Rich Egger

Four seats are up for election on the Macomb City Council in the February 26 primary. The city has new wards as a result of the 2010 census.

This week on Emphasis, Rich Egger’s guest is journalist and national security expert Peter Bergen. His latest book is Manhunt: The Ten Year Search for bin Laden – From 9/11 to Abbottabad.

Macomb will have to wait for state money to help pay for a major revitalization project -- and there is still no guarantee the money will ever come through.

The city hoped to receive around $1.2 million through a state enhancement program for its West Adams Street corridor project.  The state money would be combined with $750,000 in local funding to pay for the work.

But Mayor Mike Inman said the only improvement project the state decided to fund in this general region was in Elmwood.

The Shop Talk panelists discuss complaints about a Nova special about drones that was underwritten by Lockheed Martin, which is a drone manufacturer.

Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) complained the situation violated PBS’s guidelines concerning sponsorship and conflicts of interest.

The Spoon River College Board of Trustees voted during a special meeting on February 6 to approve the new two-year contract with full-time faculty.

The agreement had already been ratified by teachers.

College President Curt Oldfield considers it a good contract.

“It weaves in the changes that the faculty were requesting. So we were able to have a mutually beneficial contract that met the needs of the faculty and their bargaining unit and also met the needs of the Board of Trustees to keep expenses in line with budgets that were created,” Oldfield said.

This week on Emphasis, Rich Egger’s guests are Susan Twomey, Executive Director of the Buchanan Center for the Arts in Monmouth, and Sean Genovese, President of the Board for the West Central Illinois Arts Center in Macomb. They talk about upcoming events at the arts centers.

(Editor’s note: Egger serves as Board Secretary for the WCIAC).

The Buchanan Center for the Arts

In what’s become a once-a-decade tradition, Macomb will ask the US Census Bureau to conduct a special census.

The 2010 census came up with a headcount of 19,288. But the city believes its population is closer to 20,000.

The city also had a special census done after the 1990 and 2000 headcounts came up with totals below 20,000. In both cases, the special census returned the city’s population to 20,000.

The panelists talk about the report, “The Future of Mobile News,” which is the subject of an article on the Journalists Resource website.

The three finalists to be Macomb’s next school superintendent have all been to town for interviews with the Board of Education, staff, and the community. Now it’s up to the board to decide who will be the district’s next leader.

Illinois legislators this year could be asked to vote on everything from changes to how the state taxes corporations to raising the minimum wage.  But Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) said before they make decisions on issues that affect the economy, they should learn more about it.

Syverson is proposing lawmakers take an economics course every two years.

He thinks many legislators who have tried to do a good job are shocked by what he called the "horrendous results" of their decisions.