INSIDE
SPORTS Redwings trying to put pieces in place Page 11
NEWS Woodridge police investigate armed robberies
ONLINE More news at buglenewspapers.com
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Your Community, Your News
buglenewspapers.com
APRIL 30, 2014
Vol. 6 No. 22
Woodridge
state news
Village votes ‘no’ on longshot gaming ordinance Cunningham casts deciding vote By Jonathan Samples Staff Reporter
By Jonathan Samples | staff reporter College students from across Illinois will travel to Springfield Wednesday to endorse a proposed funding increase to the Monetary Award Program grant and ask legislators to keep the financial aid program a top priority. In his 2015 budget address, Gov. Pat Quinn proposed increasing the student financial aid program by $50 million in the upcoming year. Illinois provided more than 140,000 students with $373 million in MAP grants in 2013, and
the increase would give 15,000 to 20,000 additional residents access to college financial aid. This proposed increase is the dominant theme of this year’s MAP Matters Day rally, an event organized by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission that helps college students raise awareness for MAP funding.
>> See ‘map’ page 4
the number of students attending college increasing (enrollment in degree-seeking institutions increased 37 percent between 2000-10, according to the National Center for Education Statistics), In his annual State of the State address last week, Gov. Pat Quinn said his goal is to have 60 percent of working adults obtain college degrees by 2025 to prepare them for “high-skill, in-demand jobs.”
After five months of discussion, the Woodridge Village Board Thursday voted against an ordinance Gina Cunningham that would have allowed mayor of video gaming in certain woodridge establishments that serve alcohol. The ordinance, which would have lifted a 2010 ordinance banning the machines, would have allowed establishments with an A1 or A3 liquor license and larger than 2,000 square feet to install up to five gaming terminals. Board trustees were split on the ordinance, forcing Mayor Gina Cunningham to cast the deciding vote.The ordinance failed 3 to 4. BeforeThursday’s vote,Cunningham read a prepared statement in which she questioned the notion that lifting the video gaming ban is “what is best for our community.” “I have heard each trustee share their concerns for supporting our local >> see gaming | page 8