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The Shopper 7/10/2024

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NATIONAL KITTEN DAY JULY 10

Homeowners: Make sure you aren’t missing out on property tax savings Exemptions With the release of 2023 Second Installment Property Tax Bills, homeowners should check to make sure they are not missing property tax-saving exemptions on their bills. Homeowners are encouraged to review the bottom left corner of the tax bill to confirm their exemption deductions. Most homeowners are eligible for the Homeowner Exemption, which saves an average of approximately $950 dollars. Senior homeowners over 65 are likely eligible for additional property tax savings with the Senior Exemption. Seniors and Veterans may also be eligible for further exemptions such as the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze “Senior Freeze” and Veterans with Disabilities Exemptions. If a homeowner believes they are eligible for an exemption, they can apply for their missing property tax savings by completing a Certificate of Error application. The Certificate of Error process provides homeowners with an opportunity to redeem missing exemptions for

the 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018 tax years. Homeowners are encouraged to submit an online application immediately or make an appointment to apply for missing exemptions. Accepted photo IDs and documents required to apply are listed on the Assessor’s website. As a reminder, homeowners are responsible for paying the entire tax bill to the Cook County Treasurer’s Office by August 1, 2024. If a homeowner paid the original amount due, they would receive a refund check from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office in the mail once the application is processed by the Assessor’s Office. To learn more about missing exemptions, join a virtual workshop on Facebook or YouTubeon the following dates: Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in English. Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in Spanish. To see a full list of available exemptions, visit cookcountyassessor. com/exemptions.

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SPRINGFIELD – When Illinois high school students sit down to take their annual state assessments next year, they will take a different exam than in recent years. The Illinois State Board of Education recently announced that starting next spring, it will use the ACT exam rather than the SAT. Both are standardized tests that measure students’ proficiency in core subjects such as English language arts and math. Both are also commonly used for college admissions – although many colleges and universities have stopped requiring them – as well as scholarship applications. Illinois, however, also uses them as part of the battery of tests schools administer each year to meet federal mandates under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Results of those tests are reported each year on the Illinois Report Card and are used to hold schools and districts accountable for meeting basic academic standards. Illinois started using the SAT with Essay as the state assessment for 11th grade students in spring 2017. Two years later, it began using the PSAT 8/9 exam for 9th grade students and the PSAT 10 for high school sophomores. At the time, according to ISBE, incorporating a college entrance exam into the state’s annual assessment program was considered a bonus because it gave nearly all graduating high school students a reportable score, paid for by the state, which they could then use for college and scholarship applications. In recent years, though, many colleges and universities stopped requiring either the SAT or ACT as part of their application and admission processes. In 2021, Illinois lawmakers passed the Higher Education Fair Admissions Act requiring all public universities and community

colleges to adopt a “test-optional” policy for admissions, meaning students could voluntarily choose whether to include them in their application package. But ISBE continued using the tests as part of its federally mandated statewide assessments. The upcoming switch to the ACT exam came about through ISBE’s routine procurement process. The agency’s contract with the College Board, the nonprofit corporation that operates the SAT, was set to expire on June 30, prompting the agency to open a new bidding process. The state board agreed to open the bidding process and solicit sealed proposals from testing companies at its regular monthly meeting in September 2023. The decision to award a six-year, $53 million contract to ACT was finalized in May. According to an FAQ document that ISBE has circulated, one of the advantages of switching exams is the ACT includes a science component, whereas the SAT only covered the core subjects of reading, writing and math. That means 11th grade students will no longer have to take a separate Illinois Science Assessment, thereby reducing overall testing time. The change also means that students who still want to take the SAT or the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test will have to do so on their own, in addition to the statewide ACT accountability exam. Local schools and districts will have the option of choosing whether to administer those tests during the school day, but the state will not pay for students to take those tests. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

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Pace Bus is Hiring at South Suburban College South Suburban College (SSC) and Pace Bus are pleased to announce another pre-hiring event to provide a free Class B Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) permit course for the next generation of professional bus operators in the Chicago Southland region. The college and transportation agency will offer a customized two-week course to assist qualified applicants in obtaining their CDL permit. To remove financial barriers for students to pursue and complete the program actively, Pace will cover the costs of tuition, training, books, fees, and other expenses associated with the program. In addition, SSC, in partnership with the Workforce Equity Initiative Grant, will provide a completion incentive for participants who complete the two-week course. On Monday, July 15, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., SSC will host a pre-hiring event for job seekers to meet with Pace staff. During the 3-hour event, applicants will complete a screening process in the MB Financial Bank Room on SSC’s Main Campus,

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IL switching to ACT exams for state assessments By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com

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including application completion, an assessment questionnaire, and a background check. All candidates must bring a valid Illinois driver’s license and a DMV or Secretary of State Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) (also called Driving Record Abstracts in Illinois) with no more than two infractions or tickets in the last five years. Candidates are responsible for the cost of the MVR, which is $20. Assessment results will be available 2-4 days after the event when candidates must complete an Illinois Department of Transportation physical and drug screening. Pace Bus will cover the cost of these screenings. Candidates who pass these screenings will be enrolled in a training course that will take place at SSC’s Main Campus. Qualified candidates who complete the two-week course will transition to six-week on-the-job training with Pace. For more information or to register for the CDL Class B licensure program with SSC and Pace, please contact SSC’s Continuing Education Program at (708) 596-2000, ext. 5723.

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