Illinois Governor Pat Quinn did his best impersonation of Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" while giving his budget address. He said he believes Illinoisans "can handle the truth". The governor wants the Medicaid program to be restructed and pensions stabilized to protect taxpayers. Quinn says his budget invests more in education because "jobs follow brain power." He's also pushing for patients to be moved from mental institutions to community care to save money.
More information is being released regarding the weekend fatal home invasion shooting in rural Earlville. La Salle County Sheriff Tom Templeton says the homeowner, who was the shooter in the case, has been arrested. 47-year old Joel Contreras of Earlville is charged with the felony of growing marijuana. Also in custody is a California man, 24-year old Marcus Samarripa. He’s charged with felony home invasion. The identity of the shooting victim was released as well. Templeton says he’s Raymond Maldonado, 22, also of California. Police say Maldonado and Samarripa broke into Contreras’ home at about 3 am Sunday. Maldonado was armed with a pistol and was confronted by Contreras, who shot him twice. Samarripa fled the scene and was later caught near Ottawa. During the investigation at the residence of Contreras, deputies found marijuana growing in the basement. Contreras posted bail, but remains held due to his immigration status. Samarripa remains jailed on $1 million bail. The investigation into the home invasion and shooting continues.
Bob Vail with the Bernardi Securities, Inc. gave a presentation at last night’s Princeton City Council meeting. Bernardi Securities is a municipal bond underwriting firm from Chicago and Vail proposed a way to save the City of Princeton nearly one million dollars of interest on four major bonds by refinancing the debt. Vail said he will be approaching the local banks first and if they agree to the proposed interest rate of 3 percent, the firm will also discount their service fee. Mayor Keith Cain said the city has worked with this firm before and they’ve done an excellent job. The council voted unanimously to convert the ordinances to bond issues. By doing that, they will then hold a public hearing on March 5th and then vote on the final savings at the April 6th meeting.
Lawmakers Look To Regulate Abortions
(Springfield, IL) -- It looks like lawmakers are taking a stand against abortion in Illinois. A House committee approved two measures yesterday aimed at imposing stricter regulations on facilities that perform the procedure. One bill requires clinics to ask women if they'd like to see the baby's ultrasound before going through with the abortion. It only applies to women who are beyond seven weeks pregnant. The other seeks to make clinics that perform more than 50 procedures a year comply with all the rules and regulations of an ambulatory surgical treatment center. Both bills were met with strong opposition but now head to the House floor for a full vote.
Senator Has Yet To File Suit
(Chicago, IL) -- One state lawmaker is backing down from a threat to sue the Secretary of State. Senator Annazette Collins made the claim after Jesse White compared her to convicted former governor Rod Blagojevich. White says he sees patterns of dishonesty in the woman he once supported. Collins says she's
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More information is being released regarding the weekend fatal home invasion shooting in rural Earlville. La Salle County Sheriff Tom Templeton says the homeowner, who was the shooter in the case, has been arrested. Joel Contreras, 47, of Earlville is charged with Production of Cannabis plants. Also in custody is a California man. Marcus Samarripa, 24, is charged with Home Invasion. The identity of the shooting victim has not been released yet. Police say Samarripa and the unidentified man broke into Contreras’ home at about 3 am Sunday. The unidentified man was armed with a pistol and was confronted by Contreras, who shot him twice. Samarripa fled the scene and was later caught near Ottawa. During the investigation at the residence of Contreras, deputies found marijuana growing in the basement. An autopsy was being done on the shooting victim, and the investigation into the home invasion and shooting continues.
