Daily Egyptian DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015
SINCE 1916
VOL. 99 ISSUE 42
John “Mike” Henry wins mayoral race
a idaN o sBorNe | @AidanOsborne_DE Mike Henry celebrates after being elected Carbondale mayor with his grandchildren Tyler Schneider, right, and Jackson Houk, on Tuesday at his campaign headquarters in Carbondale.
saM Beard | @SamBeard_DE Carbondale voters chose John “Mike” Henry as their next mayor over Carbondale city councilwoman Jane Adams. He will take office as the official head of the city May 5. More than 2,500 people voted in the election, and Adams conceded after 21 of 24 precincts were reported. Henry, who had more than 62 percent of votes, graduated from the university with a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1972. He said the first thing on his agenda is to review the city’s finances and make needed amendments to the budget.
“The budget will be passed before I take office,” he said. “I want us to review that budget, [the new City Council members and I] were the ones that have been out among the voters and listening to people in Carbondale.” Henry was not the only winner last night. Adam Loos, Navreet S. Kang and Tom Grant snagged seats on the Carbondale City Council. Henry said he wants to increase enrollment and encourage retention at SIU to help boost the local economy. He said he wants to encourage growth in the city’s entertainment scene for all people — not just students.
N athaN h oefert | @NathanHoefertDE Jane Adams delivers her concession speech to supporters, friends and family Tuesday night at her home in Carbondale. “Now that the campaign is over and the voters have spoken, it’s time to remember that we all want the best for our small city,” Adams said.
“Let’s do some venues that start at 7 o’clock at night for the old people,” Henry said with a chuckle. “We will be out of the way by 9 or 9:30. The college students come in, everybody is warmed up and good to go.” He said he will push for a music festival on the Strip — closing down a portion South Illinois Avenue near Dairy Queen — to provide students and community members a safe place to have fun. “[Students] need to have a good experience around here,” he said. “They need a place to blow off some steam after studying.”
Henry plans to institute a year-round farmer’s market on the corner of East Walnut Street and Washington Avenue. “It’s one of the most doable things we can do,” he said. “The city owns the land. We can do a public-private partnership, find an investor to build the building, lease it back to the farmer’s market folks.” He has talked to some interested investors, but said it is too early to provide details. His main platform is to make Carbondale more business friendly. “Instead of a situation where we say, ‘Here is what you need to do,’ I think
we should be saying, ‘What can we help you with?” Henry said in a previous interview. Henry, who has owned and operated Henry Printing Inc. for 42 years, said he wants to bring in people from out of town to spend money here. Additionally, Henry champions keeping Carbondale interim Police Chief Jeff Grubbs in the position permanently, but acknowledges that the decision is ultimately made by the city manager. For the rest of this story and photo gallery, please see www.dailyegyptian.com
Molly Young lawsuit to proceed or dismiss within two weeks Marissa Novel | @MarissaNovelDE The ruling to dismiss or proceed with the milliondollar lawsuit filed against Richie Minton for the wrongful death of his former girlfriend, Molly Young, is to be determined within the next two weeks. Judge Charles Grace said he needs to review new documents presented to the Jackson County court before making a decision. Young died of a gunshot wound to the head on March 24, 2012 in Minton’s apartment. Young’s father, Larry Young, filed the civil suit in July before a report filed by the state’s attorney’s appellate prosecutor found there was too little evidence to claim the death a homicide in November. “We’re just trying to get the truth by filing a civil case now because it’s been three years and we still don’t have answers,” Larry Young said. Illinois law states the statute of limitations, or
when someone can file a civil lawsuit, is two years in most cases. There was a motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit because it was filed on June 30, 2014, about two years and three months after Young’s death. But, the Young family’s attorney requested it should be extended to five years because of fraudulent concealment, or the withholding of information. It was the first hearing under Judge Grace, who is substituting for Judge Christy Solverson. Young’s lawyer, Charles Stegemeyer, requested Judge Solverson’s removal citing that she could possibly be called as a witness if the case progresses. Judge Solverson signed the search warrant for Minton’s apartment seven hours after Young’s death, according to a February report by The Southern Illinoisan. Bryan Drew, Minton’s attorney, represented him in his absence.
e lleN B ooth | @EllenBooth_DE Linda Young, Molly Young’s stepmother, her husband Larry Young, Molly’s father, and George Lamont, Linda’s brother, leave the Jackson County Courthouse on Tuesday, after a hearing on the defendant’s motion to dismiss the wrongful death suit against Richard Minton. A ruling by Judge Charles Grace is scheduled to come within two weeks.
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