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A fleet of Fords rolls into town
LEE & OGLE COUNTIES, A10
COMETS KEEP THE BALL ROLLING FOOTBALL, B1
TELEGRAPH Monday, August 29, 2016 n SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
FAIR MAP AMENDMENT
Voters didn’t get a Fair chance Local lawmakers frustrated court kept redistricting off the ballot; say they’ll continue to fight for it BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are expressing their disappointment and frustration after the courts again ruled to keep a Fair Map Amendment off the ballot.
The Illinois Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision handed down Thursday, affirmed the ruling by a Cook County judge who determined the ballot initiative seeking to give legislative mapmaking power to an independent commission instead of lawmakers was unconstitutional. The ruling came 1 day before the dead-
line for certifying the November ballots. This is the second time in 2 years that an attempt to overhaul redistricting through the petition process has failed. Nearly 600,000 Illinois residents had signed the most recent petition to change the way legislative districts are drawn. State Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said lawmakers must continue the fight
to honor the will of the people. “This clearly has the support of a majority of our citizens, and it’s our job in the Legislature to put it on the ballot,” Demmer said. “I’m frustrated and find it problematic that an effort many years in the making with voter support has been silenced again.” REDISTRICTING continued on A54
ILLINOIS
LEE COUNTY
Fixed rates breaking students’ budgets
It’s a
Research: Tuition lock for in-state students ends up costing everyone more
big
draw for Amboy’s
Depot Days
Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Rayven Wehling, Miss Amboy 2016, reaches into the tumbler Sunday afternoon to draw a ticket for the firstplace winner during Amboy Depot Days. The drawing has become the highlight of the annual event that celebrates all things Amboy. Thousands of tickets are sold in hopes of grabbing a six-figure top prize from the 50-50 drawing. This year, that winner was Chad Hudson of Harmon, who had the $139,903 winning ticket. Second-place winner Pam Moore of Dixon will get behind the wheel of a 2016 Chevy Malibu LT, and Amber Klone of Woodhaven Lakes pocketed the $10,000 third prize. Last year’s winner first-place winner walked away with $149,333. Depot Days kicked off Thursday and wrapped up Sunday. It featured a carnival, classic vehicles and tractors, a parade, city-wide garage sales, music, crafts, sidewalk sales and more. ONLINE EXTRA: Read this story at saukvalley.com to see video, and more photos, from Depot Days. Jose Rodriquez (right) of Dixon works the hydraulics on his 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood low-rider Sunday while Alex Fernandez, 1, of Amboy enjoys the car as it hopped up and down at the Amboy Depot Days car show. Spectators check out a replica of K.I.T.T., the car from the “Knight Rider” TV show, at the car show. The interior has been customized to look like the original K.I.T.T. car, and its owner has rigged up the car to use his cell phone make the car talk.
There were two members of 3 on the Tree on bass Sunday during Amboy Depot Days – Keith Pauley playing it and Pat Jones standing on it.
CHAMPAIGN (AP) – The Illinois law that locks in tuition rates for in-state students appears to have the unintended effect of driving up tuition for out-of-state students and fees for all, according to a pair of studies from University of Illinois researchers. The law, which took effect in 2004, guarantees a freshman at a state university will pay the same tuition rate for 4 years. Only three other states – Oklahoma, Texas and, as of this summer, North Carolina – have similar laws. But lawmakers in places like Utah and Idaho recently have considered or at least discussed fixed-rate tuition laws. Such laws throughout the country, however, increased student fees between 2000 and 2012 by 40 percent and tuition rates for out-of-state students by 28 percent, according to a study published in the SeptemberOctober issue of the Journal of Higher Education by researchers Jennifer Delaney and Tyler Kearney. In Illinois alone, 12 public universities increased their nonresident tuition rates by up to 30 percent since 2004, which was faster than other states, they wrote in a study published last year in the journal Economics of Education Review. “Our research is showing the increase beyond what was expected,” Delaney said, because university administrators who were forced to plan out revenue needs for 4-year periods appear to have increased non-resident tuition as a way to keep the money flowing, Delaney said. Average public-university tuitions that had been under $4,000 both in Illinois and the rest of the country in 2000 grew far apart – by 2010, the average public tuition rate in Illinois was well over $7,000 a year compared to under $5,000 in other states. The price of a state college degree nationwide has risen alongside dwindling state support and a rise in student loan debt; in Illinois, the ongoing budget crisis has cut not only state support of public universities but also financial aid. But those decreases in state support started years ago, and drove drastic jumps in tuition. TUITION continued on A54
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TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 166 ISSUE 84
INDEX
ABBY.................... A7 COMICS................ A8 CROSSWORD.......B9
LIFESTYLE............ A7 LOTTERY.............. A2 MILITARY.............. A4
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
Today’s weather High 84. Low 67. More on A3.
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