Volume 141 No. 43
Friday, December 26, 2014
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Most wages still reeling from Great Recession By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
New figures released this month show the recovery from the Great Recession is not as profound as economists have been saying. According to a December study by the U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program, families in most of the country are still making less money
now than they did when the recession started in 2007. A majority of the counties nationwide show a decrease in income of 5.5 percent or more. Hardest hit are the southeastern states, the Rust Belt and the west coast where several county residents are still making 11 percent less than they did seven years ago. Where did the money go? Apparently North Dakota
where every county in the state shows an increase in average family income. The western third of the state in particular did well with family averages up by a minimum of 30 percent over the pre-recession figures. South Dakota and Nebraska also show substantial gains in most of the state. Meanwhile, family income in Hawaii is down across the board while large portions of California, Florida, Oregon
percent in outlying areas. Locally, the news is not very good, with Putnam and LaSalle counties showing income averages down approximately 7.5 percent. Bureau County is doing slightly better with an estimated 4 percent decrease in annual income. However, the study also shows Putnam County as having one of the lowest percentages of families living in poverty. LaSalle and Bureau counties are slight-
and Michigan show substantial income decreases. Illinois enjoys some mixed blessings. Much of the state is lower than before with families in metropolitan areas such as Peoria, the Quad Cities and Bloomington-Normal indicating they are making up to 10 percent more than in 2007. Chicago bucks that trend where average income for families has dropped more than 5 percent and as much as 30
ly higher but still below the national average of 15.8 percent. The same shows the tri-county area experiencing an approximate 4 percent increase in the poverty level since 2007. Not surprisingly, a major contributor to the county averages is unemployment. With few exceptions, the counties having the lowest average income per family are also among those with higher unemployment.
Lose some parking to gain some parking By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — Bob Goskusky from Tonica Town and Country came before the Tonica Village Board on Dec. 15 looking for permission to install a driveway and parking lot on land he owns downtown. While the move would eliminate one parking space, it would also allow the hardware trucks to park off-street, freeing up more parking spaces during the busier times of day. Goskusky is seeking an easement and permission to put in a driveway just south of the sidewalk next to the city park downtown. The easement would be located directly across the street from Town and Country and eliminate that parking spot. Goskusky
owns the land in question as well as the old railroad right-of-way where the lot would be built. Plans are to make the lot gravel at first, but hopefully apply asphalt in the future. Village Engineer Jack Kusek looked over the initial plans and told the board he saw no problems arising from the request. The matter will be discussed at a planning committee meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 19 just before the regular board meeting where the proposal is expected to come before a vote. In other action, the board: • Passed resolutions abating the tax from two previously issued bond referendums. • Agreed to allow North Central Illinois Council of
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Tonica News photos/Ken Schroeder
Dinner and a show Students from Lostant Grade School entertain their guests during the school’s annual Senior Citizen Holiday Dinner on Dec. 11. Seniors from the village dined on turkey with the trimmings before being entertained by students who sang, danced and played instruments for their entertainment.
Putting lessons to use L-P students are putting their knowledge into classroom redesign By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
LASALLE — Sometimes, it’s difficult to gauge how much a student actually learns in a class. For students in teacher Marty Makransky’s Illinois Valley entrepreneurial opportunities class at LaSalle-Peru High School’s vocational cenVol. 141 No. 43 Two Sections - 156 Pages
ter, that’s not going to be a problem. One of the three groups in his class will have their knowledge implemented when L-P redesigns the classroom from the ground up. “It’s our final exam. We’ve been working in this small classroom — we call it our enlarged closet — the whole semester. It doesn’t inspire that entrepreneurial thinking
we’ve been wanting to do,” Tonica student Elizabeth Huss said. “We’ve been complaining about it all year, and what they finally did is told us, ‘You have the opportunity to change something.’ In school they give some hypothetical questions. ‘If you could change this, what would you do?’ but you never really get to apply what you learn. That’s why this is cool.” The students were given a few guidelines to go by and were cautioned it had to be done on a small
budget. But other than that they were released to make their choices. There was only one absolute. “They were told my desk has to go. I don’t need it,” Makransky said. “It should look more like an office and less like a classroom.” The students’ goal is to make the cramped classroom into the type of room where ideas flow and can be discussed in a business-type atmosphere. The teams will be graded
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Tonica News photo/Ken Schroeder
Elizabeth Huss of Tonica presents her group’s power point proposal for Marty Makransky’s Illinois Valley entrepreneurial opportunities class at the LaSalle-Peru High School vocational center.
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