The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 2

LOCALSTATE. ISU to pull fences back to finish rec center work By DAVID WICKERT Pantagraph staff Illinois State University and Normal officials have reached a tentative agreement that will allow completion of an outdoor "play" area adjacent to the university's Beech Street recreation center. That may be enough to satisfy the town's Zoning Board of Appeals, which took ISU to task last month for building a fence without authorization and for continuing construction after receiving a stop-work order. ISU reluctantly has agreed to remove about 32 feet of a fence surrounding the area and move it about 8 feet closer to the building, according to town planner Jeff Genova. That will allow motorists leaving the recreation center a better view of pedestrian traffic.

The alterations effectively would shave a corner off the fence, allowing motorists adequate viewing distance without requiring them to pull onto the sidewalk. The Normal Zoning Board of Appeals will take up the new proposal at its May 19 meeting. "I believe it will go OK," said board Chairman Ron Pacha. "I'm OK with it" Chuck Scott, ISU director of grounds services, said the proposal was among several options he has discussed with the town's staff, but insisted no proposal would be final until board approval. Scott said the vision problem created by the fence is not a violation of Normal's law.

However, he said ISU is willing to trim the edge off the corner of the fence to address "the perceived vision problem." "Clearly, what the university wants is to have the zoning board approve this project with the least disruption possible," Scott added. Last month, board members threatened to reject a requested zoning variance' of the property and told ISU to work with the town's staff to come up with a new plan to eliminate the sight problem. But board members also were displeased that ISU violated a stop-work order issued March 16. A town building in too high to comply with city codes and that a deck inside the fence was In a position that also violated city code. The deck issue is yet to be resolved but is not a major point of contention.

But ISU continued with construction anyway, leading board members and the town's staff to complain of ISU's disregard of the town's building code. According to a state attorney general's opinion, ISU need not comply with local codes when building on state property. However, ISU leases the property adjacent to the recreation center from a local resident, so town ordinances apply there. Pacha said the town's staff clearly was the campus and town have played no role in the fence issue. "There's something there," Pacha said.

"I think it's a matter of frustration to the city staffers who, right or wrong, are trying to have a controlled, regulated growth. "They'd like to be able to tell ISU, 'This is the way we're planning our Pacha added. "That's not what happened." The fence will surround a volleyball court, bleachers, a barbecue pit and a water fountain. The outdoor area will be available for public as well as student use. The outdoor addition cost ISU $78,800.

Scott said any change to the fence will cost additional money, but he could not say how much until a final plan is ap frustrated with ISU's disregard of building codes, but said past animosities between spector told ISU officials the fence was lals the fence was codes, but said past animosities between proved. proved. A2 THE PANTAGRAPH, Wednesday, May 11, 19941 did repaying nursing nomes for 'granny tax' passes House By CARMEN GRECO JR I I consideration of Senate bills failed By CARMEN GRECO JR, in the wake of Republican opposi Legislative roundup rffi Pantagraph Springfield bureau SPRINGFIELD A bill that would require the state to pay $3 million to $5 million to nursing homes for as many as 3,300 residents was approved unanimously by the House Tuesday. But the bill, sponsored by state Rep. Laurel Prussing, D-Champaign, is opposed by the Illinois Department of Revenue and missed a deadline for House bills to be considered by the Senate.

"The issue here is tax fairness," Prussing said. "There are a lot of people in my district and across the state who are owed a refund and haven't been paid." The bill would repay nursing homes $500 for each resident in each quarter they paid the "granny tax" in 1993 based on the number of low-income patients. Prussing said nursing homes were promised the refund when the granny tax was passed in 1992 to help pay for the state's Medicaid program. But Mike Klemens, a spokesman tion. Madigan said the change, which required 71 votes for passage, would have allowed an additional 167 bills, almost 70 of them sponsored by Senate Republicans, to be heard this session.

"The action by the Rules Com-mittee was quite fair in terms of both political parties having their bills heard," said Madigan. But Republican Minority Leader Lee Daniels, R-Elmhurst, said Madigan was "trying to change the rules without any Republican in- put" and that the bills would not be given time for careful consid- eration. Mark Gordon, a spokesman for Republican Senate President James "Pate" Philip, R-Wood Dale, said it would be "unfortunate to see good legislation die." But he attributed the House Re- publican action to legislative "gridlock" in the lower chamber, H' adding that the "speaker has not at all cooperated with Republican concerns." 1 ti for the Department of Revenue, said the department opposes the legislation because of cost estimates of $3 million to $5 million. "The (granny tax) program expired July 1 of 1993, and now we're back changing a program that expired 10 months ago," said Klemens. Prussing said the bill has bipartisan support She will try to have it introduced in the Senate, though she conceded "there's a question whether (the Senate) is going to be dealing with anything at this point" Faster consideration falls In other legislative action, an attempt by Chicago House Speaker Michael Madigan to speed House fa The PantagraphLORI ANN COOK Under observation Pontiac cell house placed on lockdown galleries of the cell house Tuesday afternoon.

The inmate, who was not identified, did not suffer serious injuries but remained in the maximum-security prison's health-care unit Tuesday night, Gramley aid. Guards subsequently found five homemade knives and five or six pieces of metal that could have been made into weapons in the cell house, the warden said. Most of the weapons had been discarded in locations where they could easily be found by inmates who feared being caught with them, he said. Gramley said the lockdown, which limits inmates to their cells virtually 24 hours a day, will continue at least through today- PONTIAC The east cell house at Pontiac prison was placed on lockdown Tuesday afternoon after an inmate was assaulted and several homemade knives were recovered. Pontiac Warden Richard Gram-ley said an inmate who had apparently been beaten by other prisoners was found on the upper Tuesday's annular solar eclipse was an event to behold, and those who did took care to make certain they did it safely.

Among them were about 300 people at Normal's Ash Park. Above, Sue Bassett of Laurel, took a peek through a device designed to protect her eyes. She planned a visit to see her parents, CM. and Genevieve Remsburg of Normal, around the event. "This is just a hobby for me," she said as her head bobbed down to take another look.

"I was in Mexico for the solar eclipse in '91 and in South America in '86 for Halley's Comet." Below, Bill Eggert, a staff member at the Illinois State University Planetarium, lay next to a sheet of paper to chart the eclipse's image projected through pegboard. JlJULMS AMERICA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL INSULATED WINDOWS. TRUCKLOAD SALE DOORS WINDOWS PATIO DOORS vzj jjmm' A -i X. -r' .1 V. All Peachtree windows feature: The natural warmth and beauty of first-quality wood on the interior.

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Choice of 3 exterior colors: Driftwood, White and Brown, at no extra charge. ECLIPSE From A1 Eclipse Day. Her pupils trooped in and out much of the day, viewing the eclipse with homemade pinhole viewers at first and Mylar viewers later, and recording the temperature from thermometers placed in direct sunlight After each trip outside, the children drew the progress of the eclipse in journals and noted the temperature and environmental changes. "It was 82, and then it went to 81 and 73, and now it's 68," reported John Fleming at the height of the eclipse. "Brrrr." "It'j so skinny," said Christy Peterson, referring to the thin ring of sunlight peeking around the moon.

"I didn't know it would be so skinny. It's really weird because I've never been here when there was an eclipse, and I didn't know they made viewers like this." thing about the neon-colored viewers is, "We get to take them home." Purcell said the novelty of seeing such a rare ring eclipse was not lost on the 9-year-olds, whose excitement matched that of any professional astronomer's. "We hatched chicks last week, and I didn't think anything could top that," she said. "But this does." Several other classes at Parkside and at other schools viewed the eclipse, but most pupils in Twin City schools were kept indoors for its duration to prevent eye injuries. Purcell's students watched the eclipse through special viewers purchased for $1 each from the Illinois State University Planetarium.

A spokesman for the planetarium said 2,000 of the viewers were sold there just for Tuesday's eclipse. The viewers consist of aluminum sandwiched between layers of Mylar plastic. Peochtree wood casement windows provide maximum weother seal and beauty. Alt Peochlrec windows can be mulled together beautifully, os shown in this handsome boy window. Man charged with jacket theft Bloomington police recovered a $450 stolen leather jacket and arrested a man who was carrying it in a bag down Howard Street, reports said.

Larry W. Scott, 41, Cottage Hills, was charged Tuesday with felony theft by possession. Police suspect he bought the jacket for $50 knowing it was stolen. Six leather jackets were stolen from 6 a.m. to 6:15 a.m.

Monday from Rogers Motorcycle Parts, 1002 W. Market St, Bloomington. Five were valued at $150 each. The sixth leather with deco-" rative snakeskin strips was worth $450, police said. About 7:30 a.m.

Monday, patrol officer Randy Craft saw Scott walking in the 300 block of North Howard Street with a garbage bag, police said. He asked to see what was in the bag, Scott showed him and Craft suspected it was stolen property, police said. Scott remained jailed Tuesday night on $20,000 bond. His next hearing is June 10. Fradulent check charge lodged A Bloomington man faces a fel-' ony deceptive practice charge ac-.

cusing him of writing six bad checks for $204.32. Adam C. Carver, 19, of 1312 N. Morris Ave. was charged Tuesday with knowingly writing bad checks to a Bloomington Kroger store March 21 through 30.

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