Ameren Says You’ll Pay Less This Summer

If you already worry about high air conditioning bills this summer here is some news that may ease your concerns.

Ameren officials claim that many of their customers in Illinois will play less for electricity beginning June 1^st because of a reduction in the wholesale price of electricity.  A “typical” Ameren customer will save around 107 dollars a year.

In case you’re wondering about if this affects electric aggregation customers, Ameren officials people who buy electricity through a retail electric supplier will also benefit from lower electric supply costs.

Balanced Budget Predicted For City Of Ottawa

Not too many cities or counties can say this but Ottawa plans on having a balanced budget.

The Ottawa City Council has put on file the FY 2014 budget which totals 43 million dollars.  That’s approximately 8 million dollars more than the current budget year which ends May 1^st.

Finance Commissioner Wayne Eichelkraut says the larger budget is because of things like rising salaries, cost of implementing the countywide transportation system and a decision to spend 100 thousand dollars more on streets this year than last.  Despite the bigger budget Eichelkraut expects revenues to match expenditures.

The city council will have a special meeting to officially approve the new budget before May 1^st.

Spring Valley Woman Gives First Hand Account Of Boston Explosions

Wendy Losey Lehman’s first trip to Boston will be forever etched in her memory.

The woman from Mendota was along the Boston Marathon route waiting for her sister Konni Fonderoli to finish running when two explosions rocked the race, killing three people.  Lehman says she was about a block and a half away from the second explosion.  She says she could see smoke billowing down the road and feel the explosion from head to toe.

Lehman says the next moments were “surreal” with people running and screaming away from the blasts.  At that point, Lehman says her sister was stopped about a half mile from the finish line.  Lehman says they were reunited after about an hour chaos and everyone is okay.

Looking back at pictures, Lehman says she was standing at the bomb site earlier in the morning before relocating along the route.

Bomb Scare At La Salle Trucking Company

Several officers and bomb sniffing dogs were at Con-way Freight in La Salle Monday night into Tuesday morning.

La Salle Police Chief Rob Uranich says a post on Con-way’s corporate Facebook page alluded to a bomb threat and mentioned specifically the La Salle building along with at least one Con-way plant in Michigan.  Not taking any chances, Uranich called for a search of the trucking facility and after about a six-hour search, nothing was found.

Uranich says workers at Con-way were evacuated during the search roughly from 8:30 Monday night until 2 Tuesday morning.  The FBI is now handling the investigation.

Raises For Mendota Police Officers

The men and women wearing blue in Mendota are getting pay raises.

According to the NewsTribune, the Mendota City Council approved a three-year contract with officers that includes a pay raise of 2 percent each year of the deal.  There’s an option to reopen the contract if economic conditions change.

The contract also means a 125 signing bonus for Mendota officers which is less than previous years.

Amtrak Ramps Up Security

CHICAGO (AP) – If you’re riding the rails today, be prepared for more security.

Bomb-sniffing dogs and security officers have been deployed to Union Station after Monday’s bombing in Boston. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says Amtrak security has been beefed up at all its stations.

Amtrak is telling customers to be extra careful not to leave their bags unattended and to report to police or Amtrak any unattended bags near the trains, vehicles or the station.