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Dixon’s Schwarz takes her first shot at state
G olden E cho SPECIAL SECTION, INSIDE
GIRLS TRACK, B1, B6, B7
dailyGAZETTE Tuesday, May 26, 2015
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE
Progress hangs in the imbalance A Democratic legislature and Republican governor could keep action in Springfield mired in gridlock CHICAGO (AP) – A standoff between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the Illinois Legislature is threatening to derail action on a long list of issues as lawmakers enter the final days
of their spring session. At the center of the fight are the 2016 state budget and a package of legislation that Rauner wants approved but Democrats oppose. Democrats, who hold
supermajorities in both chambers, want a tax increase to help erase a roughly $6 billion deficit in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Rauner and other GOP lawmakers say they’re open to raising taxes,
but only if the General Assembly first passes his legislative priorities, which include term limits for lawmakers and freezing property taxes. Meanwhile several other measures – from a plan to
expand gambling to a new capital construction program to replace crumbling roads and bridges – could get caught up in the legislative gridlock. GRIDLOCK CONTINUED ON A9
STERLING AND ROCK FALLS GRADUATION
We did it!
Students get ready to send their mortarboards sailing Sunday as the Rock Falls High School class of 2015’s graduation ceremony comes to a close.
With a message atop his mortarboard, one Rock Falls graduate gave thanks to Google for helping him through the last 4 years.
Sterling High School class of 2015 student council president Mariyah Martinez applauds Sunday during a recognition of veterans at the school’s graduation ceremony. Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Mortarboards and diplomas in hand, students from Sterling High School’s class of 2015 get ready to celebrate Sunday at the conclusion of their graduation ceremony.
For more graduation photos, go to page A10 & A13 and saukvalley.com
A SALUTE TO SERVICE AND SACRIFICE
DIXON
An American dream come true Family will finally have a home they can call their own BY BRENDEN WEST bwest@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529 @BWest_SVM
DIXON – Kali Nave is still in disbelief. A year ago, she was planning a marriage while recovering both from surgery and giving birth to her first child. She lived with her soon-to-be husband, Sean, with his 9-year-old son, Isiah, and their daughter, Prezli, in a house they didn’t own. The rent made it so the family could get by with the bills and little else, Nave said. “We’d pay our bills, and then that’s it,” she said. “Our landlord has been great with us. But in the end, [the home] is not really ours. That’s
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INDEX
not how I want my kids to grow up.” Then one day, Isiah returned home with a flier with information on how to apply for Habitat For Humanity. “Just once, I wanted something good to happen to my family,” Nave said. She described how Isiah’s mother had passed away several years ago, and how the boy had bounced around homes throughout his childhood. How Prezli was a true “miracle baby,” after surgery left Nave unlikely to conceive again. For 23 years, the Dixon Habitat chapter has built one new home each year for families like the Naves. HABITAT CONTINUED ON A9
ABBY ................... A7 COMICS ............. A12 CROSSWORD....B13
FOOD ................... A8 LIFESTYLE ........A7-8 LOTTERY ............. A2
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Staff Sgt. Jeremy Wellman, of Sterling, listens to the keynote address Monday during a Memorial Day ceremony at the Coloma Township Cemetery in Rock Falls. For more photos, go to page A14 and saukvalley.com. OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
Today’s weather High 76. Low 60. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B9.
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