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Saturday-Sunday, January 12, 2013
TECHNOLOGY • LifEsTYLE, C1
Sycamore holds off Burlington Central
Mom sets the ground rules for smartphone
Sycamore’s Scott Nelson
Gun sales rise as bans are discussed By JEFF ENGELHARDT
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
SYCAMORE – About a week after Dec. 14, Dennis Leifheit saw his sales more than double. He was quickly selling out of certain items and his providers were moving products just as fast, making it impossible to restock his sold-out inventory. Guns were flying off the shelves and it was not just because of the usual holiday rush. Leifheit, owner of ZZ Cop’s Gun
Room in Sycamore, said anytime there are talks of stricter gun prohibitions, customers flock to the store, including new faces. Gun control continues to be a hot national issue after the shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary in December that left 20 children and six staff members dead. Leifheit said he understands gun owners’ uneasiness and reactive purchasing when gun control is discussed. He said an extreme minority continues to seek to vilify and define
gun owners. “Handguns, long guns; my suppliers are pretty much out everything. ... Sales have doubled within a month,” he said, adding Firearms Owner’s Identification Card applications also have increased. “I think people are concerned about their Second Amendment rights.” In the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14 in which 26 people and the shooter were killed, much of the gun control talk in Washington has centered
around the possibility of reinstating the federal ban on so-called “assault weapons,” banning high-capacity ammunition magazines, and enhanced background checks for gun purchases. Gun-safety activists are coalescing around expanded background checks as a key goal for the gun violence prevention task force convened by Vice President Joe Biden. Some advocates said it may be more politically realistic and more effective as policy than reinstating a ban
CoMMITTEE GARNERS FINDINGS FoR DISTRICT 428
Maximizing dollars
on assault weapons. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said some 40 percent of gun sales happen with no background checks, such as at gun shows and by private sellers over the Internet or through classified ads. “Our top policy priority is closing the massive hole in the background check system,” the group said.
See GUN SALES, page A7
Pensions affecting Illinois’ finances
Fitch: State credit rating now has a ‘negative’ status By JoHN o’CoNNoR The Associated Press
Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
Bresiess Marquez (center) finds a bus after school Thursday at Founders Elementary.
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For months, a group of 20 school administrators, teachers, community leaders and teachers’ union representatives have been researching how the district can maximize its dollars and facilities while maintaining the quality of education. “Their job was to look at everything,” said Tracy Williams, the board’s vice president and a member of the finance and facilities advisory committee. Another board member, Michael Lord, also was on the committee. Committee members will report some of their findings and recommendations at the school board’s Jan. 22 meeting. See DISTRICT 428, page A7
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SPRINGFIELD – A major credit rating agency has soured on the economic forecast for Illinois after another failed attempt this week to rectify the $96 billion pension system deficit. Fitch Ratings announced Friday that it has relabeled Illinois’ financial outlook to “negative” from “stable.” The outlook does not affect Fitch’s opinion of the state’s credit worthiness, still listed as “A.” That’s two steps below the grade for the bestquality borrowers – sound, but reflective of a climate where state finances are vulnerable to economic changes. The announcement serves as an advance warning to Illinois that a downgrade could be on the horizon unless it resolves the gaping difference between its pension system’s assets and what it will eventually owe state employee retirees. “It’s important that our bondrating agencies give us as much time as possible in order to stabilize the pension system,” Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters Friday at a stop in Bedford Park, about 14 miles southwest of Chicago.
See RATING, page A5
AP photo
Gov. Pat Quinn speaks to reporters Tuesday on pension reform legislation at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. Quinn suffered perhaps the worst fallout from this week’s lame-duck session which ended with no action on the $96 billion problem, including his last-ditch effort to form a pension commission that wasn’t even called for a vote.
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