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Sterling falls ‘BACK TO SQUARE ONE’ IN short against L-P ADMINISTRATOR SEARCH LEE COUNTY, A3
BOYS BASKETBALL, B1
STATE GOVERNMENT | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Area leaders see potential in private help Group could cut through red tape and provide needed capital BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Area economic development leaders are hopeful that plans for a new agency that partially privatizes the state’s efforts to bring in new business will measure up to the hype. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed an executive order Wednesday to establish the Illinois Business and Economic Development Corp., after a 3-year sunset clause stalled it in the state Legislature.
The private agency will market the state to global business leaders, and using private capital will negotiate incentives for bringing more business to Illinois. “ILBEDC will make us more competitive to put Illinois back in the game after years of sitting on the sidelines, idly watching neighboring states and others lure businesses and jobs away from Illinois,” Rauner said when making the announcement. Rauner said the new organization would be made up of business, industry, and civic leaders
Gov. Bruce Rauner holds up an executive order he just signed that will create a privately run and funded economic development agency that he says will create jobs Wednesday in Chicago. Rauner says the nonprofit Illinois Business and Economic Development Corp. will work with an existing state agency.
from throughout the state. The private group would work with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which would have to approve all development agreements. The governor has also said taxpayers’ money would not be used to fund the deals. A public-private partnership element to development is in place in 16 states, with mixed results. PRIVATE CONTINUED ON A9
AP photo/Rich Hein, Chicago Sun-Times
WEEKEND ENTERPRISE | LOCAL SCHOOLS
Staffing reality bites schools Teacher shortage felt in local districts BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
Illustration by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Good luck finding a local school district that isn’t implementing new programs and realigning curriculum, in an ongoing effort to better prepare its kids for the next school they’ll attend. But what might be even harder to find is a school that isn’t struggling to find teachers. A survey conducted recently by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools found that 83 percent of responding superintendents in northwestern Illinois have noticed fewer qualified candidates applying for teaching positions in their district. That’s compared to 76 percent statewide.
Official: Sub shortage easier problem for schools to fix BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
Adding insult to injury for local school districts struggling to fill teacher slots is a shortage of substitute teachers. Should a district settle for sub-par teacher candidates, it’s tough to bring them up to speed with professional development if there’s no one to sub. That’s why many teachers are spending their summer “time off” training and adding and updating their certifications. Drastic measures have been taken to develop educators midyear. Anji Garza, director of professional development for the LeeOgle-Whiteside Regional Office of Education, said several principals have filled in for teachers – even in
Mostly cloudy
VOLUME 8 ISSUE 23 36 Pages
Today: 38/27 For the forecast, see Page A10
See the survey Go to shawurl.com/2e6g to read the report from the teacher shortage survey.
kindergarten classes. The solution is simpler than you might think. In fact, with little work, you could be part of it. Anyone with a 4-year degree – not necessarily in education – from a accredited university can get a sub license from their regional office of education, or a specific school district. After paying fees, they’ll go on the district’s list. “There really aren’t a whole lot of hoops to jump through,” ROE Superintendent Bob Sondgeroth said. That is, except for a couple of exceptional hoops the Illinois State Board of Education has put in place. If regular teachers don’t fulfill required professional development, their licenses will lapse, at which point they can’t get a substitute license. SUB SHORTAGE CONTINUED ON A5
Business
A former Sterling pet groomer has moved her business to Oregon. See Page C1
In rural areas, which includes all Sauk Valley districts, 51 percent of superintendents said their applicants were weaker than those from previous years. Part of it is a pendulum effect, said Jerry Binder, human resources director of Sterling Public Schools. “For us, we had that glut of applicants – when I first took over in HR, I didn’t go to a lot of recruiting fairs and stuff, because my numbers were good across the board,” Binder said. STAFFING CONTINUED ON A4
Inside story
Big problems at a small district The regional school superintendent said the scope of the teacher applicant shortage the Chadwick-Milledgeville district has faced is remarkable. Page A5
Community Catholic schoolchildren were celebrating big time across the Sauk Valley this week. Find out why in an SVM photo essay inside. See Page C12
Index Births................ C5
Lottery .............. A2
Business........... C1
Markets .......... A12
Classified .......... B7
Obituaries ......... A4
Comics ............. A8
Opinion............. A6
Community ..... C12
Scoreboard ...... B5
Crossword Saturday ......... B10
Scrapbook ....... C3
Crossword Sunday ............. C8
Support groups .. C5
Dave Ramsey ... C1
Weather.......... A10
Dear Abby ........ C6
Wheels ........... B12
Sports .............. B1 Travel .............. C10