Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal January 28, 2016 Volume 153, Number 40 - $1.00
Alumni Games
Blues Music
Art Show
The Forreston Cardinal men’s and women’s alumni games are Feb. 6. B1
Blues musician Dennis Stukenberg will perform Feb. 9 at RRC. A9
The Highland Community College Art Show opens Feb. 11 in the gallery. A9
Lutheran Social Services shuts down all services By Kathleen Schultz Sauk Valley Media Local LSSI student and family counseling services, protective care for the elderly, and an emergency program for kids going into foster care were shut down permanently last week, and the staff who ran them are being let go. Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, the state’s largest provider of social services, announced Jan.
22 that it is closing more than 30 programs serving 4,700 people statewide, and laying off 750 employees – about 43 percent of its staff – because of the state budget impasse. It’s part of the faith-based agency’s plan to “restructure its services and shore up resources for the viability and continuation of the organization,” it said in a news release. Getting the ax locally are
counseling services for children, adults and families in Dixon; school-based counseling services in Sterling; adult protective services and those who coordinate those cases in Sterling; the youth emergency shelter in Nachusa; and the Intouch Home Care program for seniors in Ogle County. How many people those programs serve, and how many employees will be lost, was not immediately available.
The state, which has been without a budget since July, owes LSSI $6 million, and the nonprofit no longer can rely on bank credit or its fundraising foundation to cover its costs, President and CEO Mark Stutrud said in the release. “After 7 months, we no longer can provide services for which we aren’t being paid,” he said. Even if the state were to pony up the money it owes, the programs are not coming back, at least not in the
same form: LSSI is restructuring in an effort to stay afloat, the release said. “We are eliminating spending that is most linked to nonpayment of services and redesigning our administrative support around a newly restructured organization,” Stutrud said. “Our plans respond to this year’s budget impasse and an anticipated lingering state financial crisis over the next several years. Turn to A3
Tax appeal is rejected for Mt. Morris facility By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
The Ogle County Board of Review denied a tax appeal Tuesday morning filed by the owners of the former Quad Graphics printing plant in Mt. Morris. Photo by Vinde Wells
Fostiak-Floski lawsuit is settled By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A civil lawsuit filed more than four years ago was settled last month when both parties agreed not to make disparaging remarks about each other. According to court documents, former Byron School Superintendent Margaret Fostiak and Betsy Floski, wife of Byron School Board President Doug Floski, settled their differences Dec. 24 when each agreed “not to make comments that defame the other.” The lawsuit was filed July 28, 2011 against WREX
Television, LLC, Rockford, after the TV station broadcast information on July 14, 2011 that said “Fostiak fired.” The Byron School Board had placed Fostiak on paid administrative leave on July 13, 2011, but did not discharge her until July 28, 2011. Fostiak’s lawsuit sought $50,000 in damages and alleged that WREX had broadcast false information about her. Eventually both Floskis, and four others, were named as respondents in discovery in the case. As part of discovery, Fostiak’s lawsuit asked for depositions from both
Floskis, and requested all of their electronic records which pertain to her, both on personal and business phones and computers. Ogle County Judge Michael Mallon, who is now retired, ruled that Fostiak was entitled to know who gave WREX information about the Byron School Board’s actions to place her on administrative leave and later to discharge her. Mallon then ordered the TV station to disclose its sources for the information they broadcast about Fostiak’s dismissal or face being found in contempt of court. WREX subsequently filed
a disclosure naming Doug Floski as their source, which he acknowledged. Fostiak has already settled with WREX Television and the others involved in the case. The court entered an order Dec. 24 of voluntary dismissal with prejudice, which means the lawsuit cannot be filed again. Fostiak filed a separate lawsuit against the Byron School Board in for illegal termination of her contract and sought monetary damages to compensate her for the loss of employment. She was award $200,000 when that case was settled in February of 2015.
Third Place Forreston FFA took 3rd place in the Section 1 Poultry CDE held recently at River Ridge High School. Jamie Cullor was 2nd High Individual Overall and Rhett Merrell was 4th High Individual. Picture left to right are Josh Staska, Rhett Merrell, Jamie Cullor, Aaron Metz, Michael Wubbena. Photo supplied
In This Week’s Edition...
Birth, A4 Business News, B6 Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 College & Service, A4
Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5
School Menus, A2 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5
Officials of two affected taxing bodies voiced their approval Tuesday morning of the Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) decision to deny a tax appeal filed by the owners of a former Mt. Morris printing plant. “I wasn’t surprised,” said Scott Diehl, president of the Mt. Morris Fire Protection District Board. “I think that’s the best decision to make right now.” Oregon School Superintendent Tom Mahoney agreed. “I’m pleased,” he said. “But as I’ve experienced with these matters, this isn’t the end of the process.” The three-member BOR upheld the assessed value of $895,912 set last fall by Mt. Morris Township Assessor Paul Peterson for one parcel of the former Quad Graphics property at 404 S. Wesley Ave. The current owners of the property, Mt. Morris Business Park LLC, Downey, California, filed an appeal of the assessment and asked that the assessment be set at $125,000. The assessed value is onethird of the fair market value. The 2015 assessment affects taxes paid in 2016. Mahoney said the taxing bodies and owners may try to agree on a value, or the owners will appeal the BOR decision to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB). Currently PTAB is preparing to hear appeals filed three years ago. Mahoney told the BOR that his attempts prior to Tuesday’s hearing to reach a settlement with Mt. Morris Business Park LLC officials were rebuffed. Besides the fire and school districts, other affected taxing bodies include Mt. Morris Township, Ogle County, Village of Mt. Morris, Mt. Morris Public Library District, and Highland Community College District. Dan Tucker, who represented Mt. Morris Business Park LLC at the
hearing, left before the BOR made its decision. Tucker said the owners were asking that the assessment be reduced back to the $125,000 set in 2013. “It’s a substantial increase [from $125,000 to $895,912],” Tucker said. Tucker said the owners are appealing the assessment of only one of the three parcels where the plant is situated. The assessment remained at the same approximately level for 2014, and the taxes paid in 2015 were $11,562 on that parcel. Quad Graphics, headquartered in Sussex, Wisconsin, shuttered the plant in 2011, ending 113 years of printing at that location. They currently lease the property as a warehouse. Tucker said the 2013 assessment was based on the $375,000 Mt. Morris Business Park LLC paid for the property in February of 2013 when it purchased it from Quad Graphics. Peterson said in his assessment, he considered that the owners are currently trying to sell the plant and are asking $3.1 million for the newer portion only, 226,000 square feet of the 586,000 total. He said he also considered that the owners are advertising to lease the 226,000 square feet for $1.75 to $2 per square foot which would bring in a minimum of $395,500 per year. Tucker said Quad Graphics pays 75 cents per square foot for a larger portion of the facility which amounts to $300,000 per year. However, he said Quad Graphics wants to “scale back.” “They want to walk away, but the owner is trying to entice them to stay,” Tucker said. If Quad Graphics no longer leases the facility, the owners may demolish all or part of it, he said. He said the owners also have expenses related to ongoing environmental issues on the property. Tucker questioned why Peterson upped the Turn to A3
Deaths, B6 Robert L. Campshure Myrna L. Williams
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com