Rich Egger

It cost a pretty penny for police to respond to what proved to be a hoax 911 call in Macomb on March 6.

Bills submitted to the McDonough County State’s Attorney’s office show Illinois State Police spent $7,868.41, which includes the cost of a tactical response team. Macomb police submitted a bill of $2,406.55, and the Office of Public Safety at Western Illinois University submitted a bill of $1,384.56.

That adds up to a total of $11,659.52, and the figure will rise once the McDonough County Sheriff’s Department submits its bill.

Legal action is now possible over the result of the second ward alderman election in Macomb.

Candidate Steve Wailand said the Liberty Justice Center read about the disputed outcome and agreed to represent him pro bono.  Wailand has said he does not have enough money to hire an attorney because he is a college student. He’s a junior at Western Illinois University, where he’s studying chemistry with an emphasis on pharmacy.

Rich Egger’s guest on Emphasis is Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. He was in Macomb to give a presentation at Western Illinois University.

Restoration work will be done this spring and summer to the clock tower dome on the McDonough County Courthouse.

“The courthouse is kind of a centerpiece for the community,” said Nathan Cobb, assistant planner for the Western Illinois Regional Council, which helped secure a $30,000 grant for the work. The grant comes from the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust.

The workforce will be a bit smaller in the Macomb School District next fall as a result of budget cuts.

The equivalent of three full-time positions will be eliminated as part of what the district is calling a “cost containment” plan, which the Board of Education approved during its March meeting.

Superintendent Alene Resuchel said the district will also dip into its reserves to balance its budget, but she said it is not sustainable in the long-term to rely solely on reserves.

The Shop Talk panelists discuss the Pew Research Center’s 2013 State of the News Media report.

The study found newsroom staffs are shrinking, as are audiences. The RTDNA pointed out the survey discovered nearly one-third of news consumers have stopped turning to a particular new outlet because they were no longer getting the reporting they were accustomed to.

Macomb city council candidate Steve Wailand told aldermen Monday night that he’s still trying to get some answers about the February election results.

It appeared Wailand defeated incumbent Kay Hill for second ward alderman, 17 – 16, but County Clerk Gretchen DeJaynes ruled there would be a run-off election because neither candidate received 50% of the vote plus one.

DeJaynes said she is simply following the rules given to her by the city, while city leaders have said it’s up to the county clerk to certify election results.

Authorities have arrested a man for a shooting death in Galesburg, two men face charges related to a sexual assault in Macomb, and the investigation continues into an assault in Keokuk.

The latest edition of the McDonough County Senior Services Directory is now available. It can be found at Macomb City Hall, the YMCA Senior Center in Macomb, and the Public Relations Department at McDonough District Hospital.

It can also be found on the Macomb Area AARP’s website.

In most elections, the candidate with the most votes wins. But that did not apply in a recent Macomb election – and no one seems able to explain how the city came up with its rule.