State Board of Education Approves Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Recommendation

The Illinois State Board of Education approved a Fiscal Year 2013 State General Funds budget recommendation of nearly $265.2 million. This is a 3.9-percent increase over the current year.

The proposal is about $426 million less than funding received in Fiscal Year 2009. State funding for education has been reduced by about $650 million dollars since 2009. The Board approved the recommendation Thursday. The Board's recommendations include new line items to support comprehensive reform initiates under way in Illinois. Continued work will ensure the state meets criteria outlined for the federal waiver to the No Child Left Behind law.

The Board's recommendation provides increased funding for specific items, such as $19.9 million for early childhood education, $7 million for bilingual education, and several reform initiatives already under way in Illinois. Board members are recommending an increase of $201 million in General State Aid during FY-13.

Recommendations include $5.8 million increase for State Assessment tests, $4.1 million to support new principal and teacher mentoring, and $3 million for improvement strategies and interventions.

Other recommendations include $2.8 million to pay incentives for recently-consolidated districts, $2 million toward training educators on Common Core Standards implementation, and $1 million toward support and resources for the growing population of homeless students in Illinois schools.

The Illinois State Board of Education will provide its budget recommendation to the Governor and General Assembly for consideration as part of the overall State FY2013 state budget. The Board's budget proposal is posted on www.isbe.net/budget. - http://goo.gl/ewG7j

High Illinois Farm Prices Could Last Through 2012

DECATUR, Ill. (AP) - Some experts believe this year's rising farmland prices in central Illinois could continue for at least the next year. Land sales companies say farmland prices in the region increased by more than 30 percent in 2011 to an average of more than $10,000 an acre. That mirrors a trend across the Midwest of rising land values based on high prices for crops such as corn and soybeans and interest among investors. Dale Aupperle is president of Heartland Ag Group in Forsyth. He told The Herald & Review newspaper in nearby Decatur that crop prices should stay high over the next year and keep land prices up. Roger Hayworth of Farmers National Co. says the high prices are convincing growing numbers of land owners to sell. - http://goo.gl/XI16V

Salem Police Warn Citizens of Medicare Scam

The Salem Police Department received a Fraud Alert message from the Department of Aging. There is a scam making its way through Illinois in which a caller claims to work for Medicare and is verifying the victim's personal information, including bank account information, for newID cards. Please be aware that Medicare will not transact business this way. If Medicare issues new cards, they will send them by mail. Attached is a link to the National Council on Aging with the current TOP 10 scams facing seniors today. - http://goo.gl/7RW4K

Marion County Police Beat for Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Two people remain in the Marion County Jail Thursday morningon outstanding warrants. 21-year-old T.J. Robert Chumley of Pinckneyville was arrested by Marion County Sheriff's Deputies on an outstanding felony failure to appear in court warrant. 54-year-old June Boston of West McCord in Centralia was arrested by Centralia Police on an outstanding traffic warrant. 28-year-old Edward Wallis of Front Street in Iuka posted $150 bond after being arrested by sheriff's deputies for alleged driving on a suspended license. The Marion County Sheriff's Department is investigating the theft of three electrical motors from an oil field lease on Snyder Road in rural Centralia. Oelze Oil Field Equipment of Nashville placed the value of each of the motors at $400 each. The theft occurred late Tuesday or Wednesday morning. - http://goo.gl/LSzYJ

Ron Stephens Resignation From State House Partially Result Of Bankruptcy Filing

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - When Republican state Rep. Ron Stephens announced last year he was leaving the Illinois House, he would only say he was doing so for personal reasons. The Belleville News-Democrat reports Stephens filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection before leaving office. Stephens said Wednesday the bankruptcy filing was a contributing factor in his decision to resign. Stephens, of Greenville, said he is not proud of taking the step. However, he says he and his wife, Lisa, are repaying 100 percent of their debt. Stephens and his wife filed their bankruptcy petition on May 6 in federal court in East St. Louis. On Sept. 12, Judge Laura K. Grandy approved their bankruptcy plan, under which the couple is to pay $241,500 to a bankruptcy trustee over five years. A primary battle had shaped up between Stephens and John Cavaletto of Salem after both were placed in the same district following redistricting after the 2010 U.S. Census. However, the potential showdown failed to materialize when Stephens stepped down. Cavaletto ended up with no primary competition and no Democrat filing against him. - http://goo.gl/C8bM7

16 Percent Of Homes Sold In Illinois In Third Quarter 2011 Were In Foreclosure Or Bank Owned

CHICAGO (AP) - Sixteen percent of homes sold in Illinois in the third quarter of 2011 were in foreclosure or owned by a bank. That's according to a report released Thursday by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac. The company says the total number of foreclosures sold from July through September last year was 6,537 and the average sale price was $133,121. The number of foreclosure sales dropped almost 20 percent from the third quarter of 2010 because of paperwork processing problems that delayed many foreclosures. Nationally, foreclosure homes accounted for 20 percent of all residential sales in that same period. The highest percentage of foreclosure sales were in Nevada, California and Arizona. RealtyTrac says foreclosures continue to be an excellent bargain for many people. - http://goo.gl/0Bz7M

Bill Would Make Search Warrants Public Unless A Court Order Stipulates Otherwise

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A bill introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives would codify a 2007 opinion by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan that search warrants are considered public records unless a court order specifically stipulates otherwise. The Herald & Review in Decatur reports that state Rep. Michael Zalewski filed the bill late last week. The Riverside Democrat's legislation followed recent court decisions that found the public and news media have no right to read search warrants in cases such as the 2009 deaths of five members of a family in Beason in central Illinois. An appellate court in 2010 upheld the judge's decision in that case. Madigan's opinion five years ago said that warrants should be open to public inspection once returned to court unless a judge found a compelling reason to seal them. - http://goo.gl/sTb4l

Panel Suggests $1 Increase In License Plate Fee To Encourage Useage of Electric Cars

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A state panel is suggesting a $1 increase in Illinois license plate fee to encourage usage of electric cars. The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reports that the recommendation is included in a report forwarded to members of the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. Pat Quinn by the state's Electric Vehicle Advisory Council. The panel suggests the money raised be used to help pay for rebates and grants for alternative fuel vehicles. The $1 increase would bring Illinois' standard license plate renewal cost to $100 annually. The panel was formed last year as part of a legislative initiative designed to make Illinois a center for electric vehicle use and manufacturing. The panel says its recommendations are designed to get 100,000 electric vehicles on Illinois roads by 2015. - http://goo.gl/konZI