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OREGON GIRLS EDGE PAST DIXON TO WIN INVITE
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BOWLING, B1
DIXON HIGH SCHOOL, A10
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Monday, December 5, 2016 n SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON
Missing, but not forgotten Friends and family of veterans honor those who won’t be home for Christmas BY ZACH ARBOGAST zarbogast@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5607
DIXON – The holiday season means many things to many people, not the least of which is music, whether it’s the festive “Jingle Bells” that reminds us of time spent setting up the Christmas tree with family, or “Silent Night” conjuring up visions of holy water and
church pews. Among the shuffle of familiar carols and hymns is “I’ll Be Home For Christmas (If Only in My Dreams).” But, to the Rock River VietNow Chapter, the song stands above the others in representing the holiday season. The song was written to honor soldiers who longed to be home at Christmas and was made popular by Bing Crosby during World War II. This year, it was the theme of the annual POW/MIA Christmas tree lighting and vigil, held Saturday night in Dixon at Veterans Memorial Park. For 28 years, VietNow has been holding the event in
honor of missing Illinois service members. The group lights a bulb on a Christmas tree for soldiers still missing from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The tree will remain lighted throughout the holidays. Each color bulb holds a significance. When the first ceremony was held in 1988, there were 98 red bulbs, each representing a missing soldier. As of Saturday evening, 34 of those bulbs have been changed to green – signifying remains that have been identified, and famiAlex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com lies that finally know the fate of Bill Kessling, POW chapter chairman, lights the bulb of hope their loved ones. Saturday on the POW/MIA Christmas tree during a ceremony at MISSING continued on A94 Veterans Memorial Park in Dixon.
ILLINOIS | BUDGET BATTLE
WEATHER
From bad to worse
A taste of winter
Agencies reliant on state funding face uncertainty – again – as the stalemate in Springfield continues
Liam Elmendorf, 3, tries out the snow Sunday while playing outside with her grandma Jodi in Dixon.
Dolton Yunker of Dixon clears off a sidewalk in Dixon on Sunday as he and other residents began to dig out from the weekend snow. Winter doesn’t officially start until Dec. 21, but Mother Nature never was beholden to the calendar. She dropped an estimated 4 inches of snow on the Sauk Valley, and she’s not done yet. Temperatures are expected to peak today in the upper 30s before taking a steady dive into the 20s by the end of the week, and snow will return Wednesday, with up to an inch floating down to fluff things up a bit more. That’ll be quite a change from fall, which climatologist Jim Angel said has been the warmest on record in Illinois since 1931, with a statewide average temperature for September through November of 59.4 degrees.
SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Homeless shelters in Illinois and low-income college students who rely on state funds are facing another year of financial uncertainty as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democratic lawmakers remain unable to make progress on resolving a budget war. Several meetings during the past month have served only to prove how far apart the two sides are: Rauner, a former venture capitalist who took office 2 years vowing to overhaul how the state is managed, continues to insist Democrats pass part of his pro-business agenda, while they say he should focus on a budget deal without pre-conditions. The money lawmakers approved as part of a 6-month spending plan in June is about
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BUDGET continued on A54
Budget talks: More they said, they said Dems blames GOP for lack of progress, but GOP says budget meeting was productive Tribune News Service
Sorry, students, but Joann Wegner (left) and Tina Popkins were working to keep the steps clear Sunday at Dixon High School so there’d be no interruption in class this morning. Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
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to run out, but they adjourned for the year Thursday without agreeing with the governor on a plan going forward. That means social service providers, such as programs that deliver meals for homebound seniors and homeless shelters, will start the new year without state support. Some have already exhausted their budget reserves. “They don’t even have as much resilience as they did a year ago when they weren’t getting paid,” said Dan Lesser, director of economic justice at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty. Illinois hasn’t had a full budget since July 2015 – the longest a state has gone without a spending plan since at least World War II.
INDEX
ABBY.................... A7 COMICS................ A8 CROSSWORD.......B8
LIFESTYLE............ A7 LOTTERY.............. A2 NATION................. A3
A closed-door meeting Saturday between Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative leaders provided little if any headway on a budget deal to keep state government running into the new year, with Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan declaring “a lack of trust with the Rauner administration.” Madigan’s comments followed a Friday request in which
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
he asked for so-called “memorandums of understanding” for all future and past funding agreements made with Rauner. Madigan said House Democrats are concerned the administration is not spending funds as agreed to under the temporary budget that expires Jan. 1. It’s a “put-it-in-writing” tactic Madigan used under Democrat Rod Blagojevich. TALKS continued on A54
Today’s weather High 38. Low 29. More on A3.
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