Thursday June 30, 2016 Vol. 4, No. 18
The Weekly Post
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Illinois newspapers’ message to Springfield: Enough
Illinois has become a laughingstock. School superintendents wonder whether or not to open their doors in August. City treasurers scramble to pay bills. Businesses close for lack of payment. At the root of all these problems is petty politics. That sad state of affairs prompted the editorial board at the Springfield State Journal-Register to write the following editorial. That is also why we have joined more than 65 other Illinois newspapers in printing similar editorials. uuu Illinois’ budget standoff must be resolved, and must be resolved now. For a year, our state’s elected leaders have engaged in what can only be called
New Ameren transmission line proceeds
political malpractice. Illinois is the only state in the country that doesn’t have a budget. For a year, because of that failure, it has stiffed small businesses, social service agencies and its higher education system, leaving them trying to operate without money they’re owed. State operations have been cobbled together through various court orders, and the mounting backlog of money owed gets deeper by the minute. On Monday, Gov. Bruce Rauner said the state was on the verge of crisis, and that it would be an “outrageous, tragic failure” if schools don’t open on time. With all due respect, Governor, the state is already in crisis and the budget
standoff has already been an “outrageous, tragic failure.” As legislators returned to Springfield Wednesday – for the first time this month – Illinois’ historic, serious problems have been made even worse by the failure to compromise on a balanced, long-term spending plan. The political war between Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan has been confounding and unconscionable. Rauner has insisted on passage of the socalled Turnaround Agenda, a series of pro-business measures, as a condition of the budget. Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton seem focused primarily on thwarting the governor.
Italy trip all about relaxing
For The Weekly Post
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WHEN IN ROME...
By BILL KNIGHT
The Spoon River Transmission Line running 46 miles between Kickapoo and Galesburg has moved from the planning and preliminary stages to the next step before construction starts, the utility company says. Residents along the route – which extends north from the Fargo substation east of Kickapoo north toward Princeville, then west near Williamsfield to east of Knoxville, then northwest to the Sandburg substation outside Galesburg (see map, Page 8) – will be contacted by Ameren’s real-estate representatives about proposed easements, the types of facilities planned, and possible compensation. “The typical duration of construction activities from initial surveying to final restoration may take six to nine months,” according to Ameren.” This construction duration is dependent on weather and other conditions.” The corporation estimates that con-
Neither the governor nor the legislature has put forth a balanced budget. Decades of delaying action and willfully ignoring issues like the state’s epically ballooning pension obligations have devastated its financial stability. The state must make cuts, and yes, more revenue is needed. The consequences of having no budget have been harsh and far-reaching. The state’s colleges and universities, which ought to be linchpins for growth and economic development, instead have been starved. Hundreds have been laid off, programs have been shuttered. High school graduates look at this mess, fear for their future, and enroll out of state.
By BILL KNIGHT
An 11-day trip to Italy might’ve seemed like a “last hurrah” for Lynnette Welch, the good-natured organizer just retired from Elmwood schools, where she led many student trips over the years. But unlike foreign-language trips for students, this was all grownups, so it was less about chaperoning than enjoying the time and place. (Also, Welch said, for once she didn’t need to save memorabilia for the classroom.) The tour director was Lynne Campbell, a tri-lingual 30 year old with a For The Weekly Post
Area vacationers took a break while at the Coliseum in Rome last week to catch up on local news. From left to right are Farmington native Paula Hoffman of Avon, Becky Conklin of Elmwood (behind the paper), Mary Stevens of Elmwood and Farmington native Marcia Bird of Denver, Colo. Photo by Bill Knight.
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Fireworks, parades on the docket By JEFF LAMPE
Firework shows and parades are among the top activities in the area celebrating the Fourth of July this weekend and on to July 4 itself. One big evening show starts around 9 p.m. Monday (July 4) in Elmwood, when area communities come together for the Fourth of July fireworks show at Elmwood’s Sweetwater Park. The rain date is Tuesday, July 5. The show is courtesy of the Elmwood-Yates City-FarmingWeekly Post Staff Writer
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