NWH-8-6-2013 by Shaw Media

NEWS

Page A4 • Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Northwest Herald / NWHerald.com

U.S. embassies in 4 African countries also closed By JASON STRAZIUSO The Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya – The U.S. State Department closed its embassies in four sub-Saharan African nations as part of a heightened security alert, days before the 15th anniversary of al-Qaida’s bombings of American diplomatic missions in Kenya and

Tanzania. Those two embassies targeted in the Aug. 7, 1998, attacks were rebuilt as more heavily fortified structures away from populated areas where they would be less vulnerable to attack. Those embassies remain open, but the diplomatic missions in Rwanda and Burundi, small countries which border Tan-

zania to the west, and the island nations of Madagascar and Mauritius were ordered closed. The State Department has shut down U.S. facilities in countries including Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait until Aug. 10. U.S. diplomatic posts in 19 cities, including the four in sub-Saharan Africa,

a local official tackled him and shot him with his own gun. State police in Lehighton confirm three people are dead and say the gunman had an ongoing dispute with township officials over the possible condemnation of his property. Monroe County emergency

management director Guy Miller says the shooting happened Monday evening during Ross Township’s regular monthly meeting. He said the gunman has been captured and is in state police custody.

8NATION BRIEF 3 shot dead at Pa. town meeting; shooter tackled Pennsylvania state police say a shooting during a meeting at a municipal building has left three people dead, correcting their earlier tally of four. A witness says the gunman blasted through a wall before

– Wire report

will be closed through the end of the week. U.S. officials gave no hint as to why the four U.S. embassies in sub-Saharan Africa were closed. None of the four is known for high-level terror threats. A State Department spokeswoman for Africa didn’t respond to an email query. But al-Qaida operatives

remain in East Africa, and one Africa expert noted that Burundi and Rwanda each have an older U.S. Embassy building that is less secure than newer embassies, such as those built far off the road in Tanzania and Kenya. The expert, J. Peter Pham, the director of the Africa Center at the Washington, D.C.-based Atlantic Council,

also noted that Mohammed Jamal Khalifa – a brotherin-law to Osama bin Laden – was killed in Madagascar in 2007. Khalifa was known as an al-Qaida financier and was reportedly killed by U.S. special operations forces. “So there was an al-Qaida presence in Madagascar as recently as six years ago,” Pham said.

Illness can be treated with antibiotics • BUG Continued from page A1 In Illinois, none of the people infected has required hospitalization. The four other cases of cyclosporiasis were reported in Montgomery, Jo Daviess, Lake and Sangamon counties.

Illinois health officials believe the Sangamon County patient acquired the infection in Iowa, and they have provided information on that case to Iowa health officials, Arnold said. The illness is caused by a microscopic parasite. People get sick when they consume contaminated food or water. After exposure, people usu-

ally get sick after about a week and have diarrhea and other flulike symptoms that can last from a few days to a month or longer if untreated. The illness is not generally contagious and can be treated with antibiotics.

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bianchi: ‘I have no doubts we will win either lawsuit’ • SUIT Continued from page A1

Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam speaks Monday during the opening celebration of The Residences of Lake in the Hills, a rental community for independent seniors.

Committee will announce action by Sept. 11 • ROSKAM Continued from page A1 new information that wasn’t initially vetted by the Ethics Committee, Roskam said he anticipates the investigation will prove no rules were violated. “Politics is an arena where you expect a high level of scrutiny, so it’s not a surprise,” Roskam told the Northwest Herald after Monday’s opening. “I’ve been pleased to completely cooperate [with the Ethics Committee]. We’ve released all the information in order to get everything out there, so there’s no surprises. We followed all the rules, all the regulations, and I’m sure anybody that looks at it com-

pletely will come to the same conclusion.” In October 2011, Roskam and his wife visited Taiwan on an officially connected fact-finding trip to learn about Taiwanese culture as well as economic and security ties between the U.S. and Taiwan. Roskam’s daughter also was teaching in Taiwan at the time. The eight-day trip cost more than $25,000, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics. The majority of the cost was related to travel to and within Taiwan, Roskam spokeswoman Stephanie Gengo said. The Office of Congressional Ethics alleged the Taiwan trip may have been an impermissible gift because of the involvement with the

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, which is the de facto Taiwanese Embassy. Roskam and his representatives said the Chinese Cultural University in Taipei sponsored the trip and is an appropriate private sponsor. Roskam’s camp also said the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office was a necessary and expected liaison for the trip, and the involvement was disclosed to the Ethics Committee before the trip. The Ethics Committee will announce its course of action by Sept. 11, at which point Roskam believes he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. “That’s my hope and my expectation,” he said.

Schools generally allowed to charge students between $50 and $250 to help cover program • TEENS Continued from page A1 and ensure that students understand their role and their responsibility and trying to do it in the most cost-effective and affordable way possible for the student and us as a district,” said George Oslovich, Woodstock District 200 assistant superintendent for middle and high school. Like most school systems, District 200 offers driver’s education during the regular fall and spring terms, and the less popular summer school, while keeping up with state orders on how to structure both the finances and curriculum of the program. Schools generally are allowed to charge students between $50 and $250 to help cover the program, under state rules. The bulk of a school’s driver’s education expenses typically cover salaries and vehicle maintenance. Schools also receive a state reimbursement for operating the program based on the number of students participating in both the classroom and behind-the-wheel parts of the program. In District 200, administrators spent roughly $267,000 last year to run their program during all three terms, including $12,970 alone spent during the summer to teach 45 students driver’s education.

The teachers used to instruct those students behind the wheel generally are the same certified teachers used to teach students in the fall and spring at the district’s two high schools. Administrators also will hire retired driver’s education teachers on a part-time basis if student demand in the program creates scheduling conflicts. Teachers are compensated at a rate of $41.50 an hour, based on the number of instruction hours they teach, said Risa Hanson, District 200’s chief financial officer. The district charged students $200 last year to participate in the year-round program. But in nearby Harvard District 50, the smaller district compensates behindthe-wheel teachers at $24 an hour included in a operating budget of roughly $107,670 last year. Harvard administrators charge students $200 to participate, but 50 percent of those fees are waived for students who are unable to pay, a discount that also is mandated by the state. At Huntley District 158, administrators are beginning to see roughly half of driver’s education students enroll in the summer program versus the fall and spring terms. Huntley High School also increased the number of driver’s education classes during the summer from four to six

this past year. The school would like to see more students enroll in driver’s education during the summer, said Anne Pasco, Huntley High School’s summer school administrator. The more balanced enrollment throughout all three terms takes the pressure off program coordinators to hire additional part-time teachers to help with increased workload during peak times in the regular school year. “We can be fiscally responsible with hiring our staff and pace them out throughout the entire year. ... It essentially helps us extend the school year,” Pasco said. District 158 relies on seasonal, part-time help from teachers who have had experience teaching at Huntley during the summer season. The district compensates those behind-the-wheel teachers at $30 an hour, based on the number of instruction hours with students. The district charges students the maximum $250 fee and receives roughly $140,000 a year in fees and state reimbursements that have so far supported the district’s driver’s education budget, Chief Financial Officer Mark Altmayer said. “For all intents and purposes, we are near close to a self-sustaining program,” he said. “Rarely does the state cover the costs that we need them to cover.”

The federal lawsuit claims Chrzanowski was fired for testifying about allegations that Bianchi had improperly arranged a plea deal for a defendant who was a relative of Ron Salgado, a state’s attorney’s office investigator. Bianchi, who eventually was criminally indicted twice by special prosecutors, was acquitted after two separate bench trials before the defense called any witnesses. Chrzanowski says that after he was disclosed as a potential witness for the prosecution, Bianchi allegedly began retaliating by placing negative information in his personnel file – which had otherwise contained positive feedback. One example was a memo in which Bianchi said Chr-

zanowski failed to introduce him to two college students who were interning at the office. “He never would have thought of introducing me to them had I not stopped him and made a point of it,” Bianchi allegedly wrote in the memo. A federal judge dismissed the case in July 2012, saying that Chrzanowski’s testimony wasn’t subject to First Amendment protections; it was part of his duties as a public official. In short, the federal appellate court ruled on Friday that his testimony did not fall within his purview as an assistant state’s attorney. “Kirk was doing the right thing in testifying against [Bianchi] because he believes in the right thing,” his attorney, Rebecca Lee, said. “It’s not about punishment, it’s about making sure justice is served.” Bianchi had little com-

$5000

ment, other than saying he intends to “vigorously” defend himself against the allegations. “I have no doubts we will win either lawsuit,” Bianchi said. Criminal Division Chief Michael Combs also is named as a co-defendant in the federal lawsuit. In his most recent civil lawsuit, Chrzanowski says Bianchi’s comments to a former Northwest Herald reporter were intended to damage or harm Chrzanowski’s personal and business reputation. The statement: “Chrzanowski gave misinformation to the special prosecutor that showed lack of integrity and that was why he was terminated” was not a direct quote, but a paraphrase, from Bianchi. Chrzanowski now works for an Oak Brook-based law firm. He did not respond to a request for a comment.

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