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Tuesday, January 20, 2015
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
STERLING | SALES TAX REFERENDUM
Half-cent increase put on ballot ‘Citizens to decide’ on fate of stormwater projects BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5570
STERLING – Whiteside County schools passed a sales tax for maintenance purposes in November, and now the two largest cities in the county will have similar referendums on the April 7 ballot.
The Sterling Council on Monday approved putting the Local Option Sales Tax question to voters, joining Rock Falls, which OK’d the referendum Dec. 1. The tax is more commonly known as the half-cent sales tax, because the increase is a half-cent on every retail dollar taxed.
Sterling would use the extra tax money for stormwater management projects. In an informal poll done at its Jan. 5 meeting, the council preferred the referendum to a stormwater fee as a means of funding the stormwater projects. “This is similar to the tax process in 2004,” City Manager
Scott Shumard said. “It will be up to the citizens to decide.” Sterling, Rock Falls and Dixon passed the referendum in 2004. Sterling and Rock Falls used the extra money for general infrastructure purposes, while Dixon targeted water improvements.
Next meeting The Sterling City Council next meets at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 2, 2015, at City Hall, 212 Third Ave., on the first floor in the Council Chambers. Go to sterling-il.gov or call City Hall at 815-632-6621 for an agenda or more information.
SALES TAX CONTINUED ON A4
DRIVERS REJOICE: POTHOLES PATCHED IN ROCK FALLS
CARROLL COUNTY
Overpass options considered Report: ‘antiquated’ wooden bridge key to local economy BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529 @MattMencarini
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Steam rises from the asphalt as Paul Lawyer of the Rock Falls Street Department fills potholes Monday afternoon on Eighth Avenue. Workers went up and down streets in the neighborhood of St. Andrew Catholic Church and patched the pesky buggers, thanks to warm temperatures making it possible.
MORE POTHOLE-PLUGGIN’ WEATHER PREDICTED? Highs in the 30s are forecast for every day this week, although snow in the forecast for today, both in the morning and at night. See the 5-day forecast on A3.
MOUNT CARROLL – Carroll County is working to upgrade a road and overpass used often by farmers to take grain and livestock to market. The work could cost between $175,000 and $4.1 million, depending on which of five Take 5 options the Breakdown county chooses. The options of five options a r e i n c l u d e d presented to in a report that County Board County High- on A3. way Engineer Kevin Vandendooren presented to the County Board last week. The project area consists of Ideal Road and state Route 40, near Livingood Road and Dutchtown Road, and the Ideal Road overpass that crosses railroad tracks, about 3 miles northwest of Milledgeville. OVERPASS CONTINUED ON A3
ILLINOIS | TAX SEASON
New security measures to delay returns Payment could take more than a week, rather than days
Lisa Madigan Illinois attorney general tells Springfield State Journal-Register that 2014 saw 408 fraud complaints involving tax returns.
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SPRINGFIELD (AP) – New security measures to deter identity theft and fraud will delay Illinois income tax returns this year, Illinois Department of Revenue officials said. The agency won’t say what those security measures are, but they could cause returns to take a week or longer, rather than days, spokesman Terry Horstman told the State Journal-Register. He said both paper and electronic filings will be affected, though electronic filings – the vast majority of the 6 million returns filed last year – still will be quicker. TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 183
INDEX
“With everything going on with fraud online, it makes sense they’re beefing up security on those levels,” Horstman said, adding that the department has staff dedicated to identifying illegal activity. Suspected fraud can be checked against a multistate database used to track criminals. Horstman said most criminal tax filings come from another state. Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office told the newspaper that there were 408 fraud complaints last year involving tax returns. The Revenue Department does
ABBY ................... A7 BUSINESS ......... A12 COMICS ............... A8
not yet know how much that cost the state, but similar-sized states have reported losses as high as $30 million, the newspaper reported. Brent Leach, a certified public accountant in Springfield, said identity thieves use a variety of scams, including fake websites and emails, to trick people into giving out personal information. Then the scammers file early, leading the Internal Revenue Service to reject the victim’s return. “The IRS will never contact anyone by email or text,” he said. “If it looks official, it’s someone trying to get your information.”
CROSSWORD....B12 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
NATION/WORLD .. A9 OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6
Tom Kocal/Shaw Media
The Ideal Road overpass that spans the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks northwest of Milledgeville is a major route used by the ag industry to get grain to processing companies on the Mississippi, but it is unsafe and in need of rebuilding, a report says.
Today’s weather High 39. Low 29. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B6.
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