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Thursday, October 3, 2013 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
government shutdown | local impact
government shutdown | Politics
WIC funds stopped
Bustos won’t take pay
Woman calls program ‘very beneficial’ BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 521
ROCK FALLS – Stacey Avelar, 31, is one of many who might be affected by the government shutdown. For 3 years, the Rock Falls resident has participated in WIC, a program officially known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. “It’s been very beneficial,” Avelar said. “It helps supplement the lack of income that we have, especially with groceries being so expensive. It
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A.J., who will be 3 in 2 weeks. Her husband just got a new It helps supplement job. the lack of income “Times are tough,” she said, that we have, “so it’s definitely a bonus that especially with we’re able to participate.” On Tuesday, the government groceries being so stopped funding WIC. expensive. The program is a governStacey Avelar of Rock Falls, ment service that provides WIC program participant education and vouchers for nutritional food, infant formula, and other necessities to moms and children living helps us make healthier choic- close to or below the poverty line. es.” She’s a stay-at-home mom stopped continued on A54 with two sons, Alex, 1, and
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BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, who represents Whiteside County, will not take her paycheck during the government shutdown after all. “Congressman Bustos took the step of asking the chief administrative officer of the House to withhold her paycheck until the current government shutdown is resolved,” her spokesman, Colin Milligan, said in an email Wednesday. During a telephone news conference, a reporter repeatedly asked the East Moline Democrat whether she planned to accept her pay during the shutdown. Others in Congress have said they wouldn’t. Bustos wouldn’t give the
reporter a yesor-no answer. She said she supported the No Government, No Pay Act, which would bar pay for members Rep. Cheri of Congress Bustos during shutdowns. The Constitution bars any measures from affecting members’ pay during their current terms in office, so the legislation couldn’t take effect until their next terms. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, whose district includes Lee County, announced Tuesday that he would refuse his pay during the shutdown.
Government Shutdown | washington
rockin’ out at jump with jill
White House meeting yields no progress Shutdown could last 2 weeks or longer
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Colin Wright, 6, dances with sisters Madie (middle), 7, and Ana Diedrichs, 5, as they participate in the Jump With Jill Rock and Roll Nutrition Show Wednesday in Dixon. KSB Community Wellness brought the program to the area and hosted a show at the Dixon Elks Club Wednesday before visiting some of the local schools.
lyndon | open meetings
Attorney reminds official about Open Meetings Act Board failed to decide during public meeting BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
LYNDON – The village acknowledges that its board of trustees made a decision outside of a public meeting. Under state law, the board can take action only at a properly advertised open meeting. Last month, the village responded to a complaint that resident Tracy Shaffer had filed
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Today’s edition: 28 pages 2 sections VOL. 159 ISSUE 209
with the attorney general’s office. At the June 10 meeting of the Lyndon board of trustees, members were asked to approve payment of village bills. Trustee Les Williams questioned a $2,650 bill from Ballard’s Tree Trimming. Williams said the trustees had agreed to cut down only one tree that was split. However, at the meeting, Village President Tim Crady told the board that he had called three of the six trustees and they agreed to have the
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work done. He said he did so because the company offered the village “a really good deal.” In a letter to the attorney general, Tim Zollinger, the village’s attorney, said he discussed the issue with Crady. “I ... reminded him of the obligations under the Open Meetings Act to refrain from contacting trustees developing consensus outside of a meeting properly called under the Open Meetings,” Zollinger wrote. At the same time, Zollinger said the board didn’t approve the expense until the June 10
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meeting. If the bill had been previously voted upon, he said, it wouldn’t appear on the June list. In his response to the complaint, Zollinger noted that Shaffer is the wife of Will Shaffer, who has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the village. Tracy Shaffer questioned whether the board followed proper procedure in holding a closed session during the meeting. act continued on A24
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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama brought congressional leaders to the White House on Wednesday for the first time since a partial government shutdown began, but there was no sign of progress toward ending an impasse that has idled 800,000 federal workers and curbed services around the country. Obama “refuses to negotiate,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio., told reporters after private talks that lasted more than an hour. “All we’re asking for here is a discussion and fairness for the American people under Obamacare.” But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said moments later, “We’re locked in tight on Obamacare” and neither the president nor Democrats will accept changes in the nation’s 3-year-old health care law as the price for spending legislation needed to end the two-day partial shutdown. With the nation’s ability to borrow money soon to lapse, Republicans and Democrats alike said the shutdown could last for 2 weeks or more, and soon oblige a divided government to grapple with both economy-threatening issues at the same time. The White House said in a statement after the meeting that Obama had made it clear “he is not going to negotiate over the need for Congress to act to reopen the government or to raise the debt limit to pay the bills Congress has already incurred.” It added, “The president remains hopeful that common sense will prevail.” meeting continued on A54
Today’s weather High 84. Low 64. More on A3.
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