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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013
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Teen birthrates down in Lower than state, McHenry County national averages By JEFF ENGELHARDT • jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Tracy Johanson has heard the numbers that show teen pregnancy is on the decline in McHenry County. But hearing about numbers and seeing pregnant teenagers are two different realities, which is why the only number Johanson keeps thinking about is three. That is the number of pregnant 14-year-olds Johanson has seen since the beginning of 2013 at her Tri-County Pregnancy and Parenting Services Center in Crystal Lake. “There may be a smaller percentage of teenagers getting pregnant, but they are getting pregnant at a younger age,” said Johanson, director for the center. “There are TV shows with pregnant teens that make it look OK to be so young. It’s going to a younger generation where the junior high kids are thinking it’s OK, but they don’t know their bodies.” Despite Johanson’s concerns, her center’s goal is to help teen birth-
Bleacher work could interrupt first game By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – A judge is expected to rule Wednesday on whether to enforce a temporary restraining order against Crystal Lake High School District 155 to prevent further work on a bleacher expansion project at Crystal Lake South High School. Attorney Michael Burney, who represents three Crystal Lake residents in a lawsuit against District 155, said a hearing on the 12-page temporary restraining order request would take place at 9 a.m. in Room 202 at the McHenry County Courthouse. District 155 stopped work on the bleachers at roughly 10:30 a.m. Monday after learning of the pending lawsuit. Burney, a 2002 Prairie Ridge High School graduate, said temporary restraining orders can be difficult to obtain and plaintiffs would press forward with seeking a preliminary injunction if the restraining order is not upheld. Regardless of the outcome, Burney said he hopes the district continues to postpone work while the lawsuit is pending because the more it builds, the more it could have to tear down if the court eventually rules against the district. “What we’re looking for with a temporary restraining order and with the case as a whole is for the district not to build any structure in violation of city ordinances,” Burney said. “We hope they continue to stop until we all reach a resolution.” The restraining order is an addition to the lawsuit filed on behalf of Amberwood Drive property owners Jeff Gurba, Jean Bianchi and Lou Bianchi, who also is the McHenry County state’s attorney. The residents said the lawsuit was filed for safety issues that were being ignored by the district not going through the city zoning process and exposing neighboring residents to flooding issues. City officials had threatend to sue the district for failing to seek permits for an expansion that would increase capacity to about 3,800 people,
See BIRTHRATE, page A8
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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29.5 2007 2011
Illustration by Kristina Peters – kpeters@shawmedia.com
UNITED STATES
ILLINOIS
Moody’s downgrades debt of 7 Ill. universities Only NIU was able to maintain its rating The ASSOCIATED PRESS
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rates in McHenry County continue to decline as they have during the past two decades, trending lower than state and national averages. In the most recent numbers from 2004 to 2009 provided by multiple reports from McHenry County Department of Health, McHenry County has averaged 19.12 births per 1,000 women between 15 and 19 years old. That is lower than the state average of 20.6 and national average of 27.2 births per 1,000 women in the same age range. On a long-term scale, McHenry County has lowered the rate in the past 20 years. The teen birthrate in McHenry County peaked in 1994 at roughly 15 births per 1,000 women ranging in age from 13 to 19. That number has dropped to about 11 births per 1,000 women in that age range for the past few years. Among the six collar counties and Chicago, only DuPage County boasts lower teen birthrates. Ben Baer, epidemiologist for the McHenry County Health Department, said there is no reason to expect the trend to reverse with Illinois
BIRTH RATE PER 1,000 TEENAGERS AGES 15-19
See JUDGE, page A8
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SPRINGFIELD – A major bond-rating agency has downgraded debt ratings on seven public universities in Illinois, and it warned that more decreases could take place if the state doesn’t address its pension problem. Moody’s Investors Service took the actions Friday, about two months after it downgraded the
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A tattoo being removed by Derick Dermatology Photo provided
state’s rating and warned that it was reviewing all of Illinois’ public universities. Illinois now has the lowest credit rating of any state in the country, largely because of its unpaid bills and $100 billion in unfunded retirement plans for state employees. The state’s downgrade means that when Illinois tries to borrow money, it faces a higher interest rate, just like someone who tries to get a car loan with maxed out credit cards. Now, those higher interest rates are trickling down to other Illinois institutions that get state aid. Friday’s downgrades affect the
University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University. Only Northern Illinois University was able to maintain its rating. The downgrades affect a combined $2.24 billion in debt, but most of that belongs to the University of Illinois, which has $1.56 billion in debt. A lower debt rating means it will cost more for the schools to borrow
See UNIVERSITIES, page A8
CRYSTAL LAKE
CRYSTAL LAKE
DOCTOR SUES OVER PAST ALLEGATIONS
OGINNI REMEMBERED FOR HIS WORK ETHIC
A Crystal Lake doctor is suing three former patients whose allegations of sexual misconduct caused him to lose his medical license. Dr. Mahesh Parikh, a neurologist, also filed a defamation lawsuit against the mother of one of his accusers, saying the four women made “false statements” to the state department that suspended his license. For more, see page B1.
Samuel Oginni, who left Nigeria in 1975, worked tenaciously to provide for his family, and in doing so, he became one of Crystal Lake’s most well-respected businessmen. Oginni owned Crystal Lake Pontiac GMC for 16 years before selling the dealership in 2011 because of health problems and the economy. Oginni died Saturday at age 59. For more, see page E1.
BARRINGTON: Amy Derick has been removing tattoos for five years at Derick Dermatology. Business, E1
“It’s disappointing and unfortunate, but it doesn’t come as a surprise. We’re a public university in Illinois, a state that’s not well regarded by the financial ratings houses for a multitude of reasons.” Tom Hardy, University of Illinois spokesman on the lower debt rating
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