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* Thursday, February 7, 2013
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STATE OF THE STATE
Local reaction to speech tepid Area legislators want more leadership from Quinn on pensions By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Pat Quinn threw himself behind a proposal Wednesday that would reform four of the state’s ailing pension systems in his State of the State address. But state Rep. Robert Pritchard, RHinckley, was hoping for more leadership from the governor on the issues facing the state. “It takes a follow-through as well
as bold ideas to get things done in Illinois,” Pritchard said. He said he hoped Quinn would pressure the legislative leadership and other interested parties to pass a pension reform bill that would fit within the guidelines of the state constitution. Quinn’s State of the State address – his fifth since taking office in 2009 – served a dual purpose of highlighting past accomplishments, and outlining priorities for the coming year. He deliv-
Voice your opinion What issue touched on in Gov. Quinn’s state of the state address was most important to you? Let us know at Daily-Chronicle.com.
ered the speech to the Legislature and executive officers, including a number of people who are potential gubernatorial challengers in both the Democratic primary and the general election.
Among the legislators whose districts include DeKalb County, Quinn’s speech didn’t score a lot of points. Quinn called for a four-year plan to increase the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and legalizing gay marriage. He also called for an end to conflict-of-interest voting by state lawmakers. For the past several months, Quinn has made numerous mentions about the dangers of a pension system with
a $100 billion liability. This pension squeeze, Quinn said Wednesday, is costing the state $17 million a day. “Do we want, in the years to come, a prosperous Illinois where working people continue to have good jobs, where businesses thrive, and where all our children have a world-class education?” Quinn said. “Or do we want to stop the progress and watch our economic recovery stall?”
See SPEECH, page A3
Honey, where’s the mail?
NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Postal Service plans to stop Saturday delivery By PAULINE JELINEK The Associated Press
Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey does an interview with a TV station Wednesday after a news conference introducing the Huskies’ 2013 recruiting class in the Yordon Center in DeKalb.
‘DOMINATED BY SKILL’ NIU’s Rod Carey welcomes first recruiting class By ROSS JACOBSON
more inside
rjacobson@shawmedia.com A little more than a month after leading Northern Illinois into the Orange Bowl, coach Rod Carey took the first major step in making sure the Huskies’ appearance in a marquee bowl game would not be a one-time occurrence. NIU signed 24 high school seniors to national letters of intent Wednesday, the first day football players are eligible to sign with a Division I program. Among the 24-player class are 10 recruits from Illinois, including three from Aurora Christian. Wide receiver Chad Beebe, running back Joel Bouagnon and safety Brandon Mayes helped the Eagles win the IHSA Class 3A state championship this past season. “It starts with Illinois, and it’s never going
more online Check out Northern Illinois football coverage and more. For exclusive video interviews with some of NIU’s recruits and assistant coaches, log on at HuskieWire.com. to stray far from home,” Carey said. “This is our home state, this is where we get our guys, and this is always where we’re going to get our guys.” Carey noted that this recruiting class was heavier on skill position players than the Class of 2012, which focused on offensive and defensive linemen. Among the more highly touted prospects were running backs Arege-
• How much of an impact did NIU’s Orange Bowl appearance have on recruiting? See story on page B1. • Ross Jacobson writes that NIU’s big recruiting coup could happen in 2014. See story on page B1. ros Turner (Copley, Ohio), Jordan Huff (Mobile, Ala.) and Malik Mitchell (Alpharetta, Ga.). “When you look at this class, it’s dominated by skill, which it should be,” Carey said. “We had to get more skill and we had to get more [defensive backs]. That’s a natural thing. One year you’re going to heavy guys, next year you sign guys with more skills.”
WASHINGTON – Saturday mail may soon go the way of the Pony Express and penny postcards. The Postal Service said Wednesday that it plans to cut back to five-day-a-week deliveries for everything except packages to stem its financial losses in a world radically reordered by the Internet. “Our financial condition is urgent,” declared Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe. But Congress has voted in the past to bar the idea of eliminating Saturday delivery, and his announcement immediately drew protests from some lawmakers. Patrick R. The plan, which is to Donahoe take effect in August, also brought vigorous objections from farmers, the letter carriers’ union and others. The Postal Service, which suffered a $15.9 billion loss in the past budget year, said it expected to save $2 billion annually with the Saturday cutback. Mail such as letters and magazines would be affected. Delivery of packages of all sizes would continue six days a week. The plan accentuates one of the agency’s strong points: Package delivery has increased by 14 percent since 2010, officials say, while the delivery of letters and other mail has plummeted. Email has decreased the mailing of paper letters, but online purchases have increased package shipping, forcing the Postal Service to adjust to customers’ new habits. “Things change,” Donahoe said. James Valentine, an antiques shop owner in Toledo, wasn’t too concerned about the news. “The mail isn’t that important to me anymore. I don’t sit around waiting for it to come. It’s a sign of the times,” he said, adding, “It’s not like anyone writes letters anymore.” In fact, the Postal Service has had to adapt to changing times ever since Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general by the Continental Congress in 1775. The Pony Express began in 1860, six-day delivery started in 1863 and airmail became the mode in 1918. Twice-aday delivery was cut to once-a-day in 1950 to save money.
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