Afternoon news update: July 29, 2015

Police are investigating the murder of a 15-year old boy on Rockford's West Side. Investigators say Martavius Lewers was shot and killed in the 2700 block of West State Street a little after 10 o’clock Tuesday night. The incident is believed to have taken place in an apartment complex on the corner of Day Street and State Street. No arrests have been made.
The Speaker of the Illinois House says Tuesday's vote to roll back lawmakers' cost-of-living increases represents progress toward meeting the governor halfway. Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) also said his bill, which awaits a possible Senate vote next week, tops a Republican-introduced measure because it not only rescinds a two percent COLA, but it also freezes per diem ($111) and mileage (39 cents) reimbursements for lawmakers. Madigan's news conference followed another House session in which representatives heard about the impact of the lack of a budget on social services. Madigan reiterated his pledge to work professionally with Gov. Bruce Rauner and to work “in moderation” and not “in the extreme.” Since it sounds so much like a certain February 2-themed movie, reporters decided it was up to them to try to divine a compromise. How about, say, carving out exemptions to prevailing wage laws? “This is where the governor talks in terms where he wants to reduce income for local governments and at the same time – he would say -- reduce their costs,” Madigan responded. “I don't think the government should be in the business of lowering wages and the standard of living for anybody.” Madigan also fielded a question about constitutional concerns about the COLA bill. “As we know from following courts, sometimes they change their minds.”
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is praising a vote by the Illinois House of Representatives to block a contentious pay raise for lawmakers. The bill passed Tuesday would block the 2 percent cost-of-living increase that lawmakers are automatically due. Representative Joe Sosnowski of Rockford says this should be the last time this comes for vote. The measure still needs to be approved by the Illinois Senate, but it isn't in session until next week. A spokeswoman for Democratic Sen. President John Cullerton says it's not clear when or if the Senate will vote.
Freeport's new Veterans Affairs clinic will open at the end of next month. The new facility will open August 31st with 4,500-square-feet of space including 10 patient procedure rooms. The clinic will offer programming for veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
More than two dozen bronze plaques will soon mark historical sites throughout the northern Illinois city of Dixon. The city's Historic Preservation Commission has identified about 30 properties as part of the project. The plaques will be inscribed with a brief history of each structure.
An arrest has been made in the July 16^th shooting death of a Garden Prairie man. 38-year-old Raymon Kendricks was shot twice outside a home in the 400 block of Olive Street. Police arrested 33-year-old James Spence and charged him with murder. Spence will be in court on August 31.
The Citizen’s Utility Board has created an online calculator to help residents determine how to save money in the Illinois electric market. The calculator, at cubpowercalculator.com, is designed to help residents to learn what they would pay with an alternative electricity source versus Com Ed.

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