ChambanaMoms.com » News

Sales Tax Holiday to Help Back-to-School Shoppers

Laura Weisskopf Bleill — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 02:22:22 +0000

by Laura Weisskopf Bleill

Brace yourselves, parents: the state of Illinois — one of the most fiscally challenged in the nation — is giving you a sales tax break for your back-to-school shopping.

On Wednesday, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law that will exempt certain purchases from state sales tax during the period of Aug. 6 to 15 (see below for details). State sales tax amounts to 5 percent of a purchase, or 5 cents on every dollar; local and municipal taxes will still be charged*. The bill establishes a sales tax holiday every August through 2013.

Lunch boxes and backpacks are among the items that parents can save money on during the state's sales tax holiday August 6 to 15. Photo by somegeekintn on flickr.

“Back-to-school shopping can be expensive and difficult for families that are already struggling to make ends meet,” said Gov. Quinn. “From Aug. 6 through 15 the sales tax holiday will boost Illinois businesses while helping every child in Illinois get the school supplies they need to succeed in the classroom.”

The list of items includes clothing and shoes (including winter items such as gloves, mittens and boots) if an item is under $100. It also applies to school supplies including backpacks, lunch boxes, crayons, compasses, calculators, markers, index cards, tape, folders, construction/graph/loose leaf/colored/tracing/copy paper, notebooks, poster board, pens, pencils, highlighters, rulers, scissors, glue, chalk, and protractors. Not included: sports equipment, computers, computer accessories, cameras/videocameras/cell phones/PDAs, and art supplies (with the exception of markers and crayons).

Although the target audience is children, the tax break applies to any qualifying item. So that means that moms and dads can get some new back-to-school clothes too.

The sales tax holiday concept in the month of August is nothing revolutionary. New York was the first state to implement a tax holiday in 1997. Iowa has had the event since 2000, and Missouri, another state bordering Illinois, has offered the program since 2004.

*Local sales tax rates for Champaign, Urbana and Rantoul are 8.75 percent. In Savoy, the sales tax rate is 8 percent; Tolono, Fisher, St. Joseph and Mahomet, 7.5; Tuscola, 6.75; Monticello, 6.25.

Will the sales tax holiday affect your back-to-school shopping budget?

A Sneak Peak at the New Einstein Bros. Bagels!

Laura Weisskopf Bleill — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:00:59 +0000

The new Einstein Bros. Bagels in Urbana will open on Tuesday, June 29 at 5:30 a.m.

My mother may be happy to know that after Tuesday, she may not need to schlep bagels down from Chicago anymore.

One of the deals at Einstein: buy a reusable Einsteins travel mug for $2.49, get $0.99 coffee refills.

That’s because Tuesday, June 29, is opening day for the much-anticipated Einstein Bros. Bagels in Urbana (at the southwest corner of Lincoln and University Avenues).

The menu includes breakfast all day, sandwiches, soups, salads and more.

If you are one of the first 100 customers Tuesday, you will received a booklet of coupons for one free egg sandwich each week for the next 52 weeks. That’s a free sandwich a week for a year. Of course, that means you’ll probably have to be in line when they open at 5:30 a.m.

We found the highchairs!

Einstein Bros. Bagels is a chain based in Colorado, with more than 300 stores across 28 states, its website says. But the owners of the Urbana store are franchisees who have moved here to operate the restaurant.

Although it isn’t visible from University, there is plenty of parking behind the building, and there will also be a bike rack as a convenience for bicyclists (although it may not be there yet).

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any food available for tasting on the day we visited the store. But we know that we won’t be able to stay away for long.

To start, Einstein Bros. Bagels will be open the following hours, according to owner Marc Bralts:

Weekdays: 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturdays: 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sundays: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

As I said in my post Thursday, it has been way too long since we had a decent commercial bagel in these parts. Best of luck to Marc (a new dad himself) and Ryan.

Einstein Bros. is a big fan of our four-legged family members. There will be a water dish for dogs near the outdoor seating -- and of course, doggie bagels for sale. (Photos by Laura Weisskopf Bleill)

Meet Olympic Mom Beth Reutter, Part II

Laura Weisskopf Bleill — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:46:43 +0000

Katherine and Beth Reutter. (Photo provided)

Editor’s Note: Here is the second part of our interview with Beth Reutter, mom of U.S. Olympic speed skater Katherine Reutter, a Champaign native and 2006 Centennial High School graduate.

By Laura Weisskopf Bleill

It’s clear by the smile in this photo that Katherine Reutter has made her parents proud. It doesn’t matter if she finished fourth (as she did in the 1,500 on Saturday) or 40th, her parents would still be beaming. But it might surprise you to know the ways she has made her parents proud during her incredible run up to and during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Beth Reutter was reading an article earlier this month that was lamenting how many of the American athletes in the Winter Games were focused on winning for themselves. It went on to hold up Katherine as a “model” of an athlete in it to win for Team USA.

Beth Reutter said: “I couldn’t have been prouder when the author of that article went on to hold up Katherine Reutter as the model to follow for what all of our 2010 Olympians should be saying – that they are proud to be representing the USA, that if they make the podium they will be accepting their medal on behalf of the USA, that they can’t imagine the emotions that will come over them if it’s their flag that is raised and their anthem being sung. If there was a tag stuck on Katherine it would say ‘made in the USA and proud of it!’”

Like most parents of elite athletes, Reutter and her husband, Jay, made sacrifices and went to great lengths to put their daughter in a prime position to succeed. Beth Reutter said she now believes that Olympians are raised, not born.

While she and her husband didn’t set out to raise an Olympian, several factors in how she was brought up may have contributed to her success. The Reutters put a premium on exposing Katherine to Champaign-Urbana’s various programs for children, including art, music, creative dance, sports (skating of course) and drama.

“We didn’t push Katherine to be involved, we simply expected her to be involved so that she might find her passion in life,” Beth Reutter said. “Over the years that passion proved to be speedskating, always rising above other activities. It takes parents and/or caregivers to actively expose children to what life has to offer and in the process instill in our children a strong sense of values, respect for each other, and the work ethic required to rise to the top.”

The Reutters also had rules for Katherine that may have kept her more active than other children.

“In our household there was no sleeping in till noon on the weekends or in the summer,” Beth Reutter said. “Television was pretty well limited to PBS, Nickelodeon, and Disney; there were no video games.”

Katherine Reutter will take to the ice once again on Wednesday, Feb. 24. If you have any questions, comments or messages of support for Beth or Katherine Reutter, please leave them here and we will pass them along.

Behind Every Olympic Medal Hopeful, There is a Mom: Meet Beth Reutter

Laura Weisskopf Bleill — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:00:57 +0000

Katherine and Beth Reutter. (Photo provided)

by Laura Weisskopf Bleill

There’s something about Champaign-Urbana and the Olympics. It produced the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian in history — speed skater Bonnie Blair, who finished her career with five gold medals and one bronze. There is even a special area in Dodds Park that is a tribute to all the athletes from Champaign County who have competed in the Olympics. Chambana has also been home to many amazing and groundbreaking Paralympians.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that one of our nation’s top medal hopefuls in women’s short track speed skating is 21-year-old Champaign native Katherine Reutter, who first stepped on the ice for the University of Illinois Ice Arena’s Learn To Skate program. She quickly ditched figure skating for the speed version, and it’s taken her all over the world. She’s been called the poster girl of the U.S. women’s short track speed skating team while garnering quite a following, especially after her hilarious appearance on the Colbert Nation in which she had host Stephen Colbert sign her thigh.

Chambanamoms.com caught up with Katherine Reutter’s mother, Beth, before she and husband Jay took off for Vancouver to cheer on their only child. The Reutters had so much faith that their daughter would be in Vancouver they already had all of their plans in place for the 2010 Olympic Games (flight, housing, event tickets) before they arrived at Olympic Trials in September.

“With short track being affectionately called NASCAR on ice, we could have easily been going to Vancouver without Katherine but we were willing to show our belief in Katherine to take that chance,” said Beth Reutter, who teaches Hospitality Management in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois.

Beth recalls that Katherine’s dad, Jay, had the unwavering belief that Katherine could make it to the Olympics shortly after she won her first trophy as a Tiny Tot at age 5.
” It wasn’t until she was 16 and won Nationals for her age group that the reality of her being on the Olympic track hit me,” Beth Ruetter says. “That win qualified Katherine for an invitation to train with the U.S. Short Track Development Team at the U.S. Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Mich.”

Katherine Reutter, who graduated from Centennial High School in 2006, left home to train full-time first in Michigan and later moved to Salt Lake City, where she currently trains.

Katherine first met Blair when she was 6. Reutter also saw Blair speak at Centennial during her junior year at Centennial; after Bonnie spoke Katherine was one of a handful of students invited to have lunch with her.

“That opportunity solidified Katherine’s desire to become an Olympian,” Beth Reutter said.

So how can Chambana get behind Katherine Reutter? There are several ways to support Katherine from afar. “The easiest way is to simply follow the sport and be a “Rootin for Reutter” fan,” Beth Reutter said. Avid fans wear kelly green “Rootin for Reutter” sweatshirts that can be ordered at katherinereutter.com. You can keep up with Katherine by joining her fan email list (email Beth at bethreutter AT gmail DOT com); visiting her Facebook fan page, or following her on twitter.

Katherine Reutter will be on the ice in Vancouver again on Wednesday evening.

Editor’s Note: We will continue this conversation, including how a parent raises an Olympic athlete, in the second installment of our interview with Beth Reutter next week.

Furloughs Hit Chambana Families – Twice Over

Laura Weisskopf Bleill — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:00:30 +0000

The Alma Mater's outstretched arms. (Photo by kevindooley on flickr)

by Laura Weisskopf Bleill

When Jill Gengler, a mom of three, answered e-mail questions about the University of Illinois’ furlough decree, she wasn’t using any work time to do it — even though it was in the middle of a Friday morning.

Gengler, an academic professional at the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, had already signed up to take one of her four mandated furlough days this semester. Her two younger children were at daycare while the eldest one was in class at his Champaign elementary school.

“I could have spent the day with them, but I really wanted a day to myself,” she wrote. “I’m at a coffee shop with no crayons or sippy cups in sight, I might try to get a hair cut later, maybe I’ll take a nap! I still have an itch to check my email, but I’ll hold strong.”

Many Chambana families are being affected by the University of Illinois’ budget shortfall, which stems from the State of Illinois’ failure to deliver scheduled payments. The University is requiring faculty and academic professionals (salaried employees who are required to have at least a bachelor’s degree) to take four unpaid furlough days this semester. Administrators will take even more furlough days. As an alternative, the University is allowing affected employees to take a “voluntary” two-percent pay cut instead.

Kate Clancy, an assistant professor of anthropology and mom of an almost 2-year-old daughter, is not taking the furlough days lightly. A member of the Campus Faculty Association (the unofficial faculty union), Clancy plans to spend her furlough days working for the organization because she doesn’t “believe in changing someone’s pay without their consent.”

“It might not seem like a lot, but it’s exactly that kind of money that goes toward stuff for your kid,” she said, noting that she can’t furlough her daycare provider. “So I’m going to do what I can to fight to get it back.”

For many Chambana homes, furloughs are a one-two punch for dual-income families when both partners are U of I employees. That’s the case for Gengler, whose husband also works in the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, and for Clancy, whose husband is a faculty member in chemical engineering. It’s also the situation for Todd and Julie Sweet, who both work at the College of Business.

Todd Sweet told chambanamoms.com his family hasn’t made exact plans for their furlough days, but they will probably use two to spend together as a family and two to get things done while his children are at school.

“Honestly, I was anticipating more furlough days, so four seems very reasonable considering the circumstances. I’m happy to do this if it means avoiding layoffs,” Sweet said. “My fear, however, is that this could be the first of many such actions if our state government is unable to solve this budget crisis.”

Chambanamoms.com wants to know: how are you using your furlough days? Tell us in the comments below or email us at Editor AT chambanamoms DOT com. We may publish the responses at a later date.

Around the Chambana Blogosphere We Go

Laura Weisskopf Bleill — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:41:39 +0000

by Laura Weisskopf Bleill

Attention chambanamoms.com readers: Looking to bring out your creative juices? Enter the Champaign Taste haiku contest. Here’s the 411. Step 1: Write a haiku about a food you love to eat but wish you didn’t. Step 2: Add it to the comments section of this post on Champaign Taste. That’s it! If your poem is a winner, you’ll receive one of three local food-related prizes:

If I could write a haiku for the Champaign Taste contest, it would be about french fries. (photo by klynslis on flickr)

Gift certificate for the cooking class of your choice at the Mettler Center in Champaign (a $25 value)
$10 gift certificate for Vinny’s East Coast Pizzeria in Champaign
$10 gift card for Xinh Xinh Cafe in Urbana

I am a member of the judging panel, so come one and all. This will be a lot of fun. If you’d like, please add your Haiku in the comments here too! We will spotlight the winner on Chambanamoms.com.

And in other Chambana blog news … Thanks to Smile Politely for today’s feature article about yours truly, the women behind chambanamoms.com. Smile Politely is a wonderful resource for cultural, arts and entertainment information in Chambana.

Urbana High School Among Nation’s Best

Amy L. Hatch — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:00:49 +0000

Photo by Urbana School District 116

By Amy L. Hatch

U.S. News and World Report ranks Urbana High School among the nation’s best and awarded the school its Bronze Medal in Jan. 6 issue.

This is the third year that the magazine, well-known for its college rankings (University of Illinois is ranked 36th in the national universities category), has reviewed high schools. Of the 21,786 high schools examined by the magazine and its partner, School Evaluation Services, 1,750 consistently and considerably outperformed their state standards, according to the story. Illinois ranks high on that list, with 37 schools recognized for their excellence.

Among those 37 schools is, of course, Urbana High School, which also earned the magazine’s “Bronze Medal.” Principal Laura Taylor tells chambanamoms.com that the recognition took the school by surprise.

“Honestly, we had no idea about it,” Taylor says. “A student told a teacher, and a teacher sent out an email. No one even knew about it until two days ago.”

Despite being caught unaware, Taylor adds that as far as surprises go, this is a good one. She also says that the methodology that the magazine uses makes the recognition just that much sweeter.

Urbana High School was compared to schools with similar demographics, she points out, which means that for the population it serves, it is doing remarkably well. UHS — which has a poverty rate of 51 percent — was not pitted against wealthy suburban Chicago schools, for example.

“It means just that much more,” Taylor says, “because we are obviously doing a good job with the kids that we serve.”

One of the things that UHS does well is offer a wide variety of Advanced Placement courses, which U.S. News and World Report erroneously states are not offered at the school. Taylor says the school offers 12 such classes.

Taylor says that while the recognition is great, the school is not resting on its laurels. There are challenges ahead, she points out.

“We have such a diverse population,” she says. “It is challenging to meet the needs of all students. Not all of our students have the same readiness to learn because of their circumstances.”

The school’s poverty rate is likely to increase over the coming year, she adds, due to the still-recovering economy.

“We just need to continue to find ways of supporting our kids,” Taylor says.

New Texting Law Carries Heavy Fines

Amy L. Hatch — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Illinois enacted a statewide ban on texting and driving on Jan. 1. But will you stop? (Photo by Indypants, Flickr)

By Amy L. Hatch

Need to send a text? Wait until you park your car. As of Jan. 1, texting and driving is against the law in Illinois.

The state-wide text messaging law bans drivers from operating a motor vehicle and using an electronic communications device to compose, send or read an electronic message. That also includes checking your email, surfing the Web and using an instant-messaging service.

Fines for doing so can range from $75 to a whopping $500. The law was inspired by the case of a 25-year-old Urbana man who was hit and killed by a texting driver several years ago.

In fact, according to Mike Monson, chief of staff for Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing, Urbana already had a texting law on the books when the state ban went into effect last week. Urbana drivers involved in an accident while texting face a fine of $750.

A 2004 study conducted at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology showed that even hands-free cell-phone use can distract drivers from important visual cues.

Researchers found that older adults made significant errors behind the wheel and younger drivers had slower reaction times. The upshot? Actively talking on the phone impairs your ability to operate a motor vehicle.

Jennifer S. Wilson of Champaign says that the law “is not going to stop people who shouldn’t be [texting], not that anyone should.”

“It won’t be the first law my 18-year-old broke,” she added.

Earlier this year, a graphic public-service announcement about texting and driving caught the attention of plenty of drivers, alerting them to the dangers of distractions on the road. However, U.S. officials said they would be hesitant to broadcast such a disturbing message.

Will the new law stop you from texting behind the wheel, or will you just try to hide it better?

Breaking News: Yours, Mine & Ours Kids Shop To Close After The New Year

Amy L. Hatch — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:00:48 +0000

By Amy L. Hatch

Yours, Mine & Ours, the kids’ consignment shop in Champaign, will be shutting its doors for good on Jan. 9, 2010.

Employee Jackie Larson confirmed that the store is indeed closing, and that owner Pam Cross-Craig is planning to retire. “We’ve had some really great customers and consignors over the years,” she said. “We’re hopeful that they can find another outlet.”

Customers of the store got an email stating that the shop will closing and that it will be holding a sale from now until that date, and all final checks for items sold at the store will be issued and mailed by Jan. 10. Final pick-up for fall and winter items not sold will be Dec. 31, 2009.The store will be holding a progressive sale:

Dec.7-12: Blue tags 20 percent off – Yellow & Orange tags 30 percent off – Green & Red tags 40 percent off.
Dec. 14-19: Blue tags 30 percent off – Yellow & Orange tags 40 percent off – Green & Red tags 50 percent off.
Dec. 21-26: Blue tags 40 percent off – Yellow & Orange tags 50 percent off – Green & Red tags 60 percent off.
Dec. 28 -Jan. 2: Blue tags 50 percent off – Yellow & Orange tags 60 percent off – Green & Red tags 70 percent off.
Jan. 4 to 7: Everything 75 percent off.
Jan. 8-9: $5 Bag Sale.

The Glen Park Drive store has been in operation for the past 24 years, according to the email. Customers with questions about their accounts should contact the store at 356-0880. After Jan. 9, 2010 they can be reached by email at ymokidshop1986@yahoo.com.