Thursday January 18, 2018, Vol. 5, No. 45 Hot news tip? Want to advertise? Call (309) 741-9790
The Weekly Post
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Rauner veto threatens school funds, superintendents say By BILL KNIGHT
State funding of schools approved in August in a compromise passing the legislature and signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner could stop after the governor last week issued an amendatory veto of another bill tied to the law. The law, which changes the way the state allocates money to K-12 schools, passed the House 73-34 Aug. 28, passed the Senate 38-13-4 on Aug. 29 and was signed by Rauner Aug. 31. Now, the governor says lawmakers must change the part of the law that provides for tax credits for
Inside
For The Weekly Post
• Illinois should prepare for climate change and changes in agricultural production, says Jim Nowlan. Page 5.
contributions to private-school scholarships. It’s been two months since the legislature approved the routine “clean-up” measure (SB 444), requested by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) so the new school-funding formula prioritizing needy schools could be implemented. The ISBE – appointed by the governor – realized that estimates for 178 public
school districts were flawed, and SB 444 passed the House unanimously and the Senate 42-11, with both area State Senators – Democrat Dave Koehler and Republican Chuck Weaver – supporting it. Area school superintendents are worried Rauner's veto could delay funding they were told to expect. “A bipartisan effort was enacted in order to achieve a positive resolution on not only our state’s budget, but the passage of a model that would provide schools with adequate funding based on need in our state,” said
Elmwood superintendent Chad Wagner. “Any actions by the governor to delay or obstruct that process are not indicative of the positives that finally occurred toward funding schools in our state.” Rauner’s campaign commercials have touted school-funding reform as one of his achievements, but on Jan. 8, he said its language would prevent 36 Catholic and other private schools from benefiting from the scholarship-program provision. Illinois has more than 2 million students attending 852 public schools.
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Farmington OKs bow regs, liquor license class
THE SEARS STORY
Illinois the birthplace of retail
By BILL KNIGHT
FARMINGTON – Archers will be permitted to discharge bows on private property under new guidelines unanimously approved Monday and set to go into effect several days after publication of the ordinance. Still prohibited on public ground, any type of bow, compound bow or cross-bow will be allowed on private property under several conditions: Users must know how to properly use bows, shots be aimed toward targets owned by the property owner or tenant, adults must be present, backstops must be installed five feet behind the target and extend five feet beyond the edge of the target and positioned so arrows missing targets cannot cross into or over other properties, and backstops should be able to stop arrows regardless of where they’re struck. Suggested backstop materials include an earthen berm; netting; a natural barrier such as a hill; materials such as wood, straw, rubber or carpeting; or a building. Archers must have the Farmington Police Department inspect shooting areas to ensure comFor The Weekly Post
By ERIC PETERSON
As the home of Sears since the late 19th century, Illinois is the birthplace of modern retail. Even today’s colossus, Amazon, can trace the roots of its business model to Sears’ original mail-order business that popularized the notion of buying products at home without first seeing and touching them in person. “There were some small mailorder companies before, but Sears became the largest, the most successful, the giant,” said Libby Mahoney, senior curator of the Chicago History
Meanwhile, payments for Mandated Categoricals (such as transportation and special education) usually come to local districts four times a school year but state funds promised from the new “evidence-based” funding model haven’t arrived, and now may not arrive until spring. There’s no estimate when funding will be distributed now, said the ISBE, which on Friday criticized Rauner for the “further disruption and confusion” that’s resulting. The new “evidence-based” funding formula is meant to help
Of The Daily Herald
A night view of the Sears Roebuck Building at the Century of Progress International Exposition in 1933 in Chicago. Photo courtesy of the Chicago History Museum.
Museum. And if it seems strange that such a retailer could grow strong enough to make its headquarters the tallest building in the world as Sears did in Chicago in 1973, consider today’s intense competition among cities to
house Amazon’s second headquarters, she said. It was Chicago’s central position in the nation’s railroad and highway networks that made it a better place for Richard Sears to operate the mailContinued on Page 8
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