School Recess Up For Debate In Springfield

Do you think it’s necessary that elementary students have recess?

The Illinois Senate voted 32 to 20 for daily recess to be required for all Kindergarten thru 5^th graders for at least 20 minutes.  The bill also says school boards can’t takeaway recess from a student as a form of discipline.

Republican Senators Sue Rezin and Darrin LaHood both voted against the recess bill.  Rezin says she and most Republicans think the state should stay out of mandating recess for schools and also don’t like the idea of not being able to take away recess from students in trouble.

The mandatory school recess bill now needs to be voted on by the House.

Area Regional Office Of Education Could Consolidate

Regional offices of education continue to be a target of state budget cuts.

After ROE superintendents worked without pay several months last year, ten of them could lose their jobs because of consolidation.  The Illinois Senate has unanimously approved a bill that cuts the number of regional education offices from 45 to 35.

If a regional office of education has a population of less than 61 thousand by July of 2015, they will be consolidated into another office.  With the population based on the 2010 Census, the Marshall-Putnam-Woodford County ROE office would consolidate.  The three counties have a total population of 57 thousand.

car split in two

Chicago police are investigating a car crash that left the vehicle split in two and four people dead last night. Police says the car was speeding when it slammed into a support beam of an elevated train track on the city’s West Side. One victim’s mother says the four women in the car were headed to a party.

 

24 hour stock market?

Chicago Board of Trade will be trading corn and soybeans on a 22 hour schedule starting May 21. Steve Witek of L-P-L financial says it’s an effort by the CME group to pace itself with customers and competitors elsewhere on the planet. Witek says the New York Stock Exchange loves being known as the “World’s most prestigious market”, but expects they too will eventually expand their trading hours. Witek hosts a business show at 10am Saturdays on AM 1220 WLPO.

prepping for NATO summit

Hundreds of activists gathering in Chicago have begun to take aim at next weekend’s NATO summit. A coalition of protest groups including Chicago’s branch of the Occupy movement are holding workshops Saturday and Sunday. Topics range from protest tactics to ways U.S. activists can help oppose the presence of American and NATO bases around the world. Economic and social issues like joblessness, racial inequality and health care are also being discussed. The event, dubbed The People’s Summit, is being held at Occupy Chicago’s headquarters in a former factory. Participants have come from as far away as Europe and Afghanistan. One organizer, Pat Hunt, says she expects next week’s protests to be peaceful and festive, with banners, sound systems and performers. The only troublemakers, she says, will be from NATO.

Acting Warden arrested

The acting warden of the Pontiac Correctional Center is under investigation by the Illinois State Police and has been placed on administrative leave. The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reports that Randy Pfister was arrested Thursday night. Stacey Solano, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections, says a special prosecutor will be handling the case but would not give any details. The Livingston County state’s attorney’s office refused to comment. Pfister was released from Livingston County jail on Friday and did not post a bond.

prevent unemployment thru grant

With the hits of Jewel, Kmart and RR Donnelley closures, steps are being taken to prevent this from happening in the future. North Central Illinois Works has joined with five other local workforce investment boards in going after a four million dollar grant to create and maintain a warning network and layoff aversion system. NCI Works Director Pam Furlan says it’s a competitive grant but would enable her to work with at-risk companies before potential layoffs or closures. The La Salle County Board and Congressman Adam Kinzinger have already pledged support in the grant application.

Mail carriers food drive

Illinois Valley Food Pantry has almost five tons of food for their clients this summer, thanks to area mail carriers. Tim Filipiak, a carrier, has organized the annual drive in LaSalle, Peru and Oglesby for almost its entire run. Filipiak told AM 1220 WLPO news, mailmen collected 95-hundred pounds of food Saturday and says, it’s not bad considering the recession. Results from the previous two food drives have been up and down. Donna Hess, executive director of the I V Food Pantry, says this collection is a big boost to the pantry since Easter donations weren’t as large as had been hoped.