TON-05-09-2014

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1 Front Volume 141 No. 11

Friday, May 9, 2014

The Tonica News

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Illinois receives partial NCLB waiver By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

CHICAGO — The much-debated No Child Left Behind law has lost some of its teeth as far as Illinois is concerned. The state has won approval from the United States Department of Education for its request for flexibility from parts of the NCLB legislation.

Gov. Pat Quinn said he and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) have campaigned for the waiver in order to improve the quality of education for Illinois’ school children. “Today’s approval is a big step forward that will allow Illinois to do what’s best for our kids and improve the quality of education throughout our state,” Quinn said. “In

2011, we enacted landmark education reform that made our schools stronger and more accountable. Now, with this federal approval, we will continue to improve the quality of education in Illinois and better prepare our students to be successful in college, career and beyond.” “The best economic tool a state can have is a world-class education

system, and that’s why we have been fighting to get this done since day one,” ISBE Chairman Gery Chico said. “Schools across Illinois are already putting in place many elements of our plan for student success, and this approval will allow us to fully implement our comprehensive plan to make Illinois’ education system the best in the nation.”

completely repealed or completed re-written. The amount of unfunded mandates that the NCLB law and the state of Illinois has placed on all public schools is crazy. Sometimes we double or triple our paper work, and it is a waste of time and resources that adds up over not just a school year but multiple school years.”

Many local school officials have expressed relief that part of NCLB is no longer a worry in Illinois. “I find it strange that a waiver is needed to be granted to help ‘improve the quality of education for Illinois’ school children’ under the No Child Left Behind act,” Tonica Grade School Superintendent John Suarez said. “That tells me that the act needs to be either

Waiver Page 3

Illinois: Want to retire? Get the facts By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

Planning your retirement seems like a dream when you are in your 20s, gets serious in your 40s and then slaps you in the face by the time you are in your 60s. If you’ve put off thinking about your retirement until you’re past the middle-aged years, you may be in trouble. The fact you’re living in Illinois compounds the problem. In fact, according to Forbes magazine, Illinois is on the Top 5 list of worst states in which to plan your retirement.

There are several factors which influenced where a state might rank on Forbes’ list. Illinois was rated at below-average on all of them, although there were some issues that stood out more than others. The first is high property taxes. Illinois has the second highest property tax in the 50 states. The only way to avoid property taxes is to not own property, but that makes having some place to live a little bit more challenging. As most retirees transition to a fixed income, this becomes an important factor. Illinois is also one of the lesser number of states with an estate

Retirement Page 3

Marcinkus concerned about money By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of interviews with board members in the community looking at the community and challenges for the future. TONICA — Brian Marcinkus is a somewhat recent transplant to Tonica, having moved to town 11 years ago. However, there was little question in his mind as to whether or not to relocate here. “We moved to Tonica 11 years ago specifically because of the school,” Marcinkus said. “When the opportunity came up to get on the school board and I saw all the really

good things the prior administration had done to make the school viable and vibrant, I wanted to come on board and try to continue that legacy.” Marcinkus has spent eight years on the Tonica Grade School Board. He was appointed when a former board member resigned mid-term. Since then he’s run twice and been re-elected each time. For him, it was natural to work on the board. “When I was growing up, my folks were heavily involved in coaching baseball and pretty heavily involved in church activities,” Marcinkus said “My dad always preached about giving back to the community.”

Marcinkus Page 2

Tonica News photo/Dixie Schroeder

TVFD hosts rummage sale Katherine Dauber of Tonica looks for bargains during the Tonica Volunteer Fire Department’s rummage sale on May 2. The two-day sale on May 2 and 3 raised money for the TVFD.

Vol. 141 No. 11

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