and so rockford -- the companies in rockford went for this.he rockford health care, the main health care system in rockford sent to the philippines to find 100 young nurses to be part of this, and now if you go to rockford, you see a younger population coming in. often they're immigrants from central europe or from the philippines or from mexico, and they're filling the churches that were once empty. they're filling the stores that needed customers. and they found their from the aging population. so i started thinking, is this a mode for development in the future? can you build your economy, can you build your sense of place because your population is aging? and in order to do this reporting, you know, i had to call on all of my skills as an investigative reporter gained over the years often under the stick of some people in this room and figure out how i was going to report. and i did what i do whenever i face an important, challenging story that i don't know how to begin attacking. i asked my mother. [laughter] and i said, mom, where -- what

. >> reporter: i'm john berman for "nightline" in rockford, illinois. >> berman is no prodigy there.d luck to keith o'dell, too. he's going to compete next month. >>> up next, even the most conservative republicans balk at his proposals for slashing government. we sit down with the newly minted senator, rand paul. ♪ [ male announcer ] here they come. all the new tech products you need. and they're all looking for the same thing. ♪ the one place that makes technology easy. staples. with highly-trained tech experts and expanded tech centers, staples makes finding the right technology just the way you want it. easy. easy to buy. easy to fix. easy to save. staples. that was easy. mary? what are you doing here? it's megan. i'm getting new insurance. marjorie, you've had a policy with us for three years. it's been five years. five years. well, progressive gives megan discounts that you guys didn't. paperless, safe driver, and i get great service. meredith, what's shakin', bacon? they'll figure it out. getting you the discounts you deserve. now, that's progressive. call or click today. how

if you answer this question-- why in the world does it make sense for somebody who's working in rockford, illinois, to have some money taken from his paycheck to fund your work? why not keep government out of the arts? well, one of the things is-- this is one of the arguments that people would often say: "you know, if the majority of people in this country "didn't like your work, why should they have to pay for it?" well, of course, the majority of people haven't seen my work. but this really goes to the question-- a couple of key questions about what is the role of minorities and minority expression in a majority-rule system that we supposedly have? does this mean that minorities have no rights? you know, and do we have no access to speaking? and it also goes to the question-- i think this whole arts question is about a broader question about public funding in general. and, right now, in the last, you know, 20 years-- can it be 20 years since reagan was elected? oh, shoot me. but there's been this whole battle to eliminate all kinds of public funding-- not public funding for the arts al

john berman, abc news, rockford, illinois. >> and tonight on "nightline," you can see a lot more of john'sry. and i apologize to my mother for being so grumpy about practicing piano, after that. have a great night, we'll see you back here tomorrow night. thanks for being with us. e >>> tonight, the state budget and your tax burden. republicans reveal a condition they have for putting it up to a vote. >> a new appeal on the chouchilla school bus hijacking. after 35 years is it time for kidnappers to be set free? >> and the abc 7 news i team on prison health care and the death sentence koit carry for hundreds of inmates. >> new video on the health of apple founder steve jobs. a stockholders' vote on what the company might look like without him. >> good evening, a tax fight in sacramento is taking a new turn tonight. >> republicans willing to go along with governor brown on a ballot measure to keep taxes in place but on one condition. >> and we're live with the story. >> new administration but old battles. at stake is whether you would bail out california's budget mess two. thirds of the lawm

for a time they were hiding out in a rockford, illinois, hotel.state line. they say they have left and the hiding out -- they are hiding out in an undisclosed location. >>> wisconsin is not the only state struggling to make ends meet these days. as sharyn alfonsi reports, budget battles are being fought across the country. >> reporter: in new jersey governor chris christie booed by firefighters after suggesting the age of retirement for state workers had to be raised and pension plans had to be cut. >> for 20 years governors have come into this room and lied to you. promised you benefits they had no way of paying for. >> reporter: new jersey facing an $11 billion deficit this year. >> 50 times three -- >> reporter: in new york mayor bloomberg suggested cutting 6,000 teachers' jobs because of a loss in state funding. >> i don't think we can afford to lose any teachers, but if we have to to balance our budget, we are going to do with 6,000 fewer. >> reporter: most states, unlike the federal government, have to balance their budget every year. and 20

they were spotted in rockford at a belltower resort. they have kind of been traveling quite a bit. host: the requirement for debate to continue in the senate, there and 19 republicans. they need 20 members on the floor for debate to proceed? caller: for a vote on a fiscal measure, which in this definitely has a fiscal components. to vote on anything that has to do with the budget they would need at least one democrat there. host: we showed you "the washington post" this morning with reports that the democratic national apparatus has been getting involved, encouraging the protest, encouraging people to support the union and in members to be involved. have you seen evidence of that? guest: i seen a lot of tweets from organizing for america -- it does not feel like it is the vast majority. we have seen a lot of uw students either marching or heading up state street, the big st. from university to the capital. a lot carrying sleeping bags and pick it signs. a lot of teachers coming down from various parts of the state. it does not seem like the vast majority of people certainly that i

not hiding out in rockford or chicago, illinois. they failed to do that. they are walking out on their job. they are doing what is contrast to the many thousands, almost 300,000 state workers across the state of wisconsin, most showed up and did their job that they were paid to do. we have a budget deficit. we are broke. it is about time that somebody stood up and told the truth and the only way to budget the balance at the state level or at the local level is to make sure that we give the local governments the tools they need to balance the budget and that is what we are proposing. >> chris: i don't understand. if it is a money issue and balancing the budget and they are willing to concede on the money issues why isn't that enough? why do you also have to take back some of their collective bargaining rights? >> they aren't because in the end they can say that but that is really a red herring. the same groups back in december tried to ram through in a session employee contracts that would have locked things in before i got there. they are not really intere

not in rockford or any other place. they've got to come to wisconsin, do the job that they were elected to do. do the job that they're paid to do. and if they want to do that, we'll sit down and talk to them. the bottom line is, we can't negotiate a budget because we're broke and we need the money. >> governor, thanks for your time this morning. >> my pleasure, george. >> it's not going to end anytime soon. >> a lot of states watching what's going to happen there. >> let's go to rob nelson in for juju. good morning, happy presidents' day. good morning, everybody. we begin with the price of gas soaring yet again. prices have jumped another 5 cents in the last two weeks to the natural average of $3.18 per gallon. the prices are 55 cents higher than the same time last year. >>> two west point cadets are safe after spending eight hours teetering on a cliff 500 feet in the air. the cadets became disoriented during training and ended up on an 18 inch ledge. it's hard to see in this nighttime video, but police eventually hoist

the arena is not in rockford, illinois. it's not in freeport, illinois. it's not in chicago, illinois. it's in madison, wisconsin, in our state's capitol. >> reporter: illinois may be a safe haven for these missing democrats, but it is facing far worse financial woes, and, in fact, in all the states, most of the states where folks will be rallying today, the financial shortfalls are being felt. people are finding out the hard way that in times like these, something has to give. rebecca? >> cynthia bowers, our cbs news correspondent in chicago. thank you. >>> now here's russ. >> thanks, rebecca. wicked winter weather continues to slam the country from coast to coast. cbs news correspondent elaine quijano is live in lakewood, new jersey, where residents report seeing a funnel cloud this morning. not a great way to wake up on a saturday morning. elaine, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, russ. that's right here in lakewood, new jersey, you can probably see the damage to this building behind me after severe weather blew through yesterday, really acr

host: a cholera has written the following -- and let's look at a piece in the new york times -- rockford, illinois, eric, republican. everyone seems to be fleeing to your state. how are you? caller: good morning. thank you. unions matter in the private sector. they don't drive up the cost so that the non-union people can make a decent wage. in the private sector, such as the teachers, if unions are so great, why is the united states 37th in the world in the quality of education? i would put it that way. we were far from first. as far as labor laws and south labor, people need to get an education. we have the department of labor that sets rules for such as things as child labor laws. and over time and things like that. we don't need the unions now to come around and negotiate so that your child does not have to work in a sweatshop. host: mary on our democrat line, pennsylvania. caller: what caused the economic collapse was deregulation and wall street. super rich caused the economic issues. they should have gone to jail. they are ok with trying to turn working people against one another t

they were spotted in rockford at a belltower resort. they have kind of been traveling quite a bit. host: the requirement for debate to continue in the senate, there and 19 republicans. they need 20 members on the floor for debate to proceed? caller: for a vote on a fiscal measure, which in this definitely has a fiscal components. to vote on anything that has to do with the budget they would need at least one democrat there. host: we showed you "the washington post" this morning with reports that the democratic national apparatus has been getting involved, encouraging the protest, encouraging people to support the union and in members to be involved. have you seen evidence of that? guest: i seen a lot of tweets from organizing for america -- it does not feel like it is the vast majority. we have seen a lot of uw students either marching or heading up state street, the big st. from university to the capital. a lot carrying sleeping bags and pick it signs. a lot of teachers coming down from various parts of the state. it does not seem like the vast majority of people certainly that i

they were spotted in rockford at a belltower resort. they have kind of been traveling quite a bit. host: the requirement for debate to continue in the senate, there and 19 republicans. they need 20 members on the floor for debate to proceed? caller: for a vote on a fiscal measure, which in this definitely has a fiscal components. to vote on anything that has to do with the budget they would need at least one democrat there. host: we showed you "the washington post" this morning with reports that the democratic national apparatus has been getting involved, encouraging the protest, encouraging people to support the union and in members to be involved. have you seen evidence of that? guest: i seen a lot of tweets from organizing for america -- it does not feel like it is the vast majority. we have seen a lot of uw students either marching or heading up state street, the big st. from university to the capital. a lot carrying sleeping bags and pick it signs. a lot of teachers coming down from various parts of the state. it does not seem like the vast majority of people certainly that i