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WARRIORS, DUKES ENGAGE IN DUALS
NEWMAN, A3
WRESTLING, B1
dailyGAZETTE Monday, December 9, 2013
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
PROPHETSTOWN
Instigation under investigation Man with record, almost $200K in medical bills says he was jumped BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
PROPHETSTOWN – Eugene Pashon is not making himself out to be an angel, but he says he deserves justice after a number of men attacked him outside a Prophetstown bar in late September. State police say they are still investigating. In the early morning hours of Sept. 28, Pashon said, he got into a fistfight
with a man in a parking lot near Kuel’s Pub, 213 Washington St. “When you’re drinking, you don’t make the best decisions,” said Pashon, who lives in Prophetstown. He said five men approached him and started beating him up. The 30-year-old said he remembers nothing after that because he got knocked out. Pashon was taken to CGH Medical Center in Sterling, then flown to a hospital in Peoria.
He said he suffered brain injuries, racking up $196,000 in medical bills. Since the fight, he has heard that others have claimed they were acting in self-defense, but he said that is hardly possible, given that it was five people against one. Pashon acknowledged he doesn’t have the best history. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of a police officer. INSTIGATION CONTINUED ON A4
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When you’re drinking, you don’t make the best decisions.
Prophetstown resident Eugene Pashon, who says brain injuries suffered when he was attacked Sept. 28 racked up massive medical bills
It was a bar scene. Most people have different versions of what went on.
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State police Sgt. Corey Peck. State police say they are still investigating the case.
STATE LEGISLATURE PENSIONS
POW/MIA TREE-LIGHTING
68-bulb salute
Fallout looms in 2014 Balance of power could shift in General Assembly BY KERRY LESTER The Associated Press
Rich Hansen stands at attention Saturday evening before the lighting of the POW/MIA tree. The tree stands at the Veterans Park in Dixon and represents those soldiers from Illinois still unaccounted for during times of war. Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
VFW commander Tom Bushman lights one of 68 lights on a Christmas tree Saturday night representing the Illinois soliders that are still unaccounted for during times of war. This is the 25th year the Rock River Valley POW/MIA chapter has held the tree-lighting ceremony.
SPRINGFIELD – While Illinois Republicans have made solving the state’s pension crisis their issue for years, far fewer GOP lawmakers than expected supported the watershed package of reforms passed by the Legislature Tuesday. Only 15 House Republicans – a third of the 47-member caucus – voted for the $160 billion savings plan that was jointly crafted by Democratic and Republican legislative leaders, as did 10 of the Senate’s 19 GOP members. With at least one major campaign donor lobbying against the package and concerns about giving Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn a gift for his re-election campaign, Republican leaders in each chamber faced a challenge that grew more complicated as the vote neared. More Democrats, in turn, stepped forward to compensate, even though the plan was bitter medicine for unions representing state workers, their usual allies and campaign supporters. “I think everyone feels unhappy about the choice we faced. I don’t think anybody felt there was joy in a yes vote,” said House Democratic Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie. Now that the votes are cast, lawmakers face the consequences in the 2014 election campaign. While legislative leaders would have strategized over how to protect vulnerable members from casting a difficult vote, the fallout could have impact on the balance of power in the General Assembly if Democrats sacrifice enough seats next year to lose their thin supermajorities in each chamber. FALLOUT CONTINUED ON A4
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 1
INDEX
COMICS ............. A10 CROSSWORD....B11 DEAR ABBY ......... A8
LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 NATION/WORLD A12
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 20. Low 8. More on A3.
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