Take Charge Indy’s next start could be last
SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2013
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Alex Bussan
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AMERICAN PROFILE • INSIDE
A look at landmarks across America Michael Gleeson (left)
Life after surviving Colo. shooting Algonquin native and Larimer’s girlfriend details struggle one year after the tragedy By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com A year ago today, Julia Vojtsek was inside an Aurora, Colo., movie theater with her boyfriend, John Larimer, for a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.” They were sitting in the middle section, in row four or five. At 12:37 a.m., with Anne Hathaway on the screen, tear gas filled the theater, and two shots were fired into the
air before gunfire was directed at the moviegoers. “John grabbed my head, pushed me to the floor ... protecting me,” Vojtsek said. “Sometime in that process, he was shot.” The shooting killed Larimer, a Crystal Lake native, and 11 others. Seventy people were wounded. James Holmes is facing 24 counts of murder and 140 counts of attempted murder, among other charges, in the shooting. Vojtsek escaped the theater physi-
cally unharmed, but in the past year, the Jacobs High School graduate has been working through the emotional scars left behind. Vojtsek, who was visiting her father and Larimer at the time of the shooting, has been going through individual and group therapy to work through her grief and post-traumatic stress. ••• During the shooting, Vojtsek and Larimer were sitting in the middle
section of the theater, in what investigators have called the kill zone. Tear gas investigators say Holmes set off before opening fire stopped the battery on Vojtsek’s watch at 12:37 a.m. Larimer, a Navy petty officer 3rd class, was part of the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado. He worked as a cryptologic technician
Julia Vojtsek
John Larimer
Larimer, who was killed in the shooting last year, pushed Vojtsek to the floor to protect her.
See AURORA, page A11
Pension problem blamed for layoffs Mayor, CPS say failure to reform caused cuts By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press CHICAGO – Chicago Public Schools and city leaders say the state’s failure to enact pension reform is to blame for the district laying off more than 2,100 At a glance employees – a cut that one legislator described Friday as “more number of employees dramatic than anything the CPS plans to cut state has seen” during the long-festering of those layoffs will crisis. But at a Chibe teachers cago Teachers Union news conference Friday, shortfall in Illinois affected teachpension system ers and parents pointed to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools for failing to find money for education. Emanuel called the layoffs – which include 1,036 teachers – “yet another painful reminder to Springfield that we need immediate pension relief.” “The pension crisis is no longer around the corner,” he said. “It has arrived at our schools.” The Legislature has been unable to reach a deal to reduce the unfunded pension liability in its five
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Mike Krebs – mkrebs@shawmedia.com
Donald Gregg stands near a dehumidifier Wednesday in his bedroom in Holiday Hills. Gregg’s house was severely damaged by flooding that occurred April 20.
Flooding aftermath Many in county have had problems with FEMA, insurance
By JIM DALLKE jdallke@shawmedia.com In April, more than a foot of water filled Donald and Katie Gregg’s Holiday Hills riverfront home after torrential rains pounded McHenry County. All of their floors and portions of their walls still need to be ripped up to remove mold. Any furniture that touched floodwater will need to be cleaned or thrown out. Cleaning and repair are expected to cost $400,000, Donald Gregg said, and the 76- and 74-yearolds will be living in their motor home for
See PENSIONS, page A11
LOCALLY SPEAKING
McHENRY COUNTY
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY GETS $1.36M Habitat for Humanity of McHenry County this week received a $1.36 million grant from Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the largest grant the organization has ever collected. The organization buys foreclosed and distressed properties in the county and turns them into affordable housing. For more, see page B1.
Kyle Theil Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
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UNION: Donley’s Wild West Steakhouse gets a new name, menu and direction starting next month. BUSINESS, E1
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How to apply The deadline to apply for federal disaster assistance due to damage caused by April storms is Wednesday. Apply online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362. at least six months while their house is torn apart. “It was horrible,” he said. “We’ve lived here for over 45 years, and we’ve never had
See FLOODING, page A11