Ballot Questions Ask About Tax Increases And School Annexation

Tuesday’s election ballots aren’t littered with referendum questions.

Only two referendums are on up for vote in La Salle County.  Earlville School District voters are being asked whether or not they support raising the district education tax rate from $2.60 to $4 per 100 dollars assessed valuation.  Board members have said they need additional revenue of the school district could close.  The other referendum question is in Naplate where voters there are being asked if they want to reduce the number of village trustees from 5 to 4.  Many village boards like Utica have 6 trustees plus the mayor.

In Bureau County, voters in Arlington are being asked if they want to pay an extra tax for ambulance service.  Voters in Neponset are asked if they want to annex into the Kewanee School District and voters in Bureau Township are being asked if they’re okay with increasing a tax rate for bridge construction.

Quinn And Caterpillar Boss Plan A Talk

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. Pat Quinn plans to talk to the head of Caterpillar Inc. about Illinois business climate, countering the efforts of other states to lure the company away.

Quinn and Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman are scheduled to meet Tuesday morning. Oberhelman said in a letter to Quinn last month that several states attempted to land the Peoria-based heavy equipment manufacturer after Illinois raised income taxes. He says the letter was not a threat to move, but an attempt to shed light on concerns about Illinois policies. He says Illinois officials are making it harder for companies like Caterpillar to stay in the state.

Oberhelman has said the letter was never intended as a threat to move the Fortune 500 manufacturer’s headquarters out of Illinois.

Voter Turnout Not Expected To Be High

The woman in charge of elections for La Salle County doesn’t foresee a busy day at the polls.

County Clerk JoAnne Caretto is predicting a voter turnout for the municipal election to be in the area of 22 percent.  The last city and school board election in April of 2009 had a 27 percent voter turnout but also had mayoral races in La Salle, Peru, Mendota and Utica.

Caretto says absentee and early voting didn’t pick up in the days leading up to Election Day which is a sign of voter apathy.  She says places like Cedar Point and Kangley don’t even have candidates for some ballot races.

Polls are open from 6am until 7pm.

Spring Storm Brings Hail and Frequent Lightning

A line of storms that hit the listening area after 10 Sunday night packed quite a punch.

According to the National Weather Service, golf ball size hail was reported just northwest of Peru.  Penny size hail was reported by a spotter in Tonica with pea size hail reported in Mendota.  A spotter in Seneca reported several cloud to ground lightning strikes while a report in Ottawa included a 59 mile per hour wind gust.

A spotter west of Tonica also reported seeing a wall cloud.

Weekend effort to find missing Marseilles woman unsucessful

Another search of the Illinois River near Marseilles is scheduled for later this week as a woman remains missing.

43-year old Susan Schultz of Marseilles hasn’t been seen since March 18^th.  Police and others have been looking for her for over a week, most recently on Saturday.

Marseilles Police Chief Jim Hovious says members of the Ottawa River Rescue could go back out on Wednesday, weather permitting.