Civil Union And Marriage Licenses On Decline In La Salle County

Love wasn’t in the air as much last year in La Salle County as it has been in recent years.

La Salle County Clerk JoAnne Caretto says 738 marriage licenses were issued last year, down from 752 the year before and 747 two years ago.  Civil Union licenses are also declining in La Salle County. Only seven civil union licenses were issued last year, compared to 13 the year before and 22 during the first year of civil unions in Illinois.

The decline in marriages means less cash for the county.  It costs 30 bucks in La Salle County for a marriage or civil union license.

Caretto says licenses for gay marriage will also cost 30 bucks.  While same sex marriage law takes effect June 1^st, licenses won’t be available until the following day since June 1^st is on a Sunday.

Winter storm tab costs Illinois $14 million

     SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Last week’s bitter temperatures and snow cost the state of Illinois about $14 million.

      That’s according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Patti Thompson.

      The Illinois Department of Transportation’s costs accounted for much of the expenditure.

      Thompson says in an email that the agency spent about $12.3 million, which covered labor, equipment and road salt. The Illinois Tollway Authority spent about $1.3 million. Illinois State Police racked up almost $108,000 in overtime costs.

      The state also spent $30,000 to deploy three dozen Illinois National Guard soldiers who helped IDOT crews rescue stranded cars and repair snowplows.

      The winter storm dumped more than 15 inches of snow in some parts of the state and set record-lows when the polar vortex moved south, bringing arctic temperatures into Illinois.

Sewer repair to close a block in Ottawa

If Illinois Avenue is part of your drive in Ottawa, you’ll be taking a detour Tuesday morning.  The 900 block of the road between Bissell and Taylor Streets will be closed beginning at 8:30am so city workers can repair a sewer line.  The road should be reopened by the end of the day.

Route 89 north of Ladd shutdown due to gas leak

A leaking gas transmission line in Bureau County forced the closure of Route 89 north of Ladd and the evacuation of a plant.  It was also related to a loud noise that could be heard on the north end of Peru.

The leak was discovered Monday morning and affected the Tee Group Films plant.

Marcelyn Love with Ameren Illinois said the leaking line belonged to their supplier Natural Gas Pipeline of American.  Ameren was switching to an alternate feed while repairs were made.  She said customers should not have been affected.

Teacher’s Strike Avoided With Mendota Elementary School District

There will be no teacher’s strike in Mendota.

After meeting well into the night Sunday, the Mendota Education Association and school board negotiating team struck a new three-year deal.  A federal mediator called the sides together Sunday afternoon for a last ditch effort to avoid a strike that would’ve started Monday morning.

The teachers and school board haggled over health insurance costs with the district wanting teachers to start paying more for coverage.  The sides had already been in agreement before Sunday to bump up salaries by two percent the first two years of the contract and one percent the final year.

Financial details of the new agreement haven’t been released yet.

Peru ready to accept bid for King’s Inn demolition

An old Peru hotel that used to be nice is only $448,000 away from being an empty lot.  The old Holiday Inn, more recently known as the King’s Inn, could be demolished for $448,400.  That price also includes asbestos removal and site restoration.

The Peru City Council Monday could accept the bid from Heneghan Wrecking.  The city bought the building in late 2012 for $26,000 from a tax scavenger.

City officials hope removing the old building will make the property attractive to a new developer.