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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Saturday, July 18, 2015
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Mautino: Illinois Auditor General?
State rep. would have to relinquish his 76th District seat if appointed By Terri Simon tsimon@bcrnews.com
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois State Rep. Frank Mautino has unofficially thrown his hat in the ring to be the state’s next auditor general. Having served on the Legislative Audit Commission for 18
years — 12 of those as co-chairman of the commission, Mautino said he clearly has the experience and the track record to assume the position, after the current auditor general, William Holland, will retire in January after serving 25 years in that position. Mautino said he officially resigned his seat on the Leg-
islative Audit Commission last week, which was necessary for him to eventually apply for the post. “It was important for me to do that. They are going to take applications (for the auditor general position) over the next few weeks,” Mautino said. “Beginning Aug. 1, they will accept applications through the 14th, and then they will schedule interviews.” The auditor general seat is a statewide constitutional executive officer, equal to the secre-
tary of state, the governor and the lieutenant governor. It is the only seat not elected by voters, rather the post is elected by the Senate and House of Representatives. The person winning the position will need a super majority vote from both houses — a three-fifths majority vote, which Mautino said insures bipartisan support. When Mautino tendered his resignation from the Legislative Audit Commission, he said he went to all four of the leaders from both parties to make them
aware of his resignation. “I did that out of respect,” Mautino said. “They were very supportive ... I’ve also been receiving calls from Republican members who have said, we want you to do this.” As the auditor general, Mautino would basically be in charge of 110 state agencies under the governor for financial and legal compliance. Not only would he oversee the Legislative Audit Commission, he would be
Mautino Page 4
And the walls came tumblin’ down ... Hall demolition nearly complete By Becky Kramer news@bcrnews.com
SPRING VALLEY — The Hall High School Board heard from Tony Orlandi of Leopardo Construction on the new school construction as well as on the demolition of the old school at the school board meeting Wednesday, July 15. Orlandi indicated Brandenburg Demolition has been on site for several weeks. The entire school has been knocked down and will be completely hauled away by the end of next week. After that, the concrete foundation will be removed. The board also reviewed the recent budget. Hall ended the year with a deficit of $247,804; $150,000 of that was due to loss of revenue. Superintendent Mike Struna said the next year will be rough with declining revenue from both the state and property taxes. Struna said, “We will have to get through the year and weather the storm.” In 2016-17 Struna is anticipating getting more money from local property taxes. In addition, three teachers are scheduled to retire at that time.
Hall Page 2
BCR photo/Becky Kramer
The iconic Hall High School building has been reduced to pile of rubble, and work continues on the new school, which is set to open this coming school year. To see more demolition photos, see Page 2 in today’s BCR.
Road work ahead County plans for upcoming work on area roads By Goldie Rapp grapp@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The heavy and persistent rains experienced this
spring and summer caused a considerable amount of damage to county roads. Some of the damage caused had to be declared an emergency, as the department sought road repair immediately. Bureau County Board Member Steve Sondgeroth, who is also chairman of the transportation committee, reported on the emergency declarations at the Bureau County Board meeting
on Tuesday, July 14. Sondgeroth said the first was a gravel road, which runs straight west near LaMoille High School. He said the winter and spring were rough on the road. With all the thawing, freezing and wet conditions, it caused black dirt to erode to the top of the gravel. He said drivers were forced to travel on the shoulder of the road, and in some parts the ditch. He said the county highway
department started work on the road immediately, however, the heavy rainfall made work on road difficult. The crew decided to declare the project an emergency to get extra manpower and funds to repair the road. Sondgeroth said crews have been able to reshape the road and brought in a lot of gravel to try to smooth out the rough areas. He said it’s not quite finished, but the road is in
much better condition than it was before. The other emergency happened on County Highway 31, otherwise known as the Bradford Putnam Blacktop. Due to excessive rains, one of the wing walls on a bridge was washed away. The issue was declared an emergency, as crews sought to replace the wing wall.
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Year 169 No. 86 One Section - 20 Pages
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