Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal February 26, 2015 Volume 152, Number 44 - $1.00
Dominating Win
Toy Shows
Guest Column
The Forreston Cardinals picked up an easy win to end the regular season Feb. 21. B1
The annual farm toy shows return to Polo and Forreston in March. A10
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle addresses commercial truck lengths on rural roads A8
State budget cuts will impact municipalities By Vinde Wells Editor
Soaring High Forreston cheerleader Olivia Krecklow soars through the air during pregame Feb. 21 at the boys basketball game. Photo by Chris Johnson
Upgrades are on tap for Polo apartments this year By Vinde Wells Editor
that Ogle County will receive $383,755 this year. Ditzler said the money will be used to make upgrades to bathrooms in the 30 apartments at Prairie State Apartments in Polo. Exterior doors will be replaced at 10 other sites in Polo, he said. The grant is part of nearly $116 million awarded to public housing authorities in Illinois. The funding will allow agencies to make major large-scale improvements to their public housing units. The grants are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, which offers annual funding to approximately
Local village and city officials say the state budget cuts proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner last week would put a significant strain on their finances. In fact, one called the potential loss “disastrous.” “It would be disastrous for us if they did that,” Mt. Morris Village Treasurer Bruce True said Monday. “I don’t think the legislature is going to do it, but we have to be prepared.” In a speech Feb. 18, Rauner laid out his plan to reduce the share of state income tax revenues that goes to municipalities from eight percent to four percent for the state’s fiscal year that begins July 1. The governor’s plan is the opening round of proposals and counter-proposals that are typically introduced before the state legislature approves the final budget. In dire financial straits for the last several years, the state is currently facing an estimated $9 billion deficit. “This is our last, best chance to get our house in order,” Rauner said during his address. While True agreed that the state must cut spending, he said Rauner’s proposal would mean a 14 to 15 percent loss of revenue for the village in the coming year.
Instead of the anticipated $288,000 in income tax revenue for the year, Mt. Morris would receive only about $144,000, a substantial portion of its estimated $1 million in revenues, he said. The timing is less than ideal as well, True said. With the fiscal year for village and cities beginning May 1, local governments will have to set their budgets before they know what the final result will be in Springfield. True pointed out that with the state income tax rate declining from five percent to 3.5 percent as of Jan. 1, the revenues from that source were already going to be reduced. True said he and other village officials are currently working on compiling the budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year and will have little choice but to cut spending since alternative sources of revenue simply aren’t available. The village is already levying property taxes and utility taxes at the maximums allowed by the state, he said. “We’re doing as much as we can locally right now,” he said. The amount of state income tax a village or city receives is determined by its population. Polo City Clerk said the city will lose $115,583 in state income tax revenue if Rauner’s proposal is approved.
“That’s a significant loss for us,” she said. Currently state income tax is the city’s largest source of revenue. That revenue goes into the General Fund, which is used to pay for streets, police, parks and the city swimming pool, and administrative expenses. The estimated General Funds revenues for the year are $963,800. “These are very important departments,” Corbitt said. “It’s going to be a hardship if it happens.” She said she and other city officials are in the beginning stages of planning the 201516 budget, which must be approved in early May. Oregon Mayor Tom Stone said Rauner’s proposal will be one of the main topics discussed March 19 when mayors from the area meet at the Steak Pit. He said the proposed cuts are just another blow to promised state funding to cities and village. “The state has been late for years on sales tax payments. It’s nothing new, but it’s definitely going to hurt if it goes through,” Stone said. Ken Williams, the city’s Finance Commissioner, said the city will lose about 10 percent of its expected revenues should the measure be approved. “The cost to the city would be $180,000 less in revenue,” he said. “In essence that’s a Turn to A11
3,100 public housing authorities to build, repair, renovate and/or modernize Although Ogle County the public housing in their Housing and Urban communities, the press Development (HUD) were release said. expecting to get federal These housing authorities funding from HUD’s Capital use the funding to do largeFund Program, this year’s scale improvements such as amount came as a pleasant replacing roofs or making surprise. energy-efficient upgrades “It’s a Capital Fund grant. to replace old plumbing and We get it once a year, but electrical systems. it’s about double what we Unlike routine usually get,” Ogle County maintenance, capital needs HUD Executive Director are extensive improvements David Ditzler said Monday. required to make the housing By Jermaine Pigee “That will help us out a ton.” decent and economically Sauk Valley Media A press release last week sustainable, such as replacing from the U.S. Department roofs or updating plumbing Although they didn’t of Housing and Urban and electrical systems to win, two Forrestville Valley Development announced increase energy efficiency. students made a solid showing Feb. 19 at the Lee/ Ogle Regional Spelling Bee at Dixon High School. Forreston Grade School fifth-grader Makayla Cole finished in fifth place and Forreston Junior High School eighth-grader Braedon Fyock finished sixth. Back and forth went Rebekah Zeigler and Lydia Cermak, the final spellers left in the bee after 24 others had been eliminated. Finally, Cermak, a sixthgrader at Oregon Elementary School, was tripped up by the word tuckahoe. Zeigler, a fourth-grader at Centennial Elementary School, Polo, responded quickly by correctly spelling lederhosen. After 28 rounds, victory, and a trip to the national bee, was within Ziegler’s reach. All that stood in the way Forreston High School FFA members Brittan DeVries, Naeva Groenewold, and Robert was spelling one final word Forreston Grade School fifth-grader Makayla Cole DeHaven, took part in the Plaid Shirt theme day on Monday for FFA Week. The group will correctly. The word she was finished in fifth place at the Regional Spelling Bee Feb. celebrate each day of the week with a theme; Tuesday is FFA Shirt/Truck Day, Wednesday
Solid showing at bee for two Forreston spellers
FFA Week
is Farmer Day, Thursday is Dress Like Nelson Day, and Friday is Blue and Gold Day. The FHS FFA has 75 members, and the adviser is Robert Nelson. Photo by Kathie Conerton
In This Week’s Edition...
Birth, A4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
Fines, B6 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Property Transfers, B5 Recycling News, B3
Turn to A2
19. Photo by Alex Paschal, Sauk Valley Media
Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Weather, A3
Deaths, B4 Irene Black, Jacob M. Burke, Marion I. DeGraf, Donald Greenfield, David Petro
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com