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Duchesses on their way to state
WARRIORS, DUKE EARN TRIP TO STATE WRESTLING, B1
GIRLS BOWLING, B1
dailyGAZETTE Monday, February 15, 2016
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
ILLINOIS POLITICS | REDISTRICTING
It’s shaping up for a fight The debate over the state’s legislative maps is heating up again CHICAGO (AP) – At first blush, it might have seemed like a rare moment of bipartisanship at the Illinois Capitol: Democratic President Barack Obama called for changes to a process for drawing political maps that too often favors one party, bringing Republican lawmakers to their feet.
“In America, politicians should not pick their voters; voters should pick their politicians,” Obama said during last week’s speech in Springfield, echoing comments from his final State of the Union address. But Illinois’ redistricting process is shaping up to be one of the biggest
battles of 2016, as a bipartisan group of supporters and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner push to put a measure on the November ballot and opponents, including some top Democrats, argue it would “devastate the voices of minority communities.” DISTRICTS CONTINUED ON A5
STERLING
SAUK VALLEY SCHOOLS
Handcuffed by staffing Open positions are forcing police to be reactive instead of proactive, and that’s landing more people in jail BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Making every answer count Morrison Junior High student Hannah Stralow reads a question during the Countdown Round of Mathcounts.
Kyle Tunick from St. Anne School in Dixon works on a word problem during the Countdown Round.
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TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 162 ISSUE 47
INDEX
Dean Ellorando, from St. Mary School in Dixon, ponders an answer Saturday during the Countdown Round of the Mathcounts event at Sauk Valley Community College. St. Mary and St. Anne Catholic schools in Dixon, St. Mary’s School in Sterling, and Morrison Junior High sent teams to the regional competition at Sauk, along with Rochelle Middle School and Byron Middle School. Four-member teams of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders took part in written tests and fastpaced verbal matches. St. Mary School in Dixon won, and will advance to the state competition in Lisle on March 19. The team, coached by Kathleen Knaack, consisted of Nate Ahlers, Dean Ellorando, Noah Grot and Avery Meyer. Morrison placed second, Byron third and St. Anne School fourth. Griffin Vos of Morrison Junior High and Brock Wilson of Byron Middle School will also head to state, as the two top scoring individuals.
ABBY ................... A7 COMICS ............... A8 CROSSWORD....B10
LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 NATION .......... A9, 10
STERLING – Inadequate police staffing isn’t a new problem for the city, but solving it now falls into the lap of Tim Morgan, the city’s interim police chief. Morgan has been the city’s top cop since Jan. 18, retired chief Ron Potthoff’s last day on the job. During Morgan’s budget presentation to the Sterling City Council last week, the severity of the problem became clear. The 2015 year-end statistics
show that crime has no sympathy for a force that’s shortstaffed. Adults arrested numbered 2,600 last year, reflecting a 22 percent increase from the previous year. Juvenile arrests totaled 170, a 39 percent increase. There were 86 domestic batteries, up 65 percent from 2014, and sex-related crimes were up by 32 percent. “Why are we up so much in so many of these areas?” Mayor Skip Lee asked the new chief. Morgan said he believes the staffing situation has handcuffed the department. POLICE CONTINUED ON A4
New budget plagued by old problems – mainly Springfield City again faced with uncertainty amid state stalemate BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – As city officials work on the 2016-2017 budget, many of last year’s challenges remain. The state still doesn’t have a budget, and although some of the local funding from Springfield is no longer suspended, the impasse creates much fiscal uncertainty for municipalities. When last year’s budget was adopted in April, like many cities, Sterling decided to wait for the state’s situation to become OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
clearer before deciding how to deal with its own deficit. City Manager Scott Shumard was initially looking at a $335,286 shortfall in the general fund, but said the city had enough in reserves to cover the deficit. Fearing he would have to make cuts twice, Shumard decided to Scott Shumard City manager wait for a still waiting for a clearer picclearer picture ture on rev- from Springfield enues from the state, and recommended the $30.3 million total budget be passed with the general fund deficit intact. BUDGET CONTINUED ON A4
Today’s weather High 33. Low 21. More on A3.
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