Still filing your taxes? Time's almost up

This year, you have a little more time to file your income taxes. But now is not the time for any more procrastination because Tuesday evening is the deadline:

Q: Why is the income tax-filing deadline on April 17 this year and not April 15?

A: This year, April 15 falls on a Sunday and Monday, April 16 fell on the District of Columbia's Emancipation Day. By law, District of Columbia holidays are treated like federal holidays when it comes to tax deadlines.

Q: What if you are not going to make this year's deadline for filing your federal tax return?

A: You can get a six-month extension to file your tax forms, as long as you make the request by midnight Tuesday.

Q: How can I file an extension?

A: By mail, via tax-preparation software or online via the IRS website, www.irs.gov. To request the extension, you must fill out IRS Form 4868, which is available on the IRS website, through most tax preparation software, as well as in public libraries and post offices.

If you opt to mail in the form it has to be postmarked by Tuesday to be considered on time. Forms filed online on the IRS website or by using tax software can be sent in as late as 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday. If accepted, you will have until Oct. 16 to file a complete tax return. The IRS requires taxpayers to pay up by Tuesday's deadline or face a host of penalties.

Q: What are the penalties?

A: The IRS will charge interest on unpaid taxes at a rate that currently is about 3.25 percent and is compounded daily. The IRS also will charge a late payment penalty of one-half of 1 percent of any tax not paid by April 17. It is charged each month or part of a month the tax goes unpaid, up to 25 percent. That interest rate can jump to 1 percent, however, if the tax bill hasn't been paid within 10 days after the IRS issues a notice of intent to levy. But a payment plan can be worked out with the IRS that can reduce the rate to one-quarter of 1 percent.

Q: Will post offices be open later than usual?

A: No. Many metro-east post office will operate Tuesday under regular business hours. Belleville Post Master John Sertich said the advent of filing online has left little if any demand for later than usual hours on tax day: "We don't do anything special for tax day anymore. The scheduled collection time will not be extended. Whatever time is on the mailbox is the time they have to meet. There will be no special collections. If they do bring in a tax return and they want it post marked by tomorrow, they bring it to my counter. We are open till 6 p.m."  full story

Still filing your taxes? Time's almost up

This year, you have a little more time to file your income taxes. But now is not the time for any more procrastination because Tuesday evening is the deadline:

Q: Why is the income tax-filing deadline on April 17 this year and not April 15?

A: This year, April 15 falls on a Sunday and Monday, April 16 fell on the District of Columbia's Emancipation Day. By law, District of Columbia holidays are treated like federal holidays when it comes to tax deadlines.

http://bit.ly/ISnnDK

Best Buy announces locations for store closings -- 6 in Illinois

RICHFIELD, Minn. -- Best Buy on Saturday announced the locations of 50 stores that it is closing this year, including seven in California, six in Illinois and six in the company's home state of Minnesota.

The struggling electronics chain said last month that it would close some of its so-called big box stores, cut 400 corporate jobs and trim $800 million in costs. Best Buy plans to open 100 smaller, more profitable Best Buy Mobile stores.

The company is trying to avoid the fate of Circuit City, which went out of business in 2009. It faces slower sales of expensive items like TVs, plus increased competition from Amazon.com and discount stores like Target.

Best Buy has about 1,400 locations in the United States. It has already closed two stores this year, one in Missouri and one in Arizona. Most of the rest of the 50 will close May 12, others this summer.

Best Buy said it would try to find other jobs in the company for the workers.

On Tuesday, Best Buy said CEO Brian Dunn had resigned after the board of directors began investigating his "personal conduct." The company lost $1.7 billion in the most recent quarter, partly because of restructuring costs. - http://bit.ly/IHyUIa

Illinois couple bound with tape, robbed of artwork

EVANSTON, Ill. -- A pair of robbers has broken into the home an Evanston couple, bound them with duct tape and stolen three paintings.

The robbery on Friday left 67-year-old Ronald Fink bloodied and bruised and his wife, Bonita, recovering from a mild heart attack at a hospital.

The intruders made off with an estimated $10,000 worth of artwork.

Evanston police suspect the robbers knew Fink had sold another painting at an auction last year for more than $300,000 and were hoping he had other similarly expensive artwork. Fink says he did not.

The two robbers came to his home and told him they were delivery men with a package to drop off. Once inside, Fink says, they jumped on him and taped the couple's hands and feet. - http://goo.gl/k0eMr

Land Purchased For New Mt. Vernon High School

MT. VERNON - Mt. Vernon Township High School has purchased 82 acres on Wells Bypass to construct a new school.

“This is a great evening for the community of Mt. Vernon Township High School,” board president Carl Miller said.

The property is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Wells Bypass and Ambassador Lane. The school is purchasing the property for $1.2 million from Ermajean Weir and Janell Bayer.

“The cost is well within our budget for land acquisition in our original estimates,” MVTHS Superintendent Dr. Mike Smith said. “The next step is to have a series of phases of testing completed — geological and environmental tests that are required. We’re allowing three months to get the results from testing back.”

Smith said “all things going well” the district would be able to begin preliminary site work by the middle or late summer.

“This is a great location,” Miller said. “It’s very buildable, level, flat, just what we were looking for.”

According to a news release presented by the board, numerous sites were evaluated and discussed for the new school, with Friday’s action bringing 11 months of discussion, research, study and negotiation to a close. The process included participation from stakeholders across the district, the city and county.

“From numerous sites that were submitted by property owners, an initial list of 16 was identified,” information states. “Sites were then reviewed further by the school board and their architectural firm and construction management firm to develop the ‘best case’ for a short list of possible locations. Sites were evaluated utilizing a number of criteria including size, location, access, adjacency of utilities, existing and needed infrastructure, on and off site development cost projections, buildable acres, district allotted budget for the purchase and development, overall city planning, zoning and development and purchase price. ... the final site needed to be a perfect balance of all of these criteria. The site selected this evening has been determined to fit all of the above criteria the best.”

Mt. Vernon Mayor Mary Jane Chesley was on hand for the signing of the contracts, and said it was a great day for District 201 and a great day for the city.

“We look forward to partnering with you on this project,” Chesley said. “This project is one of the components in the city’s Comprehensive Plan and we support the school and its efforts to build a new school.”

The city council has committed to provide needed infrastructure at the site in an amount not to exceed $2.4 million and will include water and sewer lines, storm sewer lines, curbs, guttering and entrances to the property, Chesley said.

“We’re doing that as we would for any of our larger employers and businesses,” Chesley added.

Smith said the district is continuing to move forward on design engineering on the new school, and is expected to be ready to go out for bids on construction in the spring of 2013. full story

East St. Louis district to close 5 schools

EAST ST. LOUIS - The East St. Louis school system says it will shutter five schools because of declining enrollment and in an effort to pare the district's roughly $12 million budget deficit.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the schools will close by June 30. Officials say that, along with related layoffs, could save the district $2.5 million to $3.7 million next school year.

School board President Lonzo Greenwood says the panel is saddened. But he says the closures are necessary because of a lack of federal funds that can't be replaced by local taxes.

A public town hall meeting is scheduled for April 26 at Mason-Clark Middle School to discuss attendance boundaries for the elementary schools that students will attend next year. - http://bit.ly/HDDHtn

Free vehicle inspections to be offered Saturday

MOUNT VERNON - A free 41-point vehicle inspection will be available Saturday at Times Square Mall in Mount Vernon, courtesy of Rend Lake College, the mall and Mount Vernon NAPA.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the mall parking lot between Wendy's and Verizon.

Inspections include checking fluid levels, tires, lights and other system components. After the inspection is completed, volunteer automotive stu-dents will review findings with the motorist and provide information about proper vehicle maintenance and repair.

Hot dogs and other refreshments will be provided by Mount Vernon NAPA; participants also can register to win door prizes. Donations will be ac-cepted for Angel's Cove in Mount Vernon.

Rend Lake College Project CHILD and the Jefferson County Health Department will provide free child passenger safety seat inspections.

April is National Car Care Month, an effort to educate motorists about the importance of vehicle care and maintenance.

For more information, contact Nigel Thompson, RLC automotive technology professor, at 618-437-5321 ext. 1806, or email thompson@rlc.edu

Donor pledges match grant to Lifeboat Alliance shelter

MT. VERNON - An anonymous donor has pledged $75,000 to the Lifeboat Alliance shelter if the organization can match the number.

The second matching grant to the shelter, the funds will go toward the construction and renovation being conducted by the Habitat for Humanity of Jefferson County, said Lifeboat Alliance Executive Director Jenny O'Daniel.

"Any funds left over will be dedicated to the operation of the facility," O'Daniel said. "First and foremost, we've just got to get the doors open."

O'Daniel said she and others on the Lifeboat Alliance board found out about the additional matching grant Wednesday.

"It's overwhelming," she said. "It's touching. I think what a lot of people might not realize is that even though our doors are not open, we're working with folks right now, and every day."

She said one woman found herself with no place to go and nothing but the clothes she was wearing, and came to Lifeboat Alliance asking for help.

"I sent a few e-mails, and now we have the lady equipped with kitchenwares, she's in an apartment, and we got a bed picked up for her," O'Daniel said. "I think it's just a matter of if people know there is a need, they will help, they will come forward, and there are so many compassionate people in our commmunity."

The shelter is already $10,000 deep toward its goal of $75,000 thanks to a different donor, she said, and Lifeboat Alliance has until October to attain the $75,000 total. - http://bit.ly/HD2Ns7

Mount Vernon needs housing to keep up with job growth

MOUNT VERNON - Mount Vernon needs hundreds of new housing units in order to keep pace with job growth in the city.

"Between now and 2016, we need 300 to 700 new housing units to support the people we are creating jobs for in the community," Mount Vernon City Manager Ron Neibert said.

The numbers come from a study undertaken to determine whether the city was having housing issues, he said.

"There were several indicators that we have a housing problem in the community," he said.

For instance, the city lost almost 1,000 people from 2000 to 2010, according to U.S. Census numbers. The city also looked at the regional impact of a Continental Tire expansion and found employees at the plant come from 122 zip codes in Illinois and Kentucky.

"We are creating jobs for people in other communities. That's all well and good, but if we are spending money on job creation in Mount Vernon, we'd like some of the people in those jobs to live in Mount Vernon," he said.

The study was based on the perceived needs for housing in the city, the number of new jobs anticipated and the existing housing market.

The city expects some 1,000 new hires in the next few years at businesses and industries like Continental Tire, Magnum Steel Works Inc. and Good Samaritan Regional Health Center.

The study looked at housing in the $120,000 to $130,000 range and found only 35 to 40 units on the market in all of Jefferson County.

"We're creating a thousand jobs for people who can afford a house in that range and we just don't have the housing available," he said.

The results of the study will be used as the city prepares a promotional program to entice residential housing developers to build in the city. - http://bit.ly/IDEJEa

Bald eagle found shot to be released into the wild

DURAND - A bald eagle found shot has recovered after surgery and will be released back into the wild.

The Rockford Register Star reports that the young eagle will be released Saturday afternoon at Starved Rock State Park.

The bird was found in late October along the Illinois River. Veterinarians at Countryside Animal Clinic in Streator performed a successful surgery. The eagle has been recovering at Hoo Haven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Durand.

Hoo Haven Director Karen Herdklotz says the male eagle is doing well and Saturday will be a "big celebration." - http://bit.ly/HAGoMa