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25 easy meals with AREA RUNNERS COMPETE rotisserie chicken IN THREE RIVERS MEET FOOD, A9-10
CROSS COUNTRY, B1
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Wednesday, October 2, 2013
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | POLITICS
Congress pay, D.C. trip continue Kinzinger refuses salary until funding resumes Honor Flight still happening BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Most federal employees won’t get paychecks during the federal government shutdown that began Tuesday. Congressmen are among the exceptions. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, who represents Lee County, won’t accept his paycheck until the government is funded again, his spokesman said Tuesday. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, whose district includes
er she would take her paycheck during the shutdown, but she wouldn’t give a yes-or-no answer. She kept referring to her support of the No Budget, No Pay Act, which would mean no pay for representatives if Congress fails to enact a budget. Rep. Adam Rep. Cheri But she noted that the ConKinzinger Bustos stitution bars any measures Whiteside County, apparently from affecting members’ pay during their current terms in will take her pay. During a telephone news con- office. ference Tuesday, a reporter REFUSES CONTINUED ON A2 repeatedly asked Bustos wheth-
CONCEALED CARRY
BY DEREK BARICHELLO dbarichello@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 526
ROCK FALLS – Veterans have waited too long to cancel their once-in-a-lifetime trip planned to the nation’s capital. Despite the federal government shutdown, which has closed memorials in Washington, an Honor Flight sched- director for the flight. “We talked about [canceling], uled for Thursday from the Quad Cities, including about but we felt it would affect too 60 veterans from the Sauk Val- many people,” Morrison said. ley, will continue as schedHAPPENING CONTINUED ON A2 uled, said Bob Morrison, hub
STATE LEGISLATURE | POLITICS
THREE CHEERS FOR DIXON YOUTH SOCCER
Number of certified instructors on the rise
Demmer planning to seek second House term
Classes could start as early as this month
Freshman says priority is controlling spending
BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
DIXON – A week ago, just one person in the Sauk Valley was a certified concealed-carry instructor. That number has since increased to 15. Charlie Thomas of Dixon is among them. He plans to teach classes for the concealed carry of weapons at the local VFW post. He signed up after state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, informed the public about the state police’s process for issuing permits allowing concealed carry. “I didn’t realize they were doing it right away,” said Thomas, who is an Army retiree. He said he had nearly 50 names of people who want to take his course – about a quarter of whom are women. “The state police are moving as quickly as they can,” he said. “Once we get the rest of the story from the state police, we can start setting dates and putting the word out.” Eddie Branch, who works at Rigler’s Shooting & Sports Supply in Rock Falls, hopes to start offering classes before the end of the month. He is conducting the classes along with Howard Melchi, John Anzelmo, and Dakota Hagerman. Melchi and Anzelmo have applied for permits, but are not yet approved, Branch said. “We have to get insurance. You can’t just be an instructor and do these classes and not have insurance. You have a high risk of liability. We hope everything falls in place this month,” Branch said. Last week, the state police’s list of certified instructors consisted of 54 people, most of whom were from the Chicago area.
Check back Saturday’s SV Weekend edition will have photos and features from Thursday’s Honor Flight leaving the Quad Cities, as well as profiles of local veterans who are making the trip.
BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Dixon Family YMCA soccer coach Brittany Humphrey leads her Lee County Sheriff’s soccer team in a cheer during its final practice Tuesday at The Meadows. The team celebrated the season with a pizza party after practice. The Dixon YMCA offers spring and fall soccer programs for kids of all ages.
DIXON – At age 27 and in his first year in the Legislature, state Rep. Tom Demmer confirmed on Tuesday what was largely expected: He plans to run for a second term in 2014. Recently, the Dixon Republican told the Lee County Board that as a freshman in a “very Rep. Tom minority” party, Demmer he gets much of his information about state politics from the media. At the same time, Demmer has shown understanding with the Democratic-controlled Legislature. For instance, he said this week that while he is hopeful a conference committee can find a pension reform compromise, he is realistic about the “significant challenges” it faces. “We’ve been debating pension reform proposals for months, if not years,” Demmer said in an update to constituents. “Honest disagreements stem from honest differences in beliefs and policies. The gridlock isn’t because we’ve ignored reform; it’s because reform isn’t easy.” On Tuesday, he sent out a news release on his plan to run for a second 2-year term representing the 90th district, which is largely Republican. In 2012, Demmer won the general election with 62 percent of the vote. His Democratic opponent, Thomas Boken Jr., of DeKalb, got most of his support in DeKalb County.
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TODAY’S EDITION: 28 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 108
DEMMER CONTINUED ON A2
INDEX
BUSINESS ......... A13 COMICS ............. A12 CROSSWORD....B13
DEAR ABBY ......... A8 LIFESTYLE ........... A8 LOTTERY ............. A2
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 84. Low 62. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B7.
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