Afternoon news update: July 10, 2015

Governor Bruce Rauner addressed the annual American Legion State convention this morning in Springfield. He outlined five bills he wants to see passed – term limits, redistricting reform, a property tax freeze, along with workers comp and tort reform – and asked for help in getting them passed.
A one-month budget with guaranteed state-employee paychecks for July has won House approval but the change delays its delivery to the governor. The $2.3 billion plan that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner opposes was endorsed 71-19. It must return to the Senate for concurrence because of the pay provision. The previous version included just emergency expenses. The Senate doesn’t meet again until next week, and even then, the governor has said multiple times he won’t sign it. House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie isn’t fazed. “He has 60 days,” Currie said, responding to a question about procedure once the Senate potentially passes the bill next week. “But I know this governor cares about the workers of the state of Illinois. I know that when he gets a bill that will provide one month funding for personnel services for all of our state employees, he will do the right thing.” The pay provision responded to House Republicans' effort to create a state law guaranteeing that state employees get paid regardless of whether there's spending authority — a move that Democrats mocked as a bank-breaker and buried in parliamentary procedures. “Voting to spend money the state doesn’t have is the cause of Illinois’ financial crisis,” Governor Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said in an e-mailed statement. “Today, Speaker Madigan and the legislators he controls irresponsibly voted for yet another unbalanced budget plan.”
A Rockford man who identified himself as a drug abuse counselor has been arrested in Loves Park for soliciting sex from a woman who reportedly had cocaine and a crack pipe. 54-year-old Glen R. Hamilton of Rockford was charged with solicitation. 29-year-old Tara Martoglio was charged with various drug charges and arrested for a felony theft warrant out of McHenry County. It happened Tuesday afternoon at the Clayton House Motel on North Second Street.
Hazmat and other emergency responders reported to the Illinois Attorney General's Office in Springfield after it received a piece of powdered mail Friday morning. An employee reported the suspicious powder in a letter about 10:20 am. Workers are inside the building and the perimeter is blocked off. The FBI was been contacted. UPDATE: The powder has since been determined to be harmless. The incident remains under investigation.
It appears recovery may be ahead of schedule for the April 9^th tornado victims of Rochelle. Victims are still feeling the effects, but they feel the "Rochelle Rebuild" project is ahead of schedule. The process is trying to help 76 affected families get back on their feet, and with the help of donations and the long term recovery committee, they've been able to raise more than $325,000 since the tornado hit.
Two people escaped injury after a large cable snapped on a Wisconsin Dells amusement ride. The incident happened seconds before the boy and woman were to be catapulted high into the air on a sling shot ride at Mount Olympus on Wednesday. The ride was later shut down for inspection.

Categories: Articles