Oglesby Looking For Fireworks Cash

With the help of a few more sponsors, a summer festival in Oglesby will include fireworks.

Oglesby Mayor Don Finley says they need around a thousand dollars more to buy a fireworks display for Oglesby Fun Fest.  He says other businesses have already pitched in to help pay for the display which has a price tag of around 75 hundred dollars.

The second annual fun fest will again be in the city pool area and will have food, a carnival, and live music.  It runs from June 28^th thru July 1^st.

Santorum: ‘Issue in this race is not the economy’

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says the issue in the presidential race is not the economy but an oppressive government that’s taking away people’s freedom.

Santorum made the remark Monday while campaigning in Rockford, Ill. Illinois has its GOP primary on Tuesday.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has made his record as a venture capitalist central to his argument that he can do better with the American economy than Santorum or President Barack Obama.

Polls show that the economy is the foremost issue for American voters.

Santorum criticized Obama’s healthcare law, particularly its mandate that people have health insurance. He said the economy is an issue because the government is oppressing people and taking away their freedom and that the economy is suffering as a result.

Early Vote Numbers Are Low

The weather will be great for voting tomorrow but all indicators point to a low voter turnout.

According to La Salle County Clerk JoAnne Caretto 389 early votes were cast before tomorrow’s primary election.  That’s 200 less than in the last presidential primary and the lowest number since early voting started in 1996.  When you add early votes to absentee votes turned in so far, the number is 1,084, over 200 votes shy of the 2008 total.

These numbers combined with voter turnouts in past primaries has Caretto predicting a 25 percent voter turnout.  She hopes the people prove her wrong and the turnout is higher.

The 2008 presidential primary turnout was 34 percent.

Gas Jumps Over Four Dollars A Gallon

There have long been rumors of five dollar gas prices in the summer.  The price at the pump is continuing to trend that way.

The price of unleaded gas jumped over the four dollar mark today at a couple BP stations in Peru.  While it’s $4.09 in a few spots, for the most part gas is between $3.85 to $3.99 a gallon.  The cheapest gas continues to be near Ottawa where its 3.85 a gallon at Shell and Road Ranger stations at the Interstate 80 and Route 71 interchange.

The average price of unleaded gas in Illinois is up to 4.20 a gallon.  The national average is 3.80.

Fire Damages Home In Grand Ridge

A family in Grand Ridge is without a home after an early morning fire.

Naplate and Grand Ridge firefighters responded to a one-story house on fire just after one o’clock Sunday morning.  The homeowner Norma Armstrong along with her daughter and dog were uninjured in the blaze.  They’re being assisted by the Red Cross.

Presidential Candidates In Illinois

The two Republican front-runners are in Illinois today.

Mitt Romney starts the morning off in Springfield.  He’ll stop in Chicago for a lunchtime event before an early evening stop at Bradley University.

Rick Santorum starts today off with a mid-morning rally in Rockford followed by a noon stop in Dixon.  He’ll then head Moline for a mid-afternoon rally being stopping rolling into East Peoria this evening.

Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul don’t have any scheduled stops in Illinois today.

Longtime Congressman Picks Manzullo

Six-term Congressman Tim Johnson has endorsed fellow Republican Congressman Don Manzullo in his primary bid
against Adam Kinzinger.

Their primary battle is one of the most intense in Tuesday’s primary election. A new congressional map drawn by Democrats put much of Kinzinger’s old district into Manzullo’s, forcing an incumbent runoff. The new 16th District curves through north-central Illinois from the Wisconsin border to the Indiana state line.

In the endorsement, Johnson cites Manzullo’s fiscal conservatism and family values. Johnson is from Urbana.