of IFI16) or RIG-I. We constitutively detected the DDX41-DNA complex in mDCs (Fig. 4f). Unlike the gene encoding p204, the gene encoding DDX41 was not interferon inducible (Supplementary Fig. 4).
To determine whether recombinant DDX41 was able to 'rescue' the defect in DNA-activated cytokine production caused by siRNA-mediated knockdown of DDX41, we individually expressed HA-tagged full-length or truncated DDX41 protein (lacking the DNA-binding domain) in D2SC cells in which DDX41 was knocked down through the use of siRNA (Fig. 5a). This siRNA selectively targeted the 3′ untranslated region of DDX41 mRNA. Therefore, only the expression of endogenous DDX41 was knocked down. Only full-length DDX41 was able to restore the IFN-β responses to both poly(dA:dT) and poly(dG:dC) (Fig. 5b). DDX41 with deletion of the DNA-binding domain failed to restore these responses. These data indicate that the DNA-binding activity of DDX41 is necessary for eliciting the interferon response to cytosolic DNA.
Because DDX41 and STING seemed to have a similar role in sensing DNA, we next investigated the potential interaction between DDX41 and STING in mDCs. We immunoprecipitated proteins from resting D2SC mDCs or poly(dA:dT)–activated D2SC mDCs with anti-DDX41. DDX41 precipitated endogenous amounts of STING and TBK1 in both resting D2SC mDCs and poly(dA:dT)–stimulated D2SC mDCs (Fig. 6a). In contrast, anti-DDX41 did not precipitate p204 or IPS-1. Notably, more STING and TBK1 were precipitated by anti-DDX41 in mDCs after stimulation with DNA (Fig. 6a).
To map the STING-binding sites of DDX41, we incubated recombinant HA-tagged STING with purified recombinant Myc-tagged DDX41 or STING, followed by precipitation with anti-HA beads. We found that recombinant DDX41 bound to recombinant STING (Fig. 6b). Immunoprecipitation of Myc-tagged STING showed that the DEADc domain of DDX41 bound STING (Fig. 6c). Likewise, we prepared truncated versions of STING and assayed them by immunoprecipitation to identify the DDX41-binding site of STING. We found that the region spanning the second to fourth transmembrane domains of STING interacted with DDX41 (Fig. 6d).
To further confirm the role of DDX41 in sensing cytosolic DNA, we overexpressed DDX41 or STING in the mouse fibroblast cell line L929 containing a luciferase reporter linked to the Ifnb promoter. We found that overexpression of DDX41 or STING led to more activation of the Ifnb promoter in L929 cells. Transfection of L929 cells with 20 ng of expression vector for DDX41 or STING led to twofold more activation of the Ifnb promoter (Fig. 6e). In contrast, overexpression of IPS-1 did not result in more activation of the Ifnb promoter in L929 cells, although overexpression of IPS-1 led to such activation in HEK293T cells (Supplementary Fig. 5). Notably, overexpression of both DDX41 and STING together had a synergistic effect in promoting activity of the Ifnb promoter (Fig. 6e).
To determine whether the Walker A or Walker B motif in DDX41 was required for binding DNA, we prepared HA-tagged DDX41 mutants with deletion of the Walker A or Walker B motif and analyzed these in immunoprecipitation experiments with biotin-labeled poly(dG:dC) or Myc-tagged STING (Fig. 7a). The results of these assays indicated that the DEADc domain of DDX41 without the Walker A motif or without the Walker B motif did not bind DNA or STING (Fig. 7b). To further confirm the role of these motifs in the sensing of DNA by DDX41, we overexpressed full-length or mutant DDX41 in the L929 Ifnb luciferase reporter cell line described above. We found that overexpression of mutant DDX41 without the Walker A motif or without the Walker B motif was not able to activate the Ifnb promoter. Notably, overexpression of DDX41 lacking the HELICc domain led to more activation of the Ifnb promoter than did expression of full-length DDX41 (Fig. 7c).
Because anti-DDX41 and anti-STING for cell staining are not available, we expressed HA-tagged DDX41 together with Myc-tagged STING in HEK293T cells to visualize their subcellular localization. DDX41 and STING did not localize together with nuclear staining; instead, DDX41 localized together with STING and the endoplasmic reticulum (Fig. 8a, top row), which suggested that the DDX41-STING complex was located in the cytosol. Furthermore, after stimulation with poly(dA:dT), there was lower expression of DDX41 and STING in the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria and higher expression of DDX41 and STING in endosomes identified by staining for the early endosome marker TfR and late endosome marker LAMP-1 (Fig. 8a, second row, and Supplementary Fig. 6a,b), which confirmed a similar published observation18,19. In contrast, the DDX41 mutant lacking the STING-binding site did not localize together with STING (Fig. 8a, third and bottom rows). Fractionation analysis subsequently demonstrated that DDX41 and STING fractionated together with microsome fractions, mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane fractions and mitochondria fractions in D2SC cells under unstimulated conditions (Fig. 8b). After stimulation with DNA, DDX41 and STING associated mostly with microsome fractions.
It has been shown that overexpression of STING in HEK293T cells results in robust activation of the promoters of Ifnb, Irf3 (which encodes the transcription factor IRF3) and Nfkb1 (which encodes the p50 subunit of transcription factor NF-κB)18. We investigated whether downstream signaling by DDX41 and STING in BMDCs induced by cytosolic poly(dA:dT) or poly(dG:dC) DNA involves mitogen-activated protein kinases and activation of NF-κB and IRF3. Using control BMDCs and BMDCs in which DDX41 or STING was knocked down, we stimulated cells with poly(dA:dT), prepared total cell extracts and analyzed them by immunoblot (Fig. 8c and Supplementary Fig. 7). In control BMDCs, we detected phosphorylation of the kinases Erk1/2, p38 and TBK1 and the p65 subunit of NF-κB and IRF3 at 60–120 min after DNA stimulation. In contrast, phosphorylation of Erk1/2, p38, TBK1, p65 and IRF3 was barely detectable in BMDCs in which DDX41 or STING was knocked down. Furthermore, we observed that stimulation with cytosolic DNA did not activate phosphorylation of the kinase Jnk. These data suggest that DDX41 and STING are required for activation of intracellular mitogen-activated protein kinases, NF-κB and interferon-response signal-transduction pathways after stimulation with cytosolic DNA.
Published studies have identified three molecular sensors for cytosolic DNA: DAI23, RNA polymerase III8,9 and IFI16 (ref. 20). However, cells derived from DAI-deficient mice respond normally to B-form DNA and infection with DNA viruses24,25. In addition, the ability of RNA polymerase III to sense cytosolic DNA is dependent on RIG-I and IPS-1 in HEK293T cells8,9, and IPS-1- deficient mice have normal cytokine production in response to DNA26,27. A human hepatoma cell line (Huh-7.5.1) that does not express functional RIG-I still has cytokine responses to HSV-1 (ref. 28). Although IFI16 has been shown to use STING for sensing cytosolic DNA, knockdown of IFI16 only led to slightly lower IFN-β responses to cytosolic DNA, whereas knockdown of STING led to a more complete blockade of such responses. Collectively, these results suggest the presence of additional DNA sensors in the innate immune system.
Two additional sensors for DNA and/or RNA in the DExD/H-box helicase superfamily have been identified by immunoprecipitation of DNA or RNA and mass spectrometry. That, together with the fact that RIG-I, Mda5 and LGP2 belong to a subfamily of the DExD/H-box helicase superfamily, suggests that helicases may have a much broader role in sensing nucleic acids than previously appreciated. By siRNA screening of all 59 helicases, we have now identified DDX41 as an additional sensor of cytosolic DNA in mDCs with an important role in sensing DNA viruses, such as HSV-1 and adenovirus, but not RNA viruses, such as influenza A virus. DDX41 directly bound DNA and STING via its DEADc domain and triggered signaling by mitogen-activated protein kinases, TBK1, NF-κB and IRF3 in mDCs.
Our study has also suggested that DDX41 and IFI16 may have complementary roles in sensing cytosolic DNA. Although DDX41 was constitutively expressed in THP-1 cells, IFI16 was induced by stimulation with DNA. Furthermore, DDX41 formed a complex with STING in the steady state, and IFN-β was induced earlier than IFI16 in THP-1 cells, which suggests that DDX41 has a more important role than IFI16 in the initial sensing of microbial DNA and in triggering the early burst of the type I interferon response. This initial type I interferon response upregulated IFI16, which has a more important role in the amplification phase of the type I interferon response to cytosolic DNA. In eukaryotes, there is a total of 59 DExD/H helicases. The evolutionary pressure for survival after viral infection has led to a highly redundant antiviral system in the innate immune system that uses multiple sensors for the same nucleic acids, with different helicases to sense different forms of nucleic acids, and other different helicases as antiviral sensors in different cell types.
Primary bone marrow was collected from C57BL/6 mice for the generation of BMDCs. Animals were housed in specific pathogen–free barrier facilities. All experiments were according to institutional guidelines of UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Vaccinia virus DNA and HSV-1 DNA (sequences as published20), poly(dA:dT) and poly(dG:dC) DNA were from Sigma. Poly(I:C) (low molecular weight; 0.2–1 kilobases) was from Invivogen. Lipofectamine 2000 was from Invitrogen. The following antibodies were used for immunoblot analysis and/or immunoprecipitation: anti-DDX41 (H00051428; Novus Biologicals); anti-STING (LS-C108557; Life Span); antibody to phosphorylated p65 (3033), p38 (4631), IRF3 (4947), Jnk (9251), Erk (4377) or TBK1 (5483), anti-p65 (4764), anti-p38 (9212), anti-Jnk (9252), anti-Erk (4695), anti-TBK1 (3504), Alexa Fluor 555–Myc (2279) and Alexa Fluor 488–HA (2350; all from Cell Signaling); horseradish peroxidase–conjugated anti-HA (ab1265) and anti-Myc (ab62928), and anti-histidine (ab1187; all from Abcam); and anti-IRF3 (FL-425; Santa Cruz Biotechnology).
D2SC cells were maintained in Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium containing 10% (vol/vol) heat-inactivated FCS and 1% (vol/vol) penicillin-streptomycin (Invitrogen-Gibco). D2SC cells were infected with the pLKO.1 lentivirus vector carrying a target gene sequence or scrambled shRNA (Open Biosystems). Cells were selected by the addition of puromycin (2 ng/ml) to the medium 24 h after infection, then were stimulated for 16 h with DNA (1 μg/ml) or poly(I:C) (2.5 μg/ml) delivered via Lipofectamine 2000, or with HSV-1 or influenza A virus, each at an MOI of 10.
Single-cell suspensions of bone marrow cells from C57BL/6 mice were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% (vol/vol) FCS, 1 mM sodium pyruvate, HEPES, pH 7.3, penicillin, streptomycin and β-mercaptoethanol, supplemented with mouse granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF; 20 ng/ml; R&D Systems). Fresh GM-CSF was provided on days 3 and 5 of culture. Cells recovered on day 6 were used for shRNA-mediated knockdown and were stimulated with DNA 36 h after treatment with shRNA. Knockdown efficiency was detected by immunoblot analysis. GM-CSF-derived BMDCs recovered on day 7 of culture were left unstimulated or stimulated for 16 h with DNA, L. monocytogenes, HSV-1 or adenovirus. For analysis of interferon-inducible gene expression, GM-CSF-derived BMDCs were recovered on day 7, mRNA was isolated from cells without stimulation or after stimulation for 8 h with poly(dA:dT), and the abundance of mRNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR.
THP-1 cells were maintained in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% (vol/vol) heat-inactivated FCS and 1% (vol/vol) penicillin-streptomycin (Invitrogen-Gibco). THP-1 cells were infected with a pLKO.1 lentivirus vector carrying a target gene sequence or scrambled shRNA (Open Biosystems). After 24 h of culture, cells were selected by the addition of puromycin (2 ng/ml) to the medium. Cells were stimulated with DNA (1 μg/ml) delivered by Lipofectamine 2000 or with HSV-1 at an MOI of 10. Knockdown efficiency was detected by immunoblot analysis.
Mouse D2SC mDCs or human THP-1 cells infected with shRNA-expressing lentivirus vectors were cultured with DNA (1 μg/ml) or poly(I:C) (2.5 μg/ml) delivered by Lipofectamine 2000 or with HSV-1 at an MOI of 10. The concentration of IFN-α, IFN-β, IL-6 and TNF in culture supernatants were measured by ELISA (IFN-α and IFN-β, PBL InterferonSource; IL-6 and TNF, R&D Systems).
L929 cells were seeded on 48-well plates (1 × 105 cells per well) and then transfected with 100 ng IFN-β–luciferase reporter vector and 2 ng renilla-luciferase reporter vector with increasing amounts (20, 200 or 200 ng) of expression vectors for DDX41, STING or IPS-1 individually or 20 ng DDX41 expression vector plus increasing amounts (20, 100 or 200 ng) of expression vector for IPS-1 or STING. Empty control vector was added so that a total of 500 ng vector DNA was transfected into each well. At 30 h after transfection, cells were stimulated with poly(dA:dT) (1 μg/ml) delivered by Lipofectamine 2000. Cells were collected after 6 h of stimulation. Luciferase activity in total cell lysates was detected with a Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay (Promega).
Lysates of HEK293T cells transfected with expression plasmids for HA-tagged proteins were incubated with anti-HA beads (Sigma) and proteins were eluted from beads. For precipitation with NeutrAvidin beads (Pierce), purified proteins were incubated for 2 h with biotin-labeled DNA or RNA. After incubation with NeutrAvidin beads, bound complexes were pelleted by centrifugation and analyzed by immunoblot with anti-HA. For confirmation of DDX41 binding specificity, immunoprecipitation assays were repeated in the presence or absence of increasing amounts (0.5, 5 or 50 μg/ml) of unlabeled DNA or poly(U). For immunoprecipitation with anti-HA or anti-Myc beads, purified HA-tagged proteins were incubated for 1 h with purified Myc-tagged proteins. Beads were then added; after 1 h of incubation, bound complexes were pelleted by centrifugation. Proteins and beads were analyzed by immunoblot with horseradish peroxidase–conjugated anti-HA or anti-Myc.
HEK293T cells were transfected with expression plasmids for HA-tagged STING and Myc-tagged DDX41. After 24 h, cells were fixed in 4% (vol/vol) paraformaldehyde and made permeable with 0.1% (vol/vol) saponin. Nonspecific receptors on cells were then blocked for 30 min with 10% (vol/vol) goat serum, followed by incubation overnight at 4 °C with Alexa Fluor 555–conjugated anti-Myc and Alexa Fluor 488–conjugated anti-HA and confocal microscopy.
Fractionation was done as described19 for mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane, mitochondria and microsomes isolated from mouse D2SC mDCs. Cells were left unstimulated or were stimulated for 4 h with poly(dA:dT) (1 μg/ml) or HSV-1 DNA (1 μg/ml) delivered by Lipofectamine 2000, then were washed with PBS and resuspended in sucrose homogenization buffer (0.25 M sucrose and 10 mM HEPES, pH7.4). Cell lysates were then centrifuged and fractioned. Pellets of the fractions noted above were resuspended in mannitol buffer B (0.225 M mannitol, 25 mM HEPES, pH 7.3 and 1 mM EDTA).
BMDCs were stimulated for 0, 30, 60 and 120 min with poly(dA:dT) and then lysed in radioimmunoprecipitation buffer (50 mM Tris-Cl, pH 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 1% (vol/vol) Nonidet P-40, 0.5% (wt/vol) sodium deoxycholate and 0.1% (wt/vol) SDS). Lysates were resolved by 4–20% SDS-PAGE and analyzed by immunoblot.
Statistical significance was determined by Student's t-test.
Information on the expression and purification of full-length and truncated DDX41 proteins, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and primers for mRNA assays and quantitative PCR and RNA-mediated interference is available in the Supplementary Methods.
We thank M. Wentz and S. Watowich for critical reading; T. Zal for technical support with confocal microscopy; G. Cheng and K. Parvatiyar for suggestions on the experiments; and all colleagues in our laboratory.
Note: Supplementary information is available on the Nature Immunology website.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSZ.Z. designed and did most of experiments; B.Y., M.B., N.L. and T.K. helped with experiments; and Y.-J.L. designed the research and supervised the project.
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Reprints and permissions information is available online at http://www.nature.com/reprints/index.html.
PubMed Central Canada is a service of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) working in partnership with the National Research Council's national science library in cooperation with the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the U.S. National Library of Medicine(NCBI/NLM). It includes content provided to the PubMed Central International archive by participating publishers.


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Ready at Dawn Reflects Upon The Order 1886, Says the IP Has a Future
RAD learned a lot of lessons from The Order 1886.
RAD learned a lot of lessons from The Order 1886.
It broke technical boundaries.
Plus a few of our early E3 dreams!
It's a physics-based arena combat game.
It's likely a multi-platform AAA third-person action title.
The games will be smaller-scale with budgets under $15 million.
For Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project.
A sequel to The Order: 1886, or something new entirely?
Tantalizing news coming from Ready at Dawn studios.
PC demo runs at 1080p 60fps.
They own both of the new properties.
That unannounced platform will be revealed "soon."
Comes with The Last of Us Remastered as well.
You can play through the game with a different Color Grading.
Lookin' good!
PS Vita is now $169.99
Blood for blood.
Used real world techniques from photography and cinematography.
Evolve down.
You have complaints? We have complaints, too!


text:
Pate Brisee
Total Time
Prep 15 mins
Cook 0 mins
A versatile pastry for sweet and savoury pies and tarts.
Ingredients Nutrition
- 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄4 cup butter, cold,cut into ½ inch bits
- 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
- 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 cup ice water, approximately
- Put flour into mixing bowl.
- Add butter and sugar and salt.
- With hands, break butter into flour.
- The bits of flour should remain visible as pea-size bits throughout the flour.
- Add enough water and knead just enough for the ingredients to hold together.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
Most Helpful
Used this for Evelyn's own Squash, Apple and Onion Tart (#61126). Very easy to make--indeed, I just used my hands, threw it in the fridge and rolled it out. No fuss, not very much muss, and very tasty (the dough is--I haven't actually cooked it since I froze the tart for later cooking.) thanks for another terrific recipe, evelyn!!
I had a little trouble with this recipe, even without the water the dough was too soft, so i didn't bother to knead it and just pressed it into the pan and stuck it into the fridge. It could just be that it was a really hot and humid day here. It still tasted great though. Thanks!
Very easy pastry to make. I liked the texture. I'll be using this one again. Thank you


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United States District Court, Seventh Circuit
September 25, 2013
BRYCE PALAR, Plaintiff,v.BLACKHAWK BANCORPORATION, INC. d/b/a BLACKHAWK BANK & TRUST, Defendant.
SARA DARROW, District Judge.
Plaintiff Bryce Palar is a former employee of Defendant Blackhawk Bancorporation, Inc. Palar was originally offered a job by his mentor and fellow baseball enthusiast, Gerry Huiskamp, who also happens to be the President of Blackhawk. After Palar was fired from his junior loan officer position, he filed a four-count complaint against Blackhawk. Blackhawk now moves for summary judgment on all four counts. The Court held oral argument on the motion on September 5, 2013. For the reasons explained below, Blackhawk's motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 28, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Blackhawk is granted summary judgment on all issues except for Blackhawk's alleged violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, as explained below.
Each party submits close to 100 paragraphs of purportedly relevant facts. Because of the copious mix of facts and evidence, the Court will attempt to achieve some clarity by first summarizing the events and circumstances leading up to Palar's termination. The Court will then delve into the specific facts and evidence necessary to resolve each cause of action separately.
Palar was a freshman in high school playing on the Rock Island American Legion baseball team when he first met Gerry Huiskamp. The two bonded over baseball and remained friends throughout Palar's high school and college baseball seasons. After Palar graduated college, Huiskamp offered him a job at Blackhawk. Palar accepted. He started in 2005 as a management trainee and held the position of junior loan officer when he was fired in 2010.
The bulk of the events leading up to this lawsuit occurred after an internal audit in 2010 showed some suspicious activity on Palar's personal Blackhawk banking accounts. As was standard practice, Blackhawk employee Brad Ford ordered a credit report on Palar in light of the suspicious activity. Blackhawk employees, including Huiskamp, reviewed the credit report and interviewed Palar about the suspicious activity. Blackhawk also monitored Palar's computer usage for a period of time. The suspicious activity on Palar's account was determined not to be a cause for concern, as everything Palar told Blackhawk checked out.
On October 18, 2010, shortly after the investigation of Palar ended, Huiskamp informed Blackhawk's board of directors that the suspicious activity on Palar's account was no problem but nonetheless recommended that Palar be terminated. Blackhawk employees had been complaining about Palar's job performance since 2008. Huiskamp testified in his deposition that he had essentially been vouching for Palar for some time, hoping that Palar would mature into a quality employee. When the complaints continued, including in the months before the board meeting, Huiskamp ultimately concluded that despite clearing Palar from any wrongdoing based on the suspicious activity on his account, it was time to let Palar go. Huiskamp claims that his decision to recommend termination was based solely on Palar's poor performance and had nothing to do with the recent investigation into Palar's finances. The board of directors voted to terminate Palar's employment that day, but Palar was not immediately told about this decision.
On October 19, 2010, the very next day, Palar delivered a letter to Blackhawk that made a claim for approximately $19, 000 of unpaid overtime wages under the FLSA. Palar argued that Blackhawk misclassified him as an exempt employee and that since he was actually non-exempt, he was eligible for overtime pay. Palar argued that Blackhawk should have paid him overtime for the time he spent coaching the Orion High School baseball team because he was essentially forced to coach as a condition of employment. When Palar delivered his FLSA complaint on the 19th, Palar did not know that Blackhawk had already voted for his termination, though some evidence suggests he knew that the issue was going to be discussed at the board of directors meeting the day before.
After delivering the FLSA complaint on the 19th, Palar left the premises. He was not scheduled to work on October 20th.On October 21, 2010, Huiskamp and another Blackhawk employee, T.J. Hoffman, informed Palar that he was fired. They offered him a severance package in exchange for a release of claims. Palar counteroffered for increased severance pay, citing the FLSA complaint as leverage. Blackhawk refused and terminated him without any severance pay.
Palar later sued Blackhawk on a variety of grounds. Blackhawk now moves for summary judgment on each count Palar brings against it:
(1) Violation of the Fair Labors Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201, et seq.,
(2) Violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, 820 ILCS 115/5,
(3) Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681, et seq., and
(4) Violation of the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act, 820 ILCS 40/1, et seq.
Summary judgment is appropriate when "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). On a motion for summary judgment, the Court will construe all facts and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. See Srail v. Vill.of Lisle, Ill., 588 F.3d 940, 948 (7th Cir. 2009). When analyzing a motion for summary judgment, the Court does not scour the record in search of evidence to defeat the motion; rather, "the nonmoving party must identify with reasonable particularity the evidence upon which the party relies." Winters v. FruCon Inc., 498 F.3d 734, 744 (7th Cir. 2007). To defeat summary judgment, the nonmoving party must present "definite, competent evidence in rebuttal" such that a reasonable jury could find in his favor. Parent v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., 694 F.3d 919, 922 (7th Cir. 2012).
I. Fair Labor Standards Act
Palar raises two issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"): (A) Blackhawk owes him overtime pay because it misclassified him as an exempt employee and (B) Blackhawk fired him in retaliation for filing a complaint for unpaid wages.
A. Palar's Claim for Overtime
Palar's claim for unpaid overtime is dependent on two findings: (1) that he was a non-exempt employee and (2) that Blackhawk should have paid him for the time he spent coaching baseball. The Court declines to analyze whether Palar was a non-exempt employee because Blackhawk had no obligation to pay Palar for the time he spent coaching, as will be explained below. While Palar's counsel suggested at oral argument that Palar's claim for overtime pay under the FLSA could survive even without the coaching hours, Palar has offered no evidence that shows he worked any non-coaching overtime, nor could counsel identify any such evidence at oral argument or even confirm that any such evidence exists. See Winters, 498 F.3d at 744 (explaining it is the nonmoving party's burden to identify the evidence upon which he relies). Summary judgment is the "put up or shut up" moment in a lawsuit. Johnson v. Cambridge Indus., Inc., 325 F.3d 892, 901 (7th Cir. 2003). Blackhawk is entitled to summary judgment because, without counting coaching hours, no evidence suggests that Palar worked any overtime-an essential element of his FLSA claim for overtime pay. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986) (explaining that courts should enter summary judgment against a party who "fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial"). Without any evidence that Palar worked overtime for which he was not properly compensated, no evidence suggests that Blackhawk violated 29 U.S.C. § 207. Accordingly, Palar cannot argue to a jury that Blackhawk violated § 207. Blackhawk is therefore entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. See Harris NA v. Hershey, 711 F.3d 794, 798 (7th Cir. 2013) ("A mere scintilla of evidence in support of the nonmoving party's position is not sufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the non-moving party.").
Turning to Palar's argument that Blackhawk should have paid him overtime for the time he spent coaching baseball, Palar seeks to cast Blackhawk's encouraging and accommodating volunteerism in the local community as forced volunteerism.[1] Blackhawk effectively subsidizes local volunteerism. Blackhawk employees who are interested in volunteering are permitted to leave the bank early without penalty. For example, in Palar's case, if his baseball team had a game or practice during the week, Palar was permitted to leave the bank before bank hours were over so that he could coach the event. Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 21 at 119-25, ECF No. 32. But even though Palar left before his shift was up, he was never docked any pay or charged any vacation time. Blackhawk always permitted Palar to leave the bank early to go coach. Id., Ex. 21 at 122.
From what the Court can tell, Palar presents a novel argument. Instead of arguing that he is an employee of Orion High School because he coaches their baseball team, Palar instead argues that he is an employee of Blackhawk because he coaches the Orion baseball team. If Palar was not otherwise employed by Blackhawk as a loan officer, his claim would of course be ridiculous. But since Palar is employed by Blackhawk, he argues that Blackhawk was able to exert sufficient influence over him to force him to coach high school baseball. He further argues that Blackhawk reaps the incidental reward of enhanced reputation in the community as a result of having one of its employees coach baseball. Palar now wants additional payment for all of the time he spent coaching-including time-and-a-half for any time over 40 hours in a week (when combining his time spent coaching and at the bank). While the Court acknowledges that it is theoretically possible for an employer to create an abusive "community involvement" volunteerism policy that would violate the FLSA, this is far from that case.[2] See 29 C.F.R. § 553.101(b) ("Congress... expressed its wish to prevent any... abuse of... overtime requirements through coercion or undue pressure upon individuals to volunteer' their services."). This is a case where an employee approached an employer about coaching high school baseball and the employer not only encouraged-without requiring-the employee's involvement in the local community, but also accommodated the employee's volunteerism schedule.
Palar's ties to baseball are apparent. He played for his high school's baseball team. While in high school, Palar also played for the Rock Island American Legion baseball team. See Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A at 14, ECF No. 28. In fact, Palar first met Huiskamp while playing for the American Legion team. Id., Ex. A at 15-16. Palar continued playing baseball in college and then also started to coach. Id., Ex. A at 21. He was a student coach for Bradley University for a year and the head coach for the Rock Island High School summer team. Id., Ex. A at 21, 41.
Knowing about Palar's ties to baseball, Huiskamp asked about Palar's general interest in coaching baseball when he first approached Palar about working at Blackhawk. Id., Ex. A at 70-74. Palar said that he was interested, though during his deposition, Palar explained that he did not seek a job at Blackhawk with the intention of coaching baseball-he only expressed his interest once asked. Id. Regardless of whether he brought it up or Huiskamp brought it up, Palar had previous coaching experience and told Huiskamp that he was interested in continuing to coach baseball.
An opportunity soon presented itself. Importantly, Palar learned of the coaching position at Orion high school not through anyone at Blackhawk, but through an Orion school board member. Id., Ex. A at 107. It was Palar who brought the knowledge of the coaching position to Huiskamp, not the other way around. Id., Ex. A at 108. Palar's testimony is telling:
Q. And when you talked to [Huiskamp], what did you tell [him]?
A. I told him the position [of Orion baseball coach] had been made aware to me.
Q.... Did you tell [Huiskamp] that you were interested in applying for that position?
A. That is not the first thing I said, no.
Q. Okay. So why don't we talk about what you first said to [Huiskamp]?
A. I informed him of the position, and he said that that would be a great way to be involved in the community, and he gave me his blessing to do that, and then I did tell him at that point that it would be something that I would be interested in doing if he gave me his blessing.
Q. So he encouraged you to take the position or apply for the position?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he require you to apply for the position?
A. At that time, no.
Id., Ex. A at 108-09. Even setting aside that one has to wonder why Palar would tell Huiskamp about the Orion baseball coach position if Palar was not implicitly asking to apply for the position, these are not facts that show the type of abusive volunteerism policy that Congress wanted to prevent. See 29 C.F.R. § 553.101(b).
Congress did not want to discourage volunteerism by passing the FLSA provisions at issue here. See id. Congress simply recognized that it needed to prevent manipulation or abuse of the "volunteerism" exception by employers. See id. Thus, in deciding whether a plaintiff is an employee or a volunteer, courts should take a common sense approach and consider the totality of the circumstances. See Purdham v. Fairfax County School Board, 637 F.3d 421, 428 (4th Cir. 2011). In this case, the evidence overwhelmingly shows that Palar was not required to coach baseball, he just volunteered.
For one, no evidence suggests that Palar or Huiskamp reasonably expected that Blackhawk would be picking up the tab for every minute that Palar spent coaching. See 29 C.F.R. § 553.101(a) (expectation of compensation a factor in determining whether an individual is a volunteer). Numerous bank employees volunteer coached and none received overtime payment from Blackhawk, although all got time off of work to volunteer. See Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 22 at 60, 62. Nothing in the record suggests that Palar should have reasonably expected his arrangement to be any different. Further, no reasonable jury could transform Blackhawk's willingness to accommodate Palar's coaching schedule into an expectation that Palar would be paid overtime for his after-work coaching activities. The fact that Palar had no reasonable expectation of accruing overtime suggests that he was not working for Blackhawk when he coached baseball beyond his scheduled shift at the bank.
Another factor that can be relevant in distinguishing between employees and volunteers is "whether the service rendered is an integral part of the alleged employer's business." Todaro v. Township of Union, 27 F.Supp.2d 517, 536 (D.N.J. 1998); see also Krause v. Cherry Hill Fire Dist., 969 F.Supp. 270, 275 (D.N.J. 1997). If the service rendered is critical to the underlying business, then the plaintiff is more likely to be an employee because employees are typically more indispensable to an employer than volunteers. Conversely, volunteers tend to work in supplementary roles. Of course, this is not a bright-line rule, just a potentially relevant factor. In this case, the Court finds it relevant that Palar's coaching activities were not integral to Blackhawk's business, which is banking. That Palar's coaching has nothing to do with banking-other than the incidental reputational boost-suggests that Palar was not an employee of Blackhawk while he was coaching.
The Court further finds the implications of allowing Palar's claim troubling. Calling into question employer policies that accommodate interested employees' volunteerism would be a big step in the wrong direction. Blackhawk allowed Palar to leave early-without losing any pay or vacation time-to volunteer for a local high school. Blackhawk was not abusing or taking advantage of Palar. Huiskamp simply thought Palar was a good coach and encouraged him to share his skills and knowledge of the game with community youth. See Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. C at 58-59. Anytime a Blackhawk employee does something positive in the community, Blackhawk, by association, receives a tangential reputational benefit. But just because Blackhawk benefits from hiring and employing community role-models does not mean that Blackhawk should be required to pay each employee for their off-the-clock good deeds, even if Blackhawk acknowledges or encourages said good deeds. Palar's theory, which suggests the opposite, would dissuade employers from encouraging and accommodating employees' volunteerism.
Considering the totality of the circumstances and viewing Palar's coaching activities from a common sense perspective, but drawing all reasonable inferences in his favor, the Court finds that, as a matter of law, Blackhawk was not obligated to pay Palar overtime for the time he spent coaching. Because his coaching activities were the only evidence Palar presented to demonstrate that he worked overtime, Blackhawk is therefore entitled to summary judgment on this issue.
B. Palar's Retaliation Claim
From Palar's perspective, he was fired two days after making a claim under the FLSA for unpaid overtime, which understandably made him suspicious that Blackhawk retaliated against him. As such, Palar alleged that Blackhawk violated the FLSA, which makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge an employee for filing an FLSA complaint. 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3). Palar argues that he has sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case: (1) he engaged in a protected expression by filing a claim for overtime pay, (2) he suffered an adverse employment action when he was fired, and (3) a causal link exists between his discharge and his filing a complaint for overtime pay. See Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 703 F.3d 966, 972 (7th Cir. 2012). The only issue here is the causal link.
While at first glance the timing of Palar's discharge was suspicious, it was also explained through the course of discovery. Palar admits that he did not communicate any complaint about unpaid overtime to Blackhawk until October 19, 2010. Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A at 142. Blackhawk has shown that the decision to terminate Palar was made on October 18, 2010, making it impossible for Blackhawk to have retaliated against Palar for something he had not done yet. The board of directors meeting minutes from October 18 state: "Upon motion by Mr. Shurr, seconded by Mr. Scott, the Board authorized management to release Mr. Palar effective immediately." Id., Ex. K. Further, Huiskamp swears under oath that he did not have knowledge of Palar's claim for unpaid overtime when he recommended Palar's discharge to the board of directors on October 18. Id., Ex. J. Finally, T.J. Hoffman, a vice president of Blackhawk, testified that on October 19, Palar asked him whether he knew what happened at the October 18th board meeting. Because Hoffman did not, he called Jim Huiskamp ("Jim") and learned from Jim that the board decided to discharge Palar the day before. Id., Ex. R at 12.
In response, Palar relies most heavily on the suspicious timing-he was informed that he was fired only two days after filing the FLSA complaint. While suspicious timing is an "important evidentiary ally" for Palar, suspicious timing alone will "rarely be sufficient... to create a triable issue." Culver v. Gorman & Co., 416 F.3d 540, 546 (7th Cir. 2005) (quoting Lalvani v. Cook County, Ill., 269 F.3d 785, 790 (7th Cir. 2001) and Stone v. City of Indianapolis Pub. Utils. Div., 281 F.3d 640, 644 (7th Cir. 2002)); see also Sauzek v. Exxon Coal USA, 202 F.3d 913, 918 (7th Cir. 2000) ("Speculation based on suspicious timing alone, however, does not support a reasonable inference of retaliation; instead, plaintiffs must produce facts which somehow tie the adverse decision to the plaintiffs' protected actions."). This case presents an especially weak case of suspicious timing because, unlike other cases on this issue where an employee is fired shortly after a decision-maker learns of the protected activity, Palar offers no evidence that any decision maker at Blackhawk was aware of his FLSA complaint before Blackhawk decided to discharge him. Instead, Palar urges the Court to deny summary judgment because a jury could reasonably conclude that Blackhawk fabricated its decision to fire Palar on October 18 as part of a cover-up. As confirmed during oral argument, however, the only evidence in support of his theory is a conversation Palar had with Hoffman on October 19. Palar argues that Hoffman lied to Palar by telling him that no decision about his termination was made on October 18. But that is not what the evidence shows. Both Palar and Hoffman testified that what Hoffman actually communicated to Palar on October 19 was that Hoffman did not know whether a decision had been made. See Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. R at 12; Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 21 at 193. The difference between "no decision has been made" and "I don't know if a decision has been made" matters here; in light of Hoffman's actual statement, no evidence shows that anybody at Blackhawk ever said or thought that the decision to fire Palar occurred after October 18. What is more, Hoffman gave a very reasonable explanation for why he would not have told Palar he was fired anyway-"I didn't think it was my authorization to tell somebody that they were released when it came from the board. It should come from one of the board of directors at that time." Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. R at 13. Accordingly, no evidence supports Palar's theory that Blackhawk waited until after October 18 to fire him. On this record, Blackhawk is granted summary judgment on Palar's FLSA retaliation claim.
II. Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act
Palar argues that Blackhawk violated the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act ("IWPCA") in three different ways. Each argument will be addressed separately.
A. Interest and Attorney's Fees
Under the IWPCA, an employee not timely paid his final compensation is entitled to statutory damages, costs and attorney's fees:
Any employee not timely paid wages, final compensation, or wage supplements by his or her employer as required by this Act shall be entitled to recover through a claim filed with the Department of Labor or in a civil action, but not both, the amount of any such underpayments and damages of 2% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid. In a civil action, such employee shall also recover costs and all reasonable attorney's fees.
820 ILCS 115/14. Palar was told that he was fired on October 21, 2010. On December 15, 2010, Palar demanded final compensation under the IWPCA. Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 31. Blackhawk admits that it did not cut Palar his final compensation check until around July 2011. Mot. for Summ. J. at 35. Such final compensation does not appear timely paid. See 820 ILCS 115/5 ("Every employer shall pay the final compensation of separated employees in full, at the time of separation, if possible, but in no case later than the next regularly scheduled payday for such employee."). Accordingly, Blackhawk is not entitled to summary judgment on this issue.
B. Palar's Coaching Activities
Huiskamp testified that Palar was not allowed to keep the money he made coaching:
Q. So what was the bank's requirement then, with respect to pay? A In Bryce's case I told him that from the amount that he received, that he could hold out enough pay whatever the tax was, so that he wouldn't be penalized, and that the balance of that he could use to buy equipment or he could pay his assistants.
Q. In other words, he couldn't keep the money for himself?
A. He couldn't keep the money for himself.
Opp. to Mot. For Summ. J., Ex. 22. Palar argues that Blackhawk therefore violated the IWPCA. Upon further clarification during oral argument (and based on letters filed with chambers after the hearing), Palar's theory is that Blackhawk essentially deducted Palar's wages in violation of Section 9, which states in relevant part:
deductions by employers from wages or final compensation are prohibited unless such deductions are (1) required by law; (2) to the benefit of the employee; (3) in response to a valid wage assignment or wage deduction order; (4) made with the express written consent of the employee, given freely at the time the deduction is made....
Palar cannot show that Blackhawk actually violated Section 9 because even if Huiskamp asked Palar to return the money he made coaching, that coaching money was not a "wage" from Blackhawk under the statute. The IWPCA defines "wage" as follows: "any compensation owed an employee by an employer pursuant to an employment contract or agreement between the 2 parties...." 820 ILCS 115/2. Thus, for Palar to have earned a wage for his coaching activity, he must prove that he is owed money pursuant to an employment contract or agreement between him and Blackhawk. No such agreement exists.[3]
Not only was the coaching money not a "wage" from Blackhawk, but Blackhawk never deducted (or withheld) it from a payment it made to Palar. All Palar has shown is that Huiskamp asked him to return the money he received from Orion high school. Thus, Blackhawk did not violate Section 9 because it never deducted any money from a wage it owed Palar. Blackhawk is therefore entitled to summary judgment on this issue.
C. Pay for Personal Days and Final Day
Palar claims he is owed wages for two unused personal days. The only evidence Palar offers is his own affidavit that simply says he was entitled to three personal days in 2010 and he used only one. But more importantly, Palar offers no statutory or case-law support suggesting that Blackhawk was required to pay him for unused personal days. Cf. 820 ILCS 115/2 (defining "final compensation" to include "the monetary equivalent of earned vacation and earned holidays" but remaining silent on personal days). With almost no evidentiary support and absolutely no legal support, Palar cannot defeat summary judgment. Blackhawk is therefore granted summary judgment on this issue of two personal days.
Finally, Palar wants payment for October 22, 2010, asserting that he was still an employee that day, contrary to Blackhawk's position that he was informed of his termination the day prior. His only evidence supporting this claim is his own affidavit that says Blackhawk emailed him around 4:45 pm on October 22, terminating his employment at that time. Even setting aside his own complaint, which alleges Blackhawk told him he was fired on October 21 (Compl. at ¶ 26, ECF No. 1), a mound of evidence refutes Palar's assertion that he was terminated on October 22, including the actual email that he received on October 22 that states he was told that he was fired the day before (Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 26). Blackhawk is granted summary judgment on this issue.
III. Fair Credit Reporting Act
Palar raises three arguments for why Blackhawk violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. First, the parties dispute whether Blackhawk conducted an "investigative consumer report." If Blackhawk did so, different disclosure rules apply, which were not followed here. Next, Palar alleges that Blackhawk took adverse action against him based on the consumer report without furnishing him with a copy of the report and a description of his rights, as required by statute. Finally, Palar asks the Court to find that Blackhawk is a "credit reporting agency" and that as a result, Blackhawk owed him certain due process.[4]
A. Investigative Consumer Report
An "investigative consumer report" is defined, in relevant part, as requiring that information be obtained through personal interviews:
a consumer report or portion thereof in which information on a consumer's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living is obtained through personal interviews with neighbors, friends, or associates of the consumer reported on or with others with whom he is acquainted or who may have knowledge concerning any such items of information....
15 U.S.C. § 1681a(e). If Blackhawk conducted an investigative consumer report on Palar, then it owed him certain disclosure obligations. Palar makes a single argument to establish that Blackhawk conducted personal interviews with Palar's "neighbors, friends, or associates" or other people with whom he is acquainted: Jim called a community leader to investigate Palar. See Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J. at 34-36. But the evidence Palar cites does not suggest that Jim ever contacted a "community leader" to compile an investigative report or investigate Palar. See id. (citing Ex. 18, which is an email from Jim to Palar stating in part: "Evan brought this program to my attention and I thought it would be a good fit for you to help you get a lot of exposure to the different groups out there. If you can't commit to this let me know so I can pass it on to someone else...."). At oral argument, Palar's counsel asserted that Jim called a program administrator from a group called Ready2Serve. Although not cited in his brief, Exhibit 4 to Palar's Opposition Brief is an unknown document that references somebody calling a program administrator from Ready2Serve, so the Court will assume arguendo that Exhibit 4 is evidence that Jim did in fact call a program administrator from Ready2Serve. See Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 4. The purpose of the call, however, appears to have been gathering information about the Ready2Serve program-not obtaining information on Palar's character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living. See 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(e). No evidence suggests that somebody at Blackhawk called the program administrator at Ready2Serve in order to get that administrator's opinion of Palar.
Moreover, the timing of this alleged phone call is unclear. Based on its own review of the evidence, however, the Court infers that Jim called the program administrator from Ready2Serve sometime in late 2009 or early 2010. Compare Ex. 18 (email from Jim to Palar about Ready2Serve dated December 2009) with Ex. 4 (unknown document mentioning that Ready2Serve program starts in January). The timing of this call-as best as can be pieced together-further undercuts Palar's claim because a consumer report was not ordered on Palar until August 2010. See Mot. for Summ. J., Ex G at ¶ 19. Accordingly, even assuming Jim's call to the Ready2Serve administrator constitutes a "personal interview" under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which it does not, it occurred about eight months before Blackhawk ordered the consumer report on Palar. Blackhawk is granted summary judgment on this issue.
B. Causation
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Blackhawk could not take adverse action against Palar based "in whole or in part" on a consumer report without first providing Palar with a copy of the report and a description of his rights. 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3)(A). Palar raises two adverse actions: termination and failure to promote. Blackhawk does not dispute that it failed to provide Palar with a copy of the report and a description of his rights. The only issue is whether Blackhawk's decisions to terminate or not promote him were based at least in part on the consumer report.
Palar has no direct evidence that the consumer report played any role in Blackhawk's decisions to not promote him or terminate him. The evidence shows that Palar was fired for performance issues and that "the expanded audit... showed that everything was in order." Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. K; see also id., Ex. D at 9-14, Ex. L at ¶ 30-37, Ex. O at ¶ 4-8, Ex. P at ¶ 4-15, Ex. Q at ¶ 4-8. Just like for his FLSA retaliation claim, Palar argues that a jury could reasonably conclude that Blackhawk's evidence is part of a cover-up. He even points to the same evidence (his conversation with Hoffman) that could supposedly support a jury verdict in his favor. But like his retaliation claim, his conversation with Hoffman on October 19 does not help him. Palar's only relevant evidence is suspicious timing. And again, this is not enough to survive summary judgment. See Culver, 416 F.3d at 546.
C. Blackhawk as Credit Reporting Agency
Palar adds three sentences in his brief to argue that the Court should alternatively find that Blackhawk is a credit reporting agency (without citing any legal authority or even defining "credit reporting agency"). Based on Blackhawk's reply, the Court assumes that Palar is arguing that Blackhawk is a credit reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which defines the term as follows:
any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports.
15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f). Palar does not explain why Blackhawk meets this definition. And as far as the Court can tell, Palar offers no evidence that Blackhawk regularly furnished consumer reports to third parties. Without any evidence, argument, or legal support, Palar's argument fails. Blackhawk is entitled to summary judgment on this issue.
IV. Illinois Personnel Record Review Act
The Illinois Personnel Record Review Act provides employees a private right of action if they are denied access to personnel records. 820 ILCS 40/1 et seq. Blackhawk argues that Palar's claim under the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act should be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies and/or because it fully complied with the Act.
Palar argues that Blackhawk waived any argument that he failed to exhaust administrative remedies because Blackhawk neglected to plead the affirmative defense in its answer. It is true that failure to exhaust is, in this context, an affirmative defense. See Musso v. Excellence in Motivation, Inc., No. 10-cv-3236, 2010 WL 3385452 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 24, 2010). But the Seventh Circuit will only find waiver for failing to plead an affirmative defense if the plaintiff can show prejudice. Curtis v. Timberlake, 436 F.3d 709, 711 (7th Cir. 2005) (finding no abuse of discretion in allowing defendant to raise failure to exhaust at summary judgment without pleading the defense because plaintiff was not prejudiced); Neuma, Inc. v. Wells Fargo & Co., 515 F.Supp.2d 825, 849-50 (N.D. Ill. 2006). In this case, Palar has not shown any prejudice as a result of Blackhawk's failure to plead this affirmative defense. See Neuma, 515 F.Supp.2d at 849-50 (explaining that a plaintiff "cannot establish prejudice merely by showing that the case has progressed significantly since the defendants answered his complaint." (citing Williams v. Lampe, 399 F.3d 867, 871 (7th Cir. 2005) (per curiam)).
Palar does not argue that he exhausted his administrative remedies. As a result, Blackhawk is entitled to summary judgment on this issue. See Tank v. Deutsche Telekom, AG, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56096, at *27 (N.D. Ill. 2013); Banks v. Chi. Bd. of Educ., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33611, at *35 (N.D. Ill. 2013); Wiess v. Vill. of Brooklyn, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85270, at *16 (S.D. Ill. 2008); Anderson v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi., 169 F.Supp.2d 864, 870 (N.D. Ill. 2001). The Court declines to address Blackhawk's alternative argument that it fully complied with the statute.
Blackhawk's motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 28, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Blackhawk is granted summary judgment on all issues except for Blackhawk's alleged violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, as explained in this opinion.
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Danson House
Danson House is an elegant Grade I Georgian Villa which is currently used as the Register Office for the London Borough of Bexley. Every Sunday the house is open to the public between 10:00 and 16:00. You can view the grand rooms, and see the Victorian kitchen.
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Danson House
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Danson Park
Danson RoadBexleyheathDA6 8HL
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