Illinois AP stories for weekend editions of Feb. 4-5. Will be updated. If you have questions, please call news editor Hugh Dellios at 312-920-3624.
To move Friday for weekend use
LLINOIS BUDGET-PENSION REFORM
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn wants to shift the state's contribution to school teacher pensions to the local school districts that employ them. That would save the state about $800 million a year that it could use to spend elsewhere. Legislative leaders have responded positively to the idea, but public school administrators say it could be disastrous for schools already short of cash to spend on the classroom. By Political Writer John O'Connor.
AP Photos pursuing
Moving in advance for Sunday or thereafter
ILLINOIS BUDGET-MEDICAID
CHICAGO — Given the state's financial predicament, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Julie Hamos says lawmakers will need to consider every strategy of cutting the state's Medicaid budget this year, including lowering payments to doctors, trimming benefits and lowering the number of people eligible by changing the requirements. And she predicts it won't be easy. "They'll have to face down all the providers and advocates," Hamos said. With her boss, Gov. Pat Quinn, promising to address the state's Medicaid costs as part of his budget address later this month, Hamos tells The Associated Press the situation is so dire that lawmakers will have to do something to address the program's unsustainable growth. In Q-and-A format. By Carla K. Johnson
AP Photos pursuing
SPOTLIGHTS:
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FREEPORT BUS DRIVER
FREEPORT, Ill. — Derek Widmer, 26, loves his job as a school bus driver for Freeport School District 145. In fact, this man is living his own dream, one that began when he was a little boy. Widmer said it all started when his parents Randy and Laurie Widmer gave him a toy school bus. Widmer said this is where his fascination began, but it took his first bus ride as a preschooler to cement the idea into his brain. He would then begin his aspiration to one day drive his own school bus. "I think I can still remember my first day on a school bus and it was then I told the bus driver and the monitor that I would someday drive my own bus," Widmer said. "Today, I am living that dream." By Jane Lethlean. The (Freeport) Journal-Standard.
AP Photo ILFRE301
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SUPPORT GROUPS
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Central Illinois' mourning is being relieved by a program that brings together people who are going through the grieving process. GriefShare is growing in the Bloomington-Normal area -- a reflection of recent deaths as well as GriefShare's success, said GriefShare participants and facilitators. "We are not here by choice," Andrea Arduini of Bloomington said of the group which is restricted to people grieving the death of a loved one. "But what a great program that's here for us." GriefShare has been in existence internationally -- with groups meeting in Bloomington-Normal -- for several years. But the number of groups has grown. By Paul Swiech. The (Bloomington) Pantagraph.
AP Photos ILBLO301-302.
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CHESS CLUB
LASALLE, Ill. — White goes first and the game is on as two strangers face off over a rollup chessboard on a chilly afternoon in the old cafeteria at La Salle-Peru Township High School. The competitors attempt to talk although their focus in on the 32 plastic pieces being used to attack and defend. It doesn't take long before 15-year-old Tristan Martin of La Salle has taken command of the board and the reporter, twice Martin's age, on the other side of table resigns, knocking his own king down in defeat. "I've always loved playing chess and I love the logical skill and challenge that it gives," Martin said. He's not alone. Although small, L-P's chess club continues as one of the remaining few in the area. (LaSalle) News-Tribune.
AP Photo ILLAS301-302.
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SEEKING PHD
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Jason Goldfarb has done pretty well for a guy who was told his learning disabilities would keep him out of college. Starting when he was a baby, Goldfarb had several surgeries to implant and later lengthen a stent to drain fluid from his brain due to hydrocephalus from meningitis. The condition reduced his reading comprehension and made test-taking difficult. He doesn't know if his high school counselor really thought he'd never make it to college or if the words were meant as a wake-up call. Either way, the statement was motivation. "It was a moment to try to work harder," said Goldfarb. By Scott Richardson. The (Bloomington) Pantagraph.
AP Photo ILBLO301.
