The Weekly Post
Thursday September 4, 2014 Vol. 2, No. 28 Hot news tip? Want to advertise? Call (309) 741-9790
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Ending income tax increase could impact schools By BILL KNIGHT
More than $6 million would be lost to the five school districts in The Weekly Post area under GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner’s proposal to dump a temporary state income tax increase, according to Paul Vallas, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Statewide, Rauner’s plan would cost public schools $3.7 billion a year and lead to tens of thousands of teacher layoffs, For The Weekly Post
Attempted abduction in Elmwood
Vallas said. The reduction would leave school districts faced with cutting educational services and extracurricular activities, increasing class sizes, laying off teachers and raising local taxes, according to Vallas’ school-district breakdown of cuts that he said would be required under Rauner’s “Jobs and Growth” agenda. That would roll back Gov. Pat Quinn’s temporary tax hike from 5 percent to its pre-2011 level of 3 percent this
January if the Republican is elected. Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said the suburban Chicago candidate would make education a priority. Schrimpf added that despite the temporary tax hike, Quinn cut education spending by $500 million during his five years in office. Indeed, since the start of the Great Recession in 2008, Illinois state support for elementary and secondary education has declined about $700 mil-
lion overall, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. However, State spending has increased over the last two Asplund years. “If the Farmington Central School District saw its State revenues decrease by $2.9 million, we could not possibly cut our way out of that kind of
By TERRY BIBO
For The Weekly Post
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Brimfield board talks teamwork
LIFE FLIGHT VISIT
By BILL KNIGHT
ELMWOOD – Two cross country runners were separately accosted by a man they said tried to abduct them about 4:30 p.m. last Friday (Aug. 29), according to police. Both girls – a 17-year-old Elmwood girl and a 16-year-old Brimfield girl – described the attacker as in his 60s, unshaven, with short white hair and glasses, driving an older white van with no windows. The girls were running through Elmwood as part of a regular cross country practice. The 17-year-old was approached as she ran near the intersection of Sharon and Knox Street, where the man asked if she would like a ride. When she declined, he attempted to grab her right arm, but she escaped, running from the scene between houses in the neighborhood. The van fled east on Sharon Street. A few minutes later, the same van pulled up to the 16-year-old, running near the intersection of Main and Morgan Streets and also asked if she would like a ride. She also declined, and then the man ordered her into his vehicle.
deficit, nor could we raise enough local funds to offset the reduction,” said Superintendent John Asplund of Farmington District 205. “To put this scenario into perspective, we would have to raise our aggregate property tax rate by $2.10. That would mean that a homeowner with a home that carried an assessed value of $150,000 would see their property tax bill increase by $1,050 per year.
BRIMFIELD – Fees and trees and park board trustees – the village board has plenty to ponder. They took little direct action during a 39-minute regular meeting Tuesday night. But the Brimfield Board of Trustees inched forward on a couple items and heard about a new initiative which could help economic development. Peoria County Assistant Administrator for Economic Development Mark Rothert stopped by to offer information about a new “rural collaboration concept.” Brimfield was asked to join Elmwood, Hanna City, Chillicothe and other smaller towns to pool resources and ideas. “Grants are a great example,” Rothert said. “If we apply as a collective that is, I would think, more effective.” With back-up from Elmwood economic development coordinator Chris Zimmerman, Rothert explained the economic advantages of teamwork. There have been a couple of meetings to network and share ideas, which may expand later. Eventually there could be a system For The Weekly Post
Youngsters line up for a chance to enter the OSF Life Flight helicopter last Saturday at Elmwood’s Sweetwater Park during an event put on by the Elmwood and Yates City fire departments. Kids also toured fire trucks, police cars and ambulances and learned about fire safety. Photo by Jeff Lampe.
Farmington library eyes Nov. 1 open By MICHELLE SHERMAN
FARMINGTON – The Farmington community soon will have a spacious new library that will be accessible to all residents. If all plans continue on schedule, says Farmington Area Public Library Director Barbara Love, the centuryold Carnegie building on Fort Street will be decomFor The Weekly Post
missioned on Oct. 3. The new building, located at 411 N. Lightfoot Road, should open on Nov. 1. “We’ve loved the 100year-old Carnegie building,” she said, but “the building that we're in now is not handicapped-accessible. These wonderful old buildings just had a lot of steps.” The process to a new
building simultaneously has been lengthy and quick, Love added. Some failed referendums throughout the past decade held up the funding piece of the $2.5-million project. Once the library was awarded a $1.6-million Illinois Public Library Construction Act Grant, a $700,000 bond referendum Continued on Page 7
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