1 Front Volume 140 No. 42
Friday, December 13, 2013
The Tonica News
Single Copy Cost 50¢
The impact of pension reform By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — The ink is barely dry on the pension reform legislation signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn on Dec. 5, and those affected have already made it known they believe the legislation is unconstitutional.
The new law counts on saving $160 billion over the next 30 years, largely by sharply curbing cost-of-living increases to retirees and requiring many current workers to skip up to five annual cost of living bumps when they retire. It also would boost the retirement age for current workers by up
to five years, depending on their current age. In an effort to get the law deemed constitutional, employees would have to contribute one percentage point less to their salaries, pension systems would be allowed to sue to force the state to pay its required employer share to retirement,
and a limited number of workers could join a 401(k) style defined contribution plan. In the short form, the legislation reduces drastically the amount of money they will pay out in pensions. In most cases, that money was sent to the government in the form of wage taxes
and Teacher Retirement System payments, meaning money paid in will not be coming out. “I understand that something had to be done. But, for the state of Illinois to essentially run a Ponzi scheme with all of our pensions, and might I add a pension that we earned and paid into
100 percent of the time, and then turn around and essentially strip us of our earned pension to fix their mistake makes me sick to my stomach,” said Tonica Grade School Superintendent John Suarez. “I wonder what incentive people
See Pension reform Page 3
Discontinued schools Lostant High School By Dixie Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — On Illinois Route 251 there is a small town of about 500 people who are otherwise known as residents of Lostant. The first high school noted in history started in 1893 when a freshman class was added to the current grade school. In 1899 a sophomore class was added while in 1904 a junior class was added. A senior class was added in 1914 and the first graduating class of Lostant High School happened in 1915. The school had a proud tradition of education until 1993 when it deactivated. There were 45 students in the school. This left the students of Lostant in Grades 9-12 with the opportunity to choose to go to LaSallePeru, Putnam County, Streator or Fieldcrest high schools each year. The current building housed both grade school and high school classes before the deactivation in 1993. According to class of 1989 LHS graduate Patti Freeman Bernardoni, the high school students went upstairs for classes and the younger students stayed on the main floor. Bernardoni, who now teaches at Lostant Grade School, remembers her high school days with fondness. She said, “We had Mrs. Joan Cappoini. She was our typing and business
See Schools Page 3
Vol. 140 No. 42 One Section - 8 Pages
Tonica News photo/Ken Schroeder
Diana O’Connor of Magnolia returned to donating blood after taking a year off.
Seventeen years of blood drives By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — Chalk up another successful blood drive at the Tonica United Methodist Church on Dec. 9 with several people once again showing up to give the gift of life. Unfortunately, this may have been the last one. Tonican Mary Kay Keutzer has been organizing the blood drive at the church every eight weeks for the last 17 years — the last 10 with her mother Irene Huss helping — but it’s a duty she can no longer shoulder. “Things have changed lately, and with a different work schedule, I just can’t do it,” Keutzer
said. Over the 17 years she’s been involved with the blood drive, Keutzer estimates it’s taken in 3,145 units of blood, an average of 25 to 30 units per drive. With each unit able to help three people, that makes close to 9,500 lives touched by the drives at the church. “For a little town, that’s fantastic,” Keutzer said. “I’m very happy with that. I’m just sad that no one has been able to step forward and continue.” For each drive, Keutzer makes sure the church can accommodate the drive, the Red Cross workers are lined up, sandwiches are prepared, cards are sent
to repeat donors and notices are sent to media and other organizations. Donating blood is its own reward for many people; the idea of giving for those in need. For many, it becomes a habit. “I was a regular donor, and then I took a gap,” Diana O’Connor of Magnolia said. “I’d donate every eight weeks, but now I’m back. It’s the first time in a year.” “I’ve given nine or 10 gallons,” Bob Marshall of Tonica said. “That’s 12 to 13 years. I began when I was in the service.” Keutzer has enjoyed the new friendships she has gained over the years and enjoys the chance
Inside Forging ahead See Page 2
© The Tonica News
to sit down with donors and catch up on old times. “That’s been rewarding, but you look at the 9,000 people we’ve saved, that’s also very rewarding,” she said. “I’d like to thank the Tonica United Methodist Church and its members for their help. They’ve let us be here, they’re funded it with meals and staff. We couldn’t have done it without them.” If you’re interested in continuing the blood drives at the Tonica United Methodist Church, contact Keutzer at 815-481-2601 or the Bureau County branch of the American Red Cross, Branch Director Lori Compton, at 815879-2231.