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COMETS: GETTING BIGGER AND BETTER SOFTBALL PREVIEW, B1
Water main break detours downtown traffic STERLING, A3
dailyGAZETTE Monday, March 14, 2016
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
ELECTION 2016 | PRIMARY
Trends point to busy voting booths in Illinois CHICAGO (AP) – If past trends hold up, some Illinois voters will be more active than others in Tuesday’s primary election for U.S. president, U.S. Senate and other races. Ahead of the contests, the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a government watchdog group, teamed up with a Chicago information technology company to examine voter records and Census data
over the last four elections, an analysis they say hasn’t been as easily accessible to the public before now. The campaign hopes it will contribute to more voter participation. Here’s a snapshot of the state’s electorate, according to their findings: Who can vote – A little more than 10 million Illinois residents who are U.S. citizens of legal age qualify to vote. But
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Why should you vote Tuesday? We’ll give you a more than a dozen reasons. Page A4 only 7.5 million are registered and active, meaning, in part, that they’ve voted recently. That leaves out 2.6 million people, roughly 26 percent of those eligible.
The data suggests some parts of Illinois have more engaged voting populations, though explanations other than geography could be a factor, such as outdated voter files. More than 90 percent of eligible voters are registered and active in the state’s southernmost counties: Alexander, Pulaski and Massac. In central and northwestern Illinois, Dewitt, Piatt, Mercer and Carroll coun-
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SUNSHINE LAWS | LEGISLATURES
DIXON
Concealed, with a capitol C
The Cahill family parades through the streets of Dixon on Saturday, with their whale float in tow, during the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Many lawmakers in our nation’s capitols support freedom of information, just not their information
More than a wee bit o’ the green Irish eyes were smiling in Dixon at the sights and sounds of the St. Patrick’s Day parade BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
DIXON – It was a whale of a celebration at Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade – especially for descendants of the Cahill family. The parade, which dates back to the mid1940s, is a production of the Rock River Valley Shamrock Club. Dave Dempsey, owner
of Dixon Glass, served as this year’s grand marshal. While the event is always special for the Cahill-Dixon clan, this year’s rendition took on added meaning. Brothers David, Henry, and Jim Dixon are descendants of the Cahills, who have a long history in the area. PARADE CONTINUED ON A9
Evan Bushman runs from his cousins Saturday as they sit on the sign welcoming people into Paige Park. Evan, along with (from left) Brynn Kelly, Megan Kelly, Ella Faught, Aidan Faught, and Sophia Faught, walked the St. Patrick’s Day parade with the Dempsey family.
Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
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ties also fit that description. By contrast, in western Illinois’ Brown County and the city of Aurora, fewer than 60 percent are registered. Chicago doesn’t fare much better, with less than 70 percent. Voters are listed inactive if they haven’t voted in the past 4 years and don’t responded to election notices confirming their address.
TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 162 ISSUE 67
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ABBY ................... A7 COMICS ............... A8 CROSSWORD....B10
LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 HOMETOWN ........ A3
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – State capitols are often referred to as “the people’s house,” but legislatures frequently put up no-trespassing signs by exempting themselves from public-records laws. That tendency was apparent when the Associated Press sought emails and daily schedules of legislative leaders in all 50 states. The request was met with more denials than approvals.
Some lawmakers claimed “legislative immunity” from the public-records laws that apply to most state and local officials. Others said secrecy was essential to the deliberative process of making laws. And some feared that releasing the records could invade the privacy of citizens, creating a “chilling effect” on the right of people to petition their government. SUNSHINE CONTINUED ON A5
Things aren’t clear in Illinois Effort to gauge government transparency turns up nothing SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Chicago Democrat Michael Madigan is known as a tireless worker – the nation’s longest serving statehouse speaker, chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, kingmaker and careerbreaker– and he does it all without the aid of email or an appointment calendar. That is one extraordinary fact turned up by an Associated Press publicrecords request of the General Assembly’s leaders in advance of Sunshine Week. The other is that the Illinois Senate considers itself immune under the state Constitution from having to turn over records. The AP submitted requests to legislative lead-
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
ers in all 50 states for daily schedules and emails from government accounts for the week of Feb. 1-7. In Illinois, which was the last state in the U.S. to adopt an open-records law, the effort produced nothing, for the following reasons: Lawmakers aren’t “public bodies” – Individual legislators are not considered “public bodies” under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act because they alone cannot pull the levers of government like, say, the governor, who discloses his appointment calendars. But there are nuances in key court cases on the issue, and advocates say transparency is just good government. ILLINOIS CONTINUED ON A5
Today’s weather High 61. Low 48. More on A3.
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