Afternoon news update: May 26, 2015

With less than a week until the scheduled adjournment date, Democratic state lawmakers are unveiling their spending plan for the next fiscal year. The democrat’s budget includes cuts to human services, higher education and other areas, and increases funding for k- 12 education and the Department of Corrections. A spokesperson for Governor Bruce Rauner is blasting the plan, saying it doesn’t include much needed reforms. But House Speaker Mike Madigan says they need to focus solely on the budget. Madigan acknowledges their proposal is about three billion dollars short. The spring legislation session is scheduled to adjourn Sunday.
A Wisconsin state Assembly committee has scheduled a public hearing and vote Wednesday on a bill to repeal the prevailing wage. Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said last week he doesn't have the votes for a full repeal, but he hopes to make changes in the state budget.
Rockford police are looking for three men who held a couple hostage in their apartment Monday night in the 700 block of Tulip Lane. The couple said three black males, two of whom were armed, burst into the apartment demanding money and electronics. After taking what they wanted the suspects ordered the victims to stay in the bathroom and not come out or they would be shot.
A frenzied week of backroom deals, lobbying and votes on the Wisconsin state budget awaits as a legislative committee looks to finish its work on the two-year spending plan. Many major decisions are still up in the air. Among the unresolved issues for the Republican-controlled committee is whether to go along with Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to cut the University of Wisconsin by $300 million, borrow $1.3 billion for roads and freeze the popular stewardship program that protects land from development.
Winnebago County Sheriff's Deputies and Rockford Police respond to the scene of reports of a man who was walking his dog being beaten and robbed. It happened in the 5600 block of Wansford Way. The victim says he was protecting his dog from being kicked by three Hispanic males, when they started punching him and stole his phone. The victim says two of the men brandished knives during the incident. Anyone with information into the incident is urged to call Rockford Police at (815) 987-5824 or Crime Stoppers at (815) 963-7867.
Legislation headed to the governor’s desk tackles the problem of student athlete concussions. The bill, sponsored by Representative Christian Mitchell of Chicago requires schools at all grade levels to set up an action plan for dealing with kids who suffer a blow to the head. It requires a doctor to sign off before an injured student can return to sports and the classroom. Schools will have to make accommodations for recovering students, like less time in front of a computer. It’s now up to the governor to sign this bill into law.
There's a way for Illinois to potentially raise $100 million in new tax revenue which isn't being publicly discussed by state lawmakers. That option is legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Four other states with much smaller populations than Illinois have already done so, and Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois chapter of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), predicts a legal pot program would reap large tax benefits for the state. "Somewhere around the $100 million mark, I think, is accurate, but it also depends on what type of taxing mechanism there is, what type of tax rate there would be on recreational cannabis here in Illinois." Linn makes that estimate based on the $44 million in marijuana tax revenue collected by Colorado in 2014, the first year of legalized recreational marijuana in the state. Private conversations about legalizing marijuana are taking place among state lawmakers, according to Linn. He says those licensed to grow and sell medical marijuana in the state are also interested, especially if the delays in rolling out the pilot program threaten the return on their investment. State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), who sponsored the legislation which legalized medical cannabis in Illinois, feels it's too early to be discussing this much larger change. "If we can't run a medical marijuana program properly, we certainly can't run a recreational marijuana program," Lang said. "I keep my options open on that issue, but I think it's very premature to have that discussion." Linn thinks Lang is comparing apples and oranges. "You're talking about a product that is going specifically and only towards sick people who have some kind of compromised immune system, or they're taking this for health beneficial purposes," Linn said. "When we're talking about a recreational cannabis market, we're talking about allowing adults to grow this plant and consume this plant because they want to do this for their own purposes." While Lang says no legislator has come to him to talk about recreational cannabis, given the state's financial condition, it should be included among other revenue options. "Whether it's taxation, gambling, the legalization of marijuana, certainly all things ought to be on the table for discussion," Lang said. Once lawmakers see the potential revenue from marijuana, Linn predicts they'll warm up to the idea very quickly. "This is Illinois politics and money talks and money goes a lot further than some of those other ideals or conceptual arguments like civil liberties and social justice," Linn said. The first step would likely be a push for a ballot initiative on marijuana, the same method used in all four states - Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska - which have legalized it for recreational use. Linn says there's a 'very good possibility' of Illinois legalizing marijuana within five years.
An online publication called Law Street puts Rockford as the second most dangerous small city under 200-thousand population and the 12^th most dangerous metro area, including Boone County. The in-depth analysis of 'Crime in America 2015' was released in April. The study shows Rockford has a violent crime rate of 1,375 per 100,000 people. Only Little Rock, AR has a worse rate for cities under 200,000 in population.

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