NWH-9-26-2013

Page 1

Arkush: With Melton out, where’s D-line now?

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

WWW.NWHERALD.COM

The only daily newspaper published in McHenry Co.

Sports, C1

75 CENTS

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LOS LOBOS

• Haunted Square in Woodstock • Local Halloween events • Movies: ‘Don Jon,’ ‘Rush’

Entertainers to play Raue in Crystal Lake

Man gets 24 years for sex crimes Smith has 8½ years remaining under sentencing guidelines from mid-’90s By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com

Jack Leo Smith, 75, of McHenry, was convicted in July of assaulting three girls in 1995-96.

WOODSTOCK – A 75-year-old McHenry man convicted of sexually assaulting young girls nearly two decades ago was sentenced Wednesday to a total of 24 years in prison. Jack Leo Smith has 8½ years remaining under sentencing

guidelines when the crimes were committed, coupled with the time he’s served since his arrest in March 2010. A jail employee verified that Smith has been the longest-serving inmate in the McHenry County Jail. Attorneys explained that the sentencing regulations for sex crimes were more lax in 1995 and 1996, when the crimes occurred.

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Smith was eligible for day-forday credit sentencing. “If the offenses were committed today, it would have been a

mandatory life sentence,” Assistant State’s Attorney Sharyl Eisenstein said. Added Smith’s attorney, Pub-

REPAIRS AT COURSE TOO MUCH FOR VILLAGE

RedTail going up for sale

lic Defender Kim Messer, “You have to use the law at the time.” Smith also had the choice to be sentenced under today’s sentencing laws. He was found guilty in July of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse after a stipulated

See SENTENCE, page A8

Dixon to get $40M from settlement Auditors, bank who missed embezzlement will pay city By DEREK BARICHELLO dbarichello@shawmedia.com

H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com

Joe Smith of Vernon Hills (left) and Bob Richards of Glen Ellyn play the 10th hole Wednesday at RedTail Golf Club. The village of Lakewood is putting the course up for sale because it is unable to perform any maintenance or upkeep. The village will likely receive less than what it paid in interest for the golf course if a buyer surfaces. Taxpayers just finished paying off the 20-year loan on the course in 2011. By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com LAKEWOOD – The village of Lakewood will look to put the deteriorating RedTail Golf Club up for sale after two decades of operating the course with the help of taxpayer support. Village President Erin Smith informed residents in the most recent communi-

Lakewood has run golf club with taxpayer help for 20 years ty newsletter that the board would consider entering an agreement at its Oct. 22 meeting with a brokerage firm to list the golf course for $1.9 million – far less than the village paid for the course when it

invested $3.5 million plus interest in a 20-year bond for the property. The final bond payment was made in 2011, ending the 20-year loan. It was estimated at the time that removing the

bond payment saved a homeowner of a $300,000 house about $240. Smith said that while the $1.9 million listing price is not ideal, it reflects the downward trend in the golf industry and takes into account the $1 million investment a prospective buyer would need to make to replace the trailers with a

DIXON – The city of Dixon reached a $40 million out-ofcourt settlement with its former auditors and Fifth Third Bank, who the city said were to blame for former Comptroller Rita Crundwell’s theft of nearly $54 million in the past two decades. The agreement was reached Saturday following a 17-hour session in Chicago, Mayor Jim Burke said. Burke said the amount of the settlement speaks for itself, suggesting it provided vindication for a City Council that has taken its fair share of blame for the theft. Of the $40 million, $35.15 million will be paid by CliftonLarsonAllen, the city’s auditor until 2005, $3.85 million by Fifth Third Bank, which handled the city’s checking accounts, and $1 million by Janis Card and Associates of Sterling, which took over the city’s audits in 2005 from CliftonLarsonAllen until Crundwell’s arrest. The money is expected to be handed over to the city by the end of the year, Burke said. With $10 million the city expects to get from the federal government from the sale of Crundwell’s assets, Dixon will have recouped $50 million – nearly $4 million shy of the total theft.

Rita Crundwell was sentenced to 19 years, 7 months in prison Feb. 14 for federal wire fraud after taking nearly $54 million from the city of Dixon from 1990 to 2011. She is serving her sentence at a federal correctional facility in Waseca, Minn., and has since appealed her sentence. That appeal is ongoing.

See REDTAIL, page A8 See DIXON, page A7

LOCALLY SPEAKING

CARY

DIABETES DOESN’T STOP C-G LIBERO Sophomore Delany Bayer is the Trojans’ starting libero and her passing has helped provide consistency to an inexperienced girls volleyball group. She also has type 1 diabetes. “She’s mature beyond her years and I think it’s because she’s dealing with something that’s a life or death situation on a daily basis,” coach Patty Langanis said. For more, see page C1.

Mike Murdock (left), Karen Moses Jim Dallke – jdallke@shawmedia.com

HIGH

LOW

77 52 Complete forecast on A10

McHENRY COUNTY: Local United Way chapter announces yearly fundraising goal of $1.5 million. Local&Region, B1

Where to find it Advice Business Classified Comics

C10 B4-6 E3-14 C11

Vol. 28, Issue 269 Local&Region B1-3 Lottery A2 Obituaries B3 Opinion A9

Planit Play Inside Puzzles E8-9 Real Estate E1-2 Sports C1-9

Banking Your Way! Receive

$100

when you open a new

Community Checking Account and fulfill one of the following options for two statement cycles:1

Option 1:

Option 2:

5 DEBIT CARD TRANSACTIONS + 2 ONLINE BILL PAYS

5 DEBIT CARD TRANSACTIONS + 1 DIRECT DEPOSIT

1. Offer good for New Checking Accounts only. To receive $100, you must: 1) open a new Community Checking Account AND either A) Perform 5 debit card transactions and 2 online bill pays OR B) 5 debit card transactions and 1 direct deposit. Either set of requirements must be completed for 2 consecutive statement cycles before $100 will be credited to account. Only 1 $100 bonus per household. The $100 bonus is considered IRS 1099 reportable. Offer expires 9/30/13. 2. The Crystal Lake Checking Account requires initial deposit of $100 to open. Fees, such as overdraft charges and fees for special services, may apply. A closing fee of $10.00 will be charged if account is closed within 6 statement cycles of opening. ©2013 Crystal Lake Bank & Trust Company, N.A.


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